The Nation Newspaper

Tag: less-privileged

  • Cleric charges the rich to assist society’s less-privileged

    THE founder and General Overseer of Living Spring Church, Pastor Femi Emmanuel, has appealed to wellmeaning individuals, to always show concern to the well-being of the less privileged and needy who are in their larger numbers in the society. Emmanuel made the appeal while giving his word of exhortation at the launch of the Temitope Titilope Ayefele Foundation (TTAF), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), named after the wife of popular gospel singer, Yinka Ayefele. The event held at Music House Hall of Fresh FM radio station, located along Ibadan-Lagos expressway, Challenge, Ibadan. The radio station is also owned by the gospel artiste.

    According to the cleric, no mortal will be remembered for the number of cars, houses, children or wives he has but rather, by the number of lives he has impacted positivel. He cited the examples of the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, late MKO Abiola, Gani Fawehinmi and Nelson Mandela who are being remembered for the impactful lives they lived. Pastor Emmanuel enjoined all individuals to support the course of the foundation in order to make its vision a reality.

    In her remark at the occasion, wife of the former Governor of Oyo State, Oluwakemi Alao-Akala, described the launch of the foundation as a welcome development, which should be embraced supported by all and sundry, bearing in mind the level of hunger and poverty across the country. Speaking in the same vein, Ayefele, who is also the husband of the convener, TTAF, stressed the need for the affluent to always put smiles on the faces of the need, pointing out that he had also benefitted from the kindness of many people in trying times.

  • UN launches meal campaign for less-privileged

    The World Food Programme (WFP) and its Goodwill Ambassador, Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, have launched an innovative digital fundraising campaign to share Ramadan meal with the less-privileged.

    WFP’s ShareTheMeal app and Sabry launched “Share Your Iftar” to encourage smartphone users around the world to donate at the tap of a button in support of vulnerable victims of conflict in the Middle East.

    Iftar is the meal served at sunset in Ramadan to break the daylong fast during the Muslim holy month.

    Through ShareTheMeal, smartphone users around the world can help families in need in Syria and Yemen by sharing their iftar, and donating to help those in need.

    “Unfortunately, not everyone has the privilege to eat when the sun sets and children all over the world face hunger day and night. I am launching this campaign with WFP because I genuinely believe that the ShareTheMeal app gives every one of us the power to help them,” Sabry said.

    During Ramadan, millions of families in Yemen and Syria do not know where their next meal is coming from, WFP said.

    Conflict in the Middle East has forced millions of people to abandon their land, homes and jobs, putting them at risk of hunger or famine.

    “I am committing to use the ShareTheMeal app to share my iftar every day this Ramadan and I will ask my friends, family and fans to follow suit throughout the month and even after Ramadan ends.

  • Artiste donates to the less privileged

    Artiste donates to the less privileged

    gospel artiste, song writer, speaker and television host, Anu Akinlagun, has donated some items to the less privileged in the society.

    Akinlagun, Founder of Mulc Foundation, donated items worth thousands of naira to Modupe Cole Child Care and Treatment Home in Akoka, Lagos.

    The items, including toiletries, cartons of Indomie Noddle’s, cartons of biscuits, detergents, drinks, cloths, books, sweets, snacks and Custard Powder, was her own way of giving back to the society.

    At the presentation of the items, many of the children at the Home hugged and shook hands with Akinlagun and other members of the foundation.

    MULC Foundation led the children into praises, which many of them sang and  danced to. The children at the Home could not hide their joy of receiving Mulc Foundation in their midst. Even though some of them could not talk, their smiles, expressions and gestures to members of the foundation said it all.

    The foundation also gave gifts to the head teacher and the assistant head teacher of the Home.

    According to Akinlagun, the foundation is about caring for the less privilege children as well as the disabled. “We are here to let them know that they are loved and that they have not been abandoned. We aim to make the life of everyone count by impacting other people’s lives.

    “MULC Foundation is a nongovernmental organisation that was founded on the bedrock of love for the less privileged and children in particular. We initiate projects that provide children with educational support, health care and welfare.

    “Our mission is to ensure that every under privilege child we come across or that comes through our path gets that warmth of love and that reassuring comfort of belonging to a family. We aim to create a safe haven for the distressed child. Our vision is to build a home/shelter for abandoned, orphaned and abused children; to set up a legal team and system that defends and protects child rights and privileges.

    We also aim to train and build children’s mental capacity especially the less privileged and abused ones, to organise skill acquisition  and empowerment forums for them in order to move them from  dependability to becoming job providers,” she said.

