Bethesda, Nigerian Church Where Everybody Is Blind Including The Pastor
LAGOS JULY 1ST (NEWSRANGERS)-There is a Nigerian church where every member of the congregation is blind. Not just that, the drummer, the percussionist, the lead guitarist, and all supporting instrumentalists are all blind.
Also, the choristers, the keyboardist and the children in the church are blind. More interesting is the fact that the pastor of the church and the music director are all blind.
Not only is the pastor blind, but he is also an ordained man of God. A recent video shows when the church was in full gear and praise and worship were going on. But there are more interesting things to know about the Bethesda Church run by Mrs Chioma Ohakwe, the founder of the Bethesda Home for the Blind. Her upbringing tells an interesting story.
Interesting upbringing of Mrs Chioma Ohakwe
As a child, Mrs Ohakwe was temporarily cared for by a blind woman who was above 80 years of age. At that time, Mrs Ohakwe was too little to realise or know who was caring for her, but her mother told her the story when she grew up.
As a matter of fact, Mrs Ohakwe’s mother used to drop her off with the blind old woman before going to the farm as she was the smallest of her mother’s four children at that time. Because she was too small to go to the farm, she was left under the care of the blind old woman.
Mrs Ohakwe spoke to Legit.ng about the blind woman who cared for her:
“My mother told me the story of how a blind woman raised me up. I’m the 4th child of my mother who was a farmer. So when it’s time to go to the farm, there would be nobody to take care of her child. She would go and give me to an old woman who was above 80 years. The woman would help to carry me. Each time she carries me, she used to sing and say that I’m going to take care of the less privileged. That’s the story my mother told me. She was totally blind. Before I grew up, the woman was already late.”
Why Mrs Ohakwe established Bethesda Home for the Blind
But that was not the only motivating factor that made Mrs Ohakwe establish a home for the blind. When she grew up, she realised that some of her relatives were visually impaired. In fact, she was charged with the responsibility of taking care of two of his close relative who are blind.
She recounted those days while speaking to Legit.ng:
“When I grew up, I found out that I have two brothers that are blind. Though it was not my biological mother who gave birth to them, but my uncle’s son is blind, and my aunt’s son is blind and they were living with my mother, and she was taking care of them. She was helping them the way she could. I grew up and found out that it is my responsibility to take care of them. I used to escort them to the Oji River School for the Blind. They are now working and are married.”
Interestingly, Mrs Ohakwe met her husband when she was taking her blind relatives to school. Her husband also had blind relatives who he accompanied to the same school. She and her husband became caregivers to their blind relatives when they graduated from the school in Oji River. That was how her interest in caring for the blind started, and today, she has founded the Bethesda Home for the Blind situated in Idi Oro, Lagos.
Interesting things about the Bethesda Home for the Blind
There are so many interesting things about the Bethesda Home for the Blind. The home has a primary and a secondary school and vocational training centres. But one aspect which went viral recently and got over a million views on TikTok is the Bethesda Church. After it was revealed that all the members were blind, it became a place of interest to many Nigerians on social media.
Mrs Ohakwe also told Legit.ng about the church:
“All of them are blind. Our pastor is an ordained pastor. He is a blind student too. The music director is a blind man. The keyboardist is a blind man. The members, the choir and everybody there is blind.”
Challenges facing the Bethesda Home for the Blind
There are several challenges facing Bethesda Home for the Blind. Mrs Ohakwe told Legit.ng that the home is free to all the students. She said every service rendered there is done for free. This means that blind students do not pay school fees, and the vocational training are also free.
Asked how the place is funded, Mrs Ohakwe said they rely on donor agencies and kindhearted Nigerians to run the home. She called on Nigerians to send any form of support they can to the NGO.
However, despite the challenges, she told Legit.ng that she is strengthened by the achievements of some of the blind students who have passed out from the school.
She told the story of one of them:
“There are many success stories, but let me mention a few. In 2019, one of my students came out from the University of Nigeria, Nsuka, as the best in the department and best in the faculty, and came out with a first-class. Among the hundreds, a blind person came out with first-class.”
Disabled lady becomes a graduate
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian lady celebrated that she is the only graduate in her family.
In a video she posted on TikTok, the lady danced and called herself a record breaker.
The lady is disabled as she has no legs due to what appears to be amputation.
Source: Legit.ng
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Posted by News Rangers
on Jul 1 2023. Filed under National.
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