•Foremost Child Disability Advocate
Founder, Children’s Developmental Centre (CDC), DrYinkaAkindayomi, was a voice of hope for children with developmental issues.For 28+years, she bestrode the child disability space like a colossus, acting as a voice for the voiceless.
She was really passionate about children with special needs, as one of her children, Akinyele, has Autism.
Akinyele is 47 this year and in an open later she wrote to him when he was 28, she confessed life hadn’t been easy.
As a young mother trying to cope with two other children in a society that was as confused as she was, as to what was autism, its origin and ways to respond to it, Dr. Akindayomi said they took a leap of blind faith into the unknown with Akinyele.
Though the move was full of struggles, she noted that they made giant strides, in not only having her son living with Autism but as a family.
While considering this as a big accomplishment, she noted that community and society was yet to catch up, but families like theirs needed to set the pace to provoke a positive response from the community.
She listed some of the struggles they had raising Akinyele when she said,
“Although, you are now in your 28th year, yet the years we wrestled on how to educate you, or which was the best way to communicate with you or when will you read a book are not over. I am sure my son, you had wanted to do these things as everyone else and there is still room and opportunities for you to achieve these common activities. Now our priority is to know when you will set up your own family, earn a living and at the same time having a good social network which would love, respect, give you dignity and ensure your human rights. I often wonder about you learning to use a mobile telephone or an ipad to better communicate with us. You deserve a life, no matter how simple others perceive that this life might be; you have the right to choose and contribute anyway you possibly can.”
In spite of the challenges, she ended her letter by saying all was going to be well!
That was quintessential Dr Akindayomi!
She was a woman of faith!
She personified hope for children with special needs!
She totally immersed herself in the provision of services for children and young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities.
And, some parents of children with special needs found succor in her centre.
One of such was Dr Alero Roberts who also had a son with Down Syndrome!
Even though she and her husband, Dr Seyi Roberts (Lagos Doctor and renowned Neurologist) were medical doctors, the situation defied all they knew, but Dr. Akindayomi offered them hope and they enrolled their son in the school.
Damola Roberts went through tutelage and training at the CDC and is today Nigeria’s pride with 5 Special Olympics Gold and one Bronze medal in swimming.
In 2003, at the age of 18 and in a school for children with special needs, CDC, the Special Olympics International decided to hold their competition for the World Summer Games in Ireland. And Nigeria needed to form an Olympics team to represent them. This saw the director of the Special Olympics movement, a Federal Government initiative, visit his school.
Damola got an opportunity to represent Nigeria and the rest, as they say, is history!
In an interview published in 2019, he mentioned the role of the CDC in his development.
He said, “I was born in Lagos to the illustrious doctors, Seyi and Alero Roberts. I’m the first of four children; I have a brother and two sisters. I grew up in Lagos. I had a chequered educational background, going to several nursery schools. I had my primary education at Corona School, Victoria Island, Lagos. I then went to the Children’s Developmental Centre where my sporting career took off. Needless to say, academic pursuits were never going to be my strong point and thankfully, my parents were quick to realize that and they encouraged me to do whatever I chose to do.”
Damola Roberts is one of the legacies of DrAkindayomi’s CDC!
Damola’s mum, Dr Alero Roberts also spoke about the role played by DrAkindayomi’s CDC in her son’s emergence at the Arise Women Conference for last year.
While noting that the situation was tough for their young familyas Damola was their first child, Dr Alero said she put her faith to work.
According to her, “I stuck with God, I don’t know if there is a power greater than God, has anybody met it? Do you know where it is? I know only God. God was present every step of the way! When he got to Primary 4, and the school could honestly no longer keep him, he was becoming disruptive and distracted. God so good, a classmate of mine, who also had a child affected by Autism, had opened a Children’s Developmental Centre in Surulere.
And she says, ‘Alero, it is a bit of an experiment, will you let Damola come? I said ‘okay’. I live in Ikoyi, I was going to Surulere everyday, so I started looking around Surulere, what can I do to keep myself busy so that when I drop him in the morning, I will keep myself busy and pick him up and come home.
Damola was in the CDC, he got into swimming, special olympics, they came and said they want to revive the Nigerian programme and want to take a team to Special Olympics International, I had never heard of it! They picked my son because they looked at his parents and they said , ‘oh, his parents have some money, they will buy him a ticket’. Damola went. That opened my eyes to a whole new area of engagement.
From Ireland, he went to Athens, 4 years later, Los Angeles, 4 years later, Abu Dhabi in 2019, swimming gold all the way! Silver and bronze came after, all from Abu Dhabi. This is me, this is intellectual disability! My entire life and career have been defined by intellectual disability. It is being differently abled because God has given each and every one of us a peculiar skill. Here we are today, ladies, arise and be all that God has called you to be. Thank you.”
Dr Alero is forever grateful to Dr Akindayomi, but, the child disability amazon is no more!
She died recently after a brief illness at the age of 66.
When City People visited the Surulere office of the CDC, a condolence register was set up in front of the place with her picture on the table.
City People had actually gone there to interview her on how she has been able to sustain the vision of the centre for over 20 years only to be confronted with the news of her death!
Burial arrangements are as follows: Her life will be celebrated with an evening of tribute at the CDC on February 7th, 2023.
There will be a service of songs at the Herbour Point, Victoria Island on February 9th, 2023 while the burial service will hold on February 10th, 2023 at the Church of Assumption, Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Dr. Akindayomi was a medical doctor who graduated from the University of Lagos, College of Medicine. She also studied for a Masters in Community Paediatrics at the University of London.
She worked in both the private and public sectors in Nigeria.
Very passionate, she also worked on a Disability Roadshow which spanned 5 years, and covered 32 states out of 36. She also developed grassroots programmes such as the “we too can grow” which had enrolled over 1500 mothers to do “therapy” for their children, where there are no therapists or long waiting lists.
She had both international and national recognition for the work which she did.
She also worked with the Federal Ministry of Education on a National Strategy for children with Special Needs and sat on a steering committee for the introduction of Inclusion Education for Lagos State.
She was the first consultant to assist the Lagos State Government to set up a special centre. She acted as the chairman of programmes and coordinated the first International disability conference in Nigeria by IASSID in collaboration with local consultants.
Even though Dr Akindayomi has died physically, she continues to live through the lives of the numerous children with developmental issues that she touched positively.
-IYABO OYAWALE
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