Charis Healthcare & Community Support Initiative

23/09/2026

FROM LEARNING TO ACTION | GROUP ACTIVITY

The final activity of the 2-Day Capacity Building Training on Disability Inclusion for Employers and Trainers brought the learning into a practical space.

After two days of exploring disability, inclusive teaching strategies, accessibility and workplace accommodation, participants came together in groups to reflect, discuss and apply what they had learned.

The group activities created an opportunity for participants to examine real-life inclusion challenges, exchange perspectives and think through practical ways employers and trainers can make their workplaces and learning environments more accessible and responsive to persons with disabilities.

What stood out was the collaboration.

Different experiences and ideas came together around one shared question:

How can we move from talking about inclusion to actually creating environments where persons with disabilities can participate, contribute and thrive?

Through teamwork, presentations, questions and constructive feedback, participants demonstrated that inclusion requires more than awareness. It requires intentional planning, collaboration and a willingness to rethink practices that may unintentionally create barriers.

The exercise also reinforced an important lesson from the training: sustainable inclusion is a shared responsibility.

Employers have a role. Trainers have a role. Organisations have a role. And every person who influences a workplace or learning environment has a part to play.

As the training comes to a close, participants leave not only with new knowledge, but with practical ideas they can take back into their organisations and communities.

This is where capacity building becomes meaningful—when learning leaves the training room and begins to influence practice.

The 2-Day Capacity Building Training on Disability Inclusion for Employers and Trainers was organised by Charis Healthcare & Community Support Initiative under the ELEVATE 360 Project, funded by Liliane Fonds, with technical support from The Leprosy Mission Nigeria (TLMN).

Together, we are strengthening the capacity to build workplaces and learning environments where disability does not become a barrier to opportunity.

23/09/2026

DAY 2 | TURNING INCLUSION INTO PRACTICAL ACTION

Understanding disability is an important first step. But meaningful inclusion becomes possible when that understanding is translated into action.

Day 2 of the 2-Day Capacity Building Training on Disability Inclusion for Employers and Trainers, organised by Charis Healthcare & Community Support Initiative under the ELEVATE 360 Project, focused on a critical part of inclusion: Accessibility and Accommodation in the Workplace.

Facilitated by Mr. Henry Ojenya, the session challenged participants to look closely at the everyday barriers that can prevent persons with disabilities from fully participating, learning, working and contributing within professional and training environments.

The conversation moved beyond simply identifying barriers. Participants explored practical ways employers and trainers can create more accessible environments, provide appropriate support and make reasonable adjustments that enable people to perform based on their abilities.

From physical accessibility to communication, workplace practices, learning environments and individual support needs, the training reinforced an important principle: inclusion is not about giving unfair advantage. It is about removing unnecessary barriers so that everyone has a fair opportunity to participate and demonstrate their abilities.

Through interactive discussions, reflections and practical learning, participants were encouraged to think differently about their role in building inclusive workplaces and training spaces.

The two-day capacity building has therefore provided more than knowledge. It has strengthened participants’ awareness, expanded their practical understanding and encouraged them to examine how their organisations can become more responsive to the diverse needs of persons with disabilities.

For ELEVATE 360, this is an important step towards strengthening systems that support disability inclusion, employability and meaningful participation.

When accessibility is considered from the beginning, inclusion becomes intentional. When reasonable accommodation becomes part of workplace practice, participation becomes possible. And when employers and trainers are equipped to lead inclusion, organisations become better prepared to recognise and unlock the abilities of everyone.

The training was organised under the ELEVATE 360 Project, funded by Liliane Fonds, with technical support from The Leprosy Mission Nigeria (TLMN), and implemented by Charis Healthcare & Community Support Initiative.

We are grateful to all participants for their engagement, openness and commitment to taking the conversation beyond the training room and into their organisations, workplaces and communities.

Inclusion is not complete when the door is open. It is complete when people can enter, participate, contribute and thrive.

23/09/2026

22/09/2026

ARE YOU THE NEXT MENTAL HEALTH CHANGEMAKER?

We're not looking for spectators. We're looking for people ready to LEAD.

CHARIS HealthCare & Community Support Initiative is opening a few slots for our 6-Week Virtual Mental Health Internship and it's built for changemakers who want more than a certificate. You'll get real, hands-on exposure to:

🗣️ Therapeutic Communication & Storytelling

🧩 Mental Health Leadership & Practice

📢 Mental Health Advocacy

🩹 Psychological First Aid

Starts: 12th October, 2026

Sessions: Fridays & Saturdays, 6PM WAT

₦20,000 (Nigerian participants) | $16 (International participants)

Few slots. Highly focused. No fluff.

Applications close October 10 and they WILL close early if slots fill up.

