The management of Roseluyi Exceptional Students Academy (RESA) has called for the support of public-spirited Nigerians, particularly Edo people to cater for the over 35 children with special needs in the school, commending the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki for his support to the school and vulnerable persons in the State.

The governor had recently made a special appeal to all who want to celebrate his upcoming birthday anniversary, to channel all gifts and donations to the Academy for children with special needs in the State.

Obaseki said the school has demonstrated excellent capacity in the development of children with special needs, urging all to participate in the celebration to honour the children with special needs in the State.

Speaking to journalists in Benin City ahead of the Governor’s birthday celebration, the Founder of Roseluyi Exceptional Students Academy (RESA), Osarhiemen Rosemary Isaac-Aluyi called for assistance to sustain efforts aimed at supporting the children with special needs.

She said, “These children are precious and are like the regular children outside. They can learn like regular children. We have a fish pond and poultry here and the children help with the feeding of fishes and birds but need supervision. We have 700 birds and 2900 fingerlings as the birds produce about 10 to 11 crates daily.

“Our vocational center here in this school is impacting in no small ways the life of our students as we teach them tailoring, shoe making, make-up, barbing, and more.

“This is a calling; it's my passion and what I love and enjoy doing as we have about 35 students in this school, both boarding and day students.”

According to her, “Our students are from Edo and Delta States and we hope to get students across the Country as we expand in our service of taking care of these children with special needs. We have a huge impact on the lives of these children as some that came in and couldn’t talk or hear can now talk and hear. Some others who can't read are now trying to read.

“To get the best out of the children, you don't shout at them, you don't beat or flog them and one must be very patient to be able to cope with them. These children are surrounded by special teachers who are trained to attend to them.”

Calling for assistance, the special needs teacher noted, "We can't do it alone but need help from good Nigerians as we have 10 classrooms but not all are furnished.  We need chairs, television sets, and computers in all the classes, as we need to use these learning aids to help them learn fast.

“We spend money buying the medication they need because they take a lot of medication which is very expensive. We take them on routine medical checkups at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital as we collaborate with them to help us subsidize the checkup. We need a lot of equipment, especially in the vocational center like machines for various vocations.”

Thanking the governor for his support to the School, 27-year-old Amen Adeghe noted, “We thank the governor for his continuous support for the less privileged in the society as he has a passion for the vulnerable in the society. We celebrate him on his birthday and pray that God Almighty will continue to protect him.

She appealed to parents with children with special needs not to lock them up or separate them from society but rather bring them to the school, adding, “We will do our best to help them here.”