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Olufunke Agagu Bubbles With Life Again

By Funsho Akinwale
26 June 2015   |   11:29 pm
THE tragedies that befell former First Lady of Ondo State, Olufunke Agagu, in quick succession about two years ago were such that would reduce a woman without a strong heart to an emotional wreck. But Olufunke Agagu is not just any woman; she is an epitome of strength and a source of inspiration to many.…
Olufunke

Olufunke

THE tragedies that befell former First Lady of Ondo State, Olufunke Agagu, in quick succession about two years ago were such that would reduce a woman without a strong heart to an emotional wreck. But Olufunke Agagu is not just any woman; she is an epitome of strength and a source of inspiration to many.

In September 2013, it was as if her world was crashing when her husband, Dr Olusegun Agagu, a brilliant geologist, former Minister of Aviation, Power and Steel and ex-Governor of Ondo State, died after a brief illness. The following month, Olufunke sank deeper into grief when the Associated Aviation flight 361 conveying her husband’s corpse to Akure, the Ondo State capital, for state burial with 13 passengers and seven crew members, crashed on take-off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, killing some of the sympathisers on board.

After a long period of mourning, Funke has come to the realiszation that the past cannot be reconstructed and life must go on. The soft-spoken lady and founder of Handicapped Education Foundation (HANDEF), is learning to bubble with life again. Recently, she feted some primary and secondary school pupils as well as physically-impaired trainees to mark HANDEF’s 10th empowerment programme in Akure.

Since it was founded in 2008, HANDEF has been encouraging people living with disabilities by organising seminars and workshops to empower them on health issues, business and entrepreneurship, and partnering with other local and international organisations to give them a sense of belonging.

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