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A spinal cord injury survivor.
I’m Bem Akaanane, I live with a spinal cord injury. I am a digital advocate, a storyteller, and an aspiring voice to the ones the world too often overlooks. From the heart of Benue, Nigeria, I carry a dream: that disability will never mean invisibility. That every life,no matter its path, is worthy of dignity, love, and light.
Support & Healing Resources
Why choose healing?
Pain shouldn’t be the end of your story.
Healing is slow, messy, and brave, it asks you to face what hurts and trust what’s ahead.
You rediscover your voice, your heart, your worth. Healing reclaims your strength, not to erase the past, but to live freely. Your story isn’t over. Light is ahead, waiting. You deserve peace, softness, and safety. Healing means growth. Every step forward is a victory.
Healing messages from beloved voices in history.
Wisdom from great minds. Their words don’t offer easy answers. but light.
And sometimes, light is enough to take the next step.
Rumi
Poet
“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.”
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
“There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter”.
“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do”.
“God loves me. I’m not here just to fill a place, just to be a number. He has chosen me for a purpose. I know it”.
“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind’.
“We are not meant to stay wounded…. Healing is a different type of pain… the pain of becoming aware.”
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
“I greet you from the other side of sorrow and despair, with a love so vast and shattered it will reach you everywhere.”
“If you restore balance in your own self, you will be contributing immensely to the healing of the world.”
“Only intimacy with the self will bring about true healing.”
“Gratitude initiates self-repair and healing.”
“As soon as healing takes place, go out and heal somebody else.”
“Take a day to heal from the lies you’ve told yourself and the ones that have been told to you.”
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.”
Without memory, there is no healing. Without forgiveness, there is no future.
There can be no healing without truth.
Catharsis is about cleansing and healing at one and the same time healing memories and attitudes, healing the spirit and the heart.
Disability Rights: Quick Access & Actions. Key Bodies & Resources
Welcome to the Quick Access and Action Hub. Here, I bring you the most essential resources and key organizations dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities. Access information, advocacy tools, and ways to take action when your rights are violated.
Disability Rights in Nigeria.
Disability rights in Nigeria are laws and rules that protect people living with disabilities. These rights make sure that persons with disabilities are not left out and are treated equally in society. The most important law is the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
Top Disability Support Organizations You Need to Know
Leading Bodies Empowering Individuals with Disabilities in Nigeria.
• Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs & Rehabilitation – coordinates disability inclusion and rehabilitative services.
→ Rehabilitation Department
• National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) – drives inclusion, issues disability certificates & runs the “Access to Work” initiative.
→ ncpwd.gov.ng Mandate Overview
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• JONAPWD (Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities) – a nation-wide network of DPOs advocating for rights and implementation.
• Rebuilding Hope on Wheels Initiative [RHOWI], dedicated to raising awareness, providing support, and empowering individuals with spinal cord injuries in Nigeria.
→ MacArthur Foundation Profile
• Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) – watchdog pushing inclusive governance and accountability.
• Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) – leads advocacy on electoral accessibility and legal framework improvements.
→ Access Nigeria
→ Legal Framework Analysis PDF
• TAF Africa (The Albino Foundation) – advocacy on policy and elections for broader disability inclusion.
→ tafafrica.co
• Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria (SCIAN) – advocacy and support for persons with spinal cord injuries.
→ scianigeria.com
→ Guardian feature on policy and support
→ Campaigning for Access for wheelchair users and promoting the lives of spinal cord injured through Advocacy Awareness, Education and Rehabilitation.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Explore answers to frequently asked questions about spinal cord injury.
What happens after a spinal cord injury?
A spinal cord injury stops or weakens the messages between the brain and the body. This can cause loss of movement, loss of feeling, trouble controlling urine or stool, weak breathing, or changes in blood pressure and body temperature. The effects depend on where and how bad the injury is.
What are the 4 types of spinal injuries?
Cervical (neck): Can cause paralysis of arms, legs, and body (quadriplegia).
Thoracic (upper back): Affects chest and legs, but arms still work.
Lumbar (lower back): Causes weakness or paralysis in hips and legs.
Sacral (bottom spine): Affects hips, legs, bladder, bowel, and sexual function.
What are the 5 signs of a spinal injury?
Cannot move arms or legs properly
Loss of feeling, numbness, or tingling in body parts
Cannot control bladder or bowel
Strong pain or pressure in the head, neck, or back
Weakness or paralysis in some areas of the body
How long does a spinal cord injury take to heal?
The spinal cord itself rarely heals fully. Some people improve in weeks or months as swelling reduces and therapy helps. But many effects are permanent. Ongoing rehabilitation (exercises, training, therapy) helps people live more independently
Can a person walk again after a spinal cord injury?
It depends. People with an incomplete injury (some signals still pass through) may walk again with therapy, devices, or treatment. With a complete injury, walking is usually not possible.