    She added: “We chose to visit Modupe Cole Child Care and Treatment Home, because it is not just a home for the underprivileged children, it is also a treatment home. We have been following them for some months and we appreciate their efforts in taking care of these children. We believe that children in the Home also deserve to be loved and happy. This is why we decided to visit them with food items, clothing’s, toiletries and drinks among other things.

    “Aside the children, we also gave gifts to the head teacher and her assistant for a job well done. “

    She urged all well-meaning Nigerians to visit the Home and see how the kids with different kinds of deformities ranging from cerebral palsy to other varying forms of mental challenges and physical challenges live; they are skilled, they need love and care, they need to be given a sense of hope and belonging,” she said.

    MULC Foundation Project Supervisor, Alexander Chude, said the gesture was to extend the love of Christ.

    “When Jesus Christ was in the world, he healed the sick and fed the poor. This is what MULC foundation is replicating today.  The significance of today’s gathering is to spread the love of Christ and the joy that comes with it.

    “These children have potentials in becoming great people in future. There is ability in disability because when there is life there is hope.”

    He urged the children to keep their faith alive.

    Head Teacher, Modupe Cole Child Care and Treatment Home, Mrs Rabiu Sherifat, thanked the foundation for the gesture.

    She called on other private institutions as well as the state government to be of assistance to the Home, noting that although the state government has put in efforts towards the Home, but government cannot do it alone and the Home needs more to cater for the children.

    “The Home, established by late Modupe Cole in 1960, now has over 450 children of which the oldest is 66 years,” she said.

     

     

  • Yuletide: Professionals present gifts to less privileged in Ekiti

    A group of professionals in Ekiti State, under the aegis of E-11, has presented gifts to the less privileged in the state.

    It made donations to the needy in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, as well as at nearby Iyin-Ekiti as part of its end-of-the-year activities and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

    Inmates of Ekiti State Relief and Rehabilitation Centre in Ado-Ekiti and those of the Erelu Adebayo Children’s Home at Iyin-Ekiti got gifts from the group.

    Items donated included bags of rice, noodles, clothes, tubers of yam, plastic buckets and other items.

    E-11 Chairman, Chief Kola Akosile, who led the delegation, said part of the responsibilities of the group was assisting the needy.

    Akosile said: “At this time of festivities, we are here to show our love for the needy. The need to show love and help the less privileged necessitated the step we are taking today.

    “We should not look at them as outcasts because they are people like us. Government alone cannot do it; so, we are also doing this to support them.”

    The resident officer of Ekiti State Rehabilitation Centre expressed appreciation to E-11 for the gesture and for celebrating with the less privileged.

    At the Erelu Adebayo Home in Iyin-Ekiti, Mrs Ajayi Olayinka, who received the items, also expressed appreciation to E-11 for visiting the children and making the donations.

    Those in the entourage included the club’s Secretary, Seyi Aiyeleso and a former Deputy speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Chief Tunji Orisalade as well as Mr. Tunde Dada, Mr. Sunday Olajide, Mrs Toyin Ajakaiye, Mrs Funke Owoseni and Prince Bolu Aladesanmi.

     

  • Hopes Alive initiative for the less privileged

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has launched The Hope Alive initiative to reduce poverty in the society.

    Addressing reporters in Lagos, Oba Adeyeye said it is a social advocacy intervention to alleviate social, cultural and environmental issues of reducing the impact of poverty among the most vulnerable.

    The monarch noted that it will create equal opportunities for all for exponential impact on global society.

    “Having realised that fingers are not equal – this doesn’t mean the tallest finger should stand on its own without other fingers because they all work hand-in-hand to make a formidable feast – life itself is full of ups and downs. Some have food but they cannot eat; some can eat but have no food because life is full of challenges.

    “Hopes Alive is trying as much as possible to give hope to the hopeless, succour to the oppressed and the less privileged. God created everybody equally but some are more privileged to have more than others. So, there should be a mechanism and a platform or avenue to bridge the gap.”

    The monarch said Hopes Alive initiative is the work of God as it is meant to give hope to the hopeless, to rekindle their hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

    He added: “I have always loved to live my life for humanity. This is not the first initiative; I have a lot of them. But thank God, I met this young and vibrant lady who is in tune with what I am doing. She got connected to that dream and has the passion for it. She is the one anchoring it. All I need is to support the initiative and make sure that everything goes on well.”

    Oba Ogunwusi also said the initiative is an advocacy to help the less privileged with back-up testimonials and not just a talk show or jamboree.

    Through the Hopes Alive initiative, the Ooni combines his passion for social mission with an image of innovation and determination to change the world. The time is certainly ripe for sustainable approach to social problems which have killed the society for years.

    The coordinator of New Breeze World Team, Mrs Temitope Oluseyi Oshin, who is in charge of the initiative, said many governmental and philanthropic efforts do not erase poverty, despite their efforts to do so.

    She said besides the innovative not-for-profit initiative of the House of Oduduwa Foundation, like the Orphan Aid Project, Oba Ogunwusi will adopt a mission to create and sustain social value for communities around the world through advocacy and behavioural and perception change.

    She said: “Recognising and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission, the Hopes Alive Initiative was born as an engaging process of innovation, adaptation and appeal for continuous improvement of outcomes, poverty eradication, aid relief and women empowerment.”

     

  • Bolanle Ambode’s passion for less-privileged

    Some pass through life without really making a mark while others struggle endlessly without having much to show. Some wallow in abject poverty which, as much as they try, they couldn’t really get out of. Indeed, one of the most profound tragedies of life is that some are born poor, live poor and die poor. The issue of poverty and the poor is an age long subject. Some experience poverty due to unexpected crisis while others are born into it.

    The Holy Bible aptly underscores the reality of poverty when the Word of God asserts in Deuteronomy 15:11 that: “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land’’. This amply presupposes that God knows that no matter how prosperous a society is, it will always have a sizeable share of the poor. Poverty is dehumanizing and humiliating. Some are not only poor, but they are helplessly and hopelessly so.

    But then, there is a way out for the poor. According to Deuteronomy 15:11 mentioned earlier, though God had earlier affirmed that the poor will never cease in the land, but He was quick to add that: Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land’’. It is in yielding to the latter part of that Bible verse that wife of the Lagos State governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode has clearly distinguished herself as a ‘friend of the less privileged’.

    Touching lives of the less privilege is certainly her unrelenting passion. She finds all possible means of reaching out to them. There are always rooms for any underprivileged that crosses her path. She makes life easier and liveable for them as much as she could. Whether working with them, part of their household or even being a leader, on her table is several ways to solve the problems of the deprived.  This includes relieving them of their sufferings through several empowerment programmes, scholarship initiatives, offsetting of medical bills among others. She does this because she believes that everyone must have hope for a better tomorrow.

    Hope is an essential component of life. But to the less privileged, hope is a daily necessity. Without hope, life would be an excruciating torment for the downtrodden. Hope has the ability to help people heal faster and easier. Individuals who maintain hope, especially when confronted with enormous life challenges, appreciably boost their chances of recovery. Essentially, people who possess hope and think optimistically have a greater sense of well-being.

    It is as a result of her deep understanding of the power of hope that Mrs. Ambode puts in so much to invest in giving hope to the less privileged folks in the society. In our clime, medical conditions that are considered challenging or complicated could be quick path to untimely death as many lack the financial wherewithal to effectively take care of such illness. This is why Mrs. Ambode has been deploying the platform of her Foundation Hope for Women in Nigeria Initiative, HOFOWEM to intervene in some critical medical cases as it particularly concerns the downtrodden.

    Just a few examples will suffice. When John Akinbo was born into the world, parents, family members and friends rejoiced at his birth. The joy was however short-lived as it was discovered while the boy was barely two years old that he had a hole in the heart. Thus, began the parent’s gradual slide into confusion and pain. But then, it wasn’t long before help came and hope re-ignited. Through HOFOWEM, young John was to get a new lease of life as he was sponsored to India for surgery which hugely turned out to be a success. Now, John has a solid basis to hope for a better tomorrow.

    In same vein, when it dawned on Mrs. Folake Muritala that she needed to undergo a hip replacement surgery, it was like her world was falling apart. This is in view of the enormous financial cost of such operation. Characteristically, HOFOWEM intervened and offset all the medical expenses. Today, Mrs. Muritala could contentedly look at life with eyes full of hope. Thanks to HOFOWEM, the harbinger of hope!

    HOFOWEM also partners with other foundations through financial grants to support various humanitarian causes. For instance, HOFOWEM provided Sebeccly Cancer Foundation with grants in support of cancer cause. Also, it assisted Irede Foundation with grants for the provision of prosthetic limb for children with mobility issues while grants were also provided to Children Development Centre to support children with autism. Lydia Foundation was also supported with grants to rehabilitate prostitutes

    Widows in particular prominently feature in HOFOWEM’s scheme of things.  Recently, HOFOWEM put smile on the faces of 103 widows when it doled out cash and a variety of gift items. The objective was to ameliorate the sufferings they daily contend with as a result of the loss of their bread winners.  A major aim of the programme was to guarantee that the widows were able to live happily and depend more on themselves after the death of their husbands.

    One other crucial area where HOFOWEM is helping to give hope to the less privileged is education. Education has long been recognized as a way out of poverty and ignorance for individuals, and as a way of promoting equal opportunity. Late South African  President, Nelson Mandela once reinforced the power of education when he described it as the greatest engine of personal development through which anyone could achieve his/her dreams, no matter how massive.

    Sadly, however, in the last few decades, the standard of education has drastically diminished in the country. Pronounced poverty, especially, has made it almost difficult for parents to invest in quality education for their wards. Across the country, many children have become hawkers and street beggars, just to make ends meet. A few of them that are interested in education could not actualize their dreams as a result of the inability of their parents to provide seemingly simple school’s accessories such as shoes, bags and books.

    It is partly as a result of this that HOFOWEM came up with the initiative to provide public primary school pupils with shoes and socks. The essence is to ensure that no pupil drops out of school or is denied access to education because of failure to obtain item as seemingly minute as shoes.  Through “Project Bright Steps” for public school pupils in Lagos State, HOFOWEM annually dole out 175,000 school shoes and socks, to children in primary 1-3 in Lagos State public primary schools.

    According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “the purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate and to help put smile on the faces of others”. If viewed from this perspective, it could be rightly affirmed that Mrs. Ambode is living a purposeful life.

     

    • Omojoye wrote in from Palmgrove, Lagos.

  • Lifeline for the less–privileged

    Touching Lives International at the weekend doled out 70 Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs)  to mark its 10th month anniversary  in Nigeria.

    The event, held at FESTAC Town, Lagos was the fourth edition of its awards since inception last July, bringing the number of cars dished out to a hundred.

    Awardees were decked in uniformed dresses, danced and sang with their family members and friends who were on ground to felicitate with them.

    Outside the venue of the event were other consolation prizes to be given out, well arranged to catch the attention of guests as they made their way into the events hall of Tastee Fried Chicken on 22 Road.

    Some of the items include: telephones, laptops, generators, washing machines, gas coolers and well decorated Hyundai and GAC suvs of different colours.

    Also on display were banners of its sponsors such  as Gionee; Skye Bank; Lenovo; GTB; Zenith Bank; Travelstart and Linkage Assurance.

    Country Manager of TLI, Adedipo Solomon Otegbayo, said the success of TLI is about the difference they make in the lives of people and not how much money one makes.

    He described the organization as a global one with a passion to touch lives and with a mission to emancipate poverty globally through its network marketing plan.

    “This gathering is to raise more partners and to empower lives. It’s compensation plans can impact many lives and benefit partners. A portion of money realised is given to the less privileged, he said.

    TLI’s vision is to be the lifewire of the less privileged through humanitarianism services, real estate, commerce and online services as well as free skill acquisition.

    The high point of the event was the unveiling of the first car awardee Agatha Ekpo as its ambassador and the launch of the TLI membership card, which provides members and their beneficiaries health insurance, death benefits to the tune of about 2million naira and they will also be exposed to foreign trade and export and a lot more.

    Otegbayo noted that there were other benefits attached to the card even without being a member of the organisation.

    All with the presentation of car keys was a $5000 cheques to help needy persons of their choice.

    For its one year anniversary, the country manager urged Nigerians to look out for its promos that would afford all an opportunity to win cars almost effortlessly with the snap of their fingers.

     

  • Grand Oak donates materials to less-privileged

    As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, Grand Oak Limited, a leading marketer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks recently expressed love to the less privileged in the society when it visited a treatment home for the physically challenged and a remand home for boys in Lagos.

    A team from the company led by the Brand Manager of St. Lauren non-alcoholic wine, Oyinlola Oduwole visited Modupe Cole Memorial Childcare & Treatment Home, Akoka and Boys Remand Home (Special Correctional Centre for Boys) in Oregun, Lagos. The team donated numerous relief materials to these homes.

    Some of the items donated include foodstuff, writing materials, grooming kit amongst other household furniture.

    Speaking on the essence of the visit, Brand Manager, St Lauren, Oyinlola Oduwole said the aim of the visit was to spread love and spend quality time with the less privileged. “We believe everyone is important and at such should be celebrated on a regular basis, if possible daily basis”.

    She further said the CSR initiative of Grand Oak Limited which has supported a number of Orphanage Homes through its St Lauren brand will continue to offer both emotional and monetary support to several more homes.

    Mr. Kareem Akeem, a Classroom Teacher who received the materials on behalf of the Home affirmed that Grand Oak has been one of their staunch supporters and regular donors.  In his words, “they believe everything should not be left solely in the hands of the government which is the reason for the yearly visits and donations of mattresses, foodstuffs, company products and writing materials which go a long way to make the children extremely comfortable and happy”.

  • Lizzy Anjorin feeds the less privileged

    Lizzy Anjorin feeds the less privileged

    Actress Elizabeth Yenukunme Anjorin, who is simply known as Liz Anjorin, on Monday, fed the less privileged at Oko Baba, Ebute Meta, Lagos.

    This, she did in remembrance of her mother who passed away few years ago.

    The Badagry-born actress and producer who was just done shooting a new movie titled ‘Owo Naira Bet’, with a premiere in London stated that it was a busy day.

    “It’s usually a busy day because of what we had planned,” she said, “feeding people and making sure that everyone is well taken care of.”

    Anjorin who won awards and nominations for her hit movie, ‘Kofo Tinubu’, stated in an interview that after her graduation from university, her mother insisted she must attend a skill acquisition program, which she said has helped her in her personal business.

  • Buhari and the less privileged

    The bond between President Muhammadu Buhari and the masses appears to be growing.

    Determined to make the state resources accessible to the less privileged in the society, Buhari at every given opportunity had blamed the elite for the woes the country is going through, which resulted from many years of mismanagement and corruption from one administration to the other.

    He is so endeared to the masses that they did not only stood solidly behind him in the period leading to the 2015 Presidential election, which he won, but have also continued to make sacrifices in the last one year as Buhari and his team strove to revamp the already battered economy.

    If not for the trust and love the masses have for Buhari, hell, for instance, would have been let loose with the increase of the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also called petrol, from N87 to N145 in May, 2016.

    Organised protests championed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) with the support of the masses have shut down some past administrations, which attempted to implement a slight increase in the pump price of petrol.

    In most cases, those administrations were forced to reduce the pump price down to an agreeable price to all the stakeholders.

    But the move by the NLC to organize protest against the increase in pump price in May was not effective partly because the masses believed in Buhari’s administration’s genuine intention to rebuild Nigeria.

    Beside the vital role they played in Buhari’s victory at the polls against a sitting ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, the masses and the less privileged, no doubt, have continued to see the current administration as theirs.

    They were however not disappointed by President Buhari last week Monday as a cross section of the less privileged in the society including taxi drivers, hair dressers, traders, motorcycle riders, barbers, transport workers, butchers, tailors, Keke NAPEP riders, junior staff of the campaign office of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were hosted at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Theirs was the last of the series of breaking of fast dinner President Buhari had with various groups during the just concluded Ramadan fasting period.

    Like saving the best for last, the dinner with the less privileged Nigerians witnessed many memorable aspects that the invitees won’t forget in a hurry.

    The dinner with the less-privileged was also different in many ways from other breaking of fast dinners Buhari had with other groups.

    While dinners for other groups  were held in the less spacious new Banquet Hall of the State House or the President’s residence, the dinner for the less privileged was held in the largest hall in the State House, the old Banquet Hall.

    The choice of the hall was a result of the large number of the less privileged persons invited for the dinner, which was about 300 in number.

    Unlike the dinner for other groups, President Buhari during the dinner for the less privileged momentarily assumed the role of a steward.

    After observing the necessary Muslim prayer preceding breaking of fast with the less privileged invitees and at the end of rendition of the opening national anthem in the hall, Buhari took over a food serving point in the hall from the State House stewards.

    Holding a giant food serving spoon, Buhari stood behind trays of variety of food and personally served the physically-challenged invitees their choices of food for the night.

    The privilege of being served their meals by the number one citizen was cherished and appreciated by the invitees.

    The action will, no doubt, remain in their memories for a long time to come.

    Appreciating Mr. President’s love and care to the less privileged in the society, one of the disabled invitees, Musbahu Lawal Didi, who gave the vote of thanks during the dinner, reechoed