If you've ever wanted to turn your passion for mental health into real, practical skills and community impact, this is your sign.

🔗 Apply now: https://forms.gle/xPg5id6hJT2D7kJ37

Tag someone who needs to see this. Share this post. Someone's mental health journey may depend on the changemaker YOU know.

22/09/2026

DAY 1 ROUND-UP | DISABILITY INCLUSION FOR EMPLOYERS & TRAINERS

Day 1 of the 2-Day Capacity Building Training on Disability Inclusion for Employers and Trainers set the tone for an important conversation: inclusion begins with understanding.

Organised by Charis Healthcare & Community Support Initiative under the ELEVATE 360 Project, the training brought employers, trainers and relevant stakeholders into a shared learning space to examine disability beyond assumptions and stereotypes.

Facilitated by Mr. Henry Ojenya, the sessions explored Understanding Disability and Inclusive Teaching Strategies, creating room for participants to reflect on how attitudes, communication, learning environments and workplace practices can either enable or limit meaningful participation for persons with disabilities.

One of the key lessons from Day 1 was the need to shift the question from “What can this person do?” to “What can we change within the environment to enable this person to participate, contribute and thrive?”

Through discussions, practical reflections and interactive learning, participants began looking beyond disability as an individual condition and towards the systems, attitudes and environments that influence inclusion.

The goal is not simply to create spaces where persons with disabilities are present. It is to build workplaces and learning environments where they are respected, supported, heard and given a genuine opportunity to succeed.

As we move into Day 2, the conversation continues with a deeper focus on Accessibility and Accommodation in the Workplace—turning understanding into practical action.

The ELEVATE 360 Project is funded by Liliane Fonds, with technical support from The Leprosy Mission Nigeria (TLMN), and implemented by Charis Healthcare & Community Support Initiative.

Day 1 was about understanding. Day 2 is about putting that understanding into practice.

22/09/2026

DAY 1 | BUILDING WORKPLACES WHERE EVERYONE CAN PARTICIPATE

What does true inclusion look like when a person with a disability walks into a classroom, a training room, or a workplace?

It begins with understanding.

On 15 September 2026, Charis Healthcare & Community Support Initiative (CHARIS) commenced a two-day Capacity Building Training on Disability Inclusion for Employers and Trainers under the ELEVATE 360 Project.

Facilitated by Mr. Henry Ojenya, Day 1 created an important space for employers, trainers, and other participants to look beyond disability as a limitation and begin to understand the barriers that often prevent persons with disabilities from fully participating in education, training, employment, and economic opportunities.

The sessions explored Understanding Disability and Inclusive Teaching Strategies, encouraging participants to rethink how learning and workplace environments are designed. Rather than expecting persons with disabilities to simply adapt to existing systems, the conversation challenged participants to consider how systems themselves can become more accessible, flexible, and responsive.

This distinction matters.

Inclusion is not simply about opening the door. It is about ensuring that people can enter, participate, contribute, learn, grow, and succeed once they are inside.

Through practical discussions and shared learning, participants began exploring how trainers can adapt their approaches, communicate more effectively, recognize different learning needs, and create environments where every participant has a fair opportunity to engage and demonstrate their abilities.

The training also opened important conversations around the role employers and institutions can play in removing barriers and creating pathways for persons with disabilities to participate meaningfully in the workforce.

Day 1 was therefore not just about learning terminology or concepts. It was about changing perspectives and beginning to see inclusion as a shared responsibility.

When employers and trainers understand disability better, they are better positioned to create opportunities that recognize ability, promote dignity, and support meaningful participation.

This capacity-building initiative is part of the ELEVATE 360 Project, funded by Liliane Fonds, with technical support from The Leprosy Mission Nigeria (TLMN), and organized and implemented by Charis Healthcare & Community Support Initiative.

As we move into Day 2, the focus continues to shift from understanding to practical action because inclusive workplaces and learning environments do not happen by accident. They are built intentionally, one informed decision at a time.

Inclusion begins with understanding. Impact begins when understanding becomes action.

19/09/2026

Most people think of schizophrenia as a disorder of the mind. This study points to something much smaller and deeper, changes in chemical tags attached to DNA. Researchers at the University of Sydney and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry found that people with schizophrenia had lost DNA methylation at sites linked to FKBP5, a gene that helps neurons shut down stress hormones such as cortisol, leaving the gene more active than it should be. The changes were especially marked in the frontal cortex, and they became stronger with age, suggesting that the brain's stress system may switch on more easily and stay active longer over time. The striking part is that the researchers have identified a specific molecular switch that could point toward targeted treatments, although whether those changes can actually be reversed remains an open question.

16/09/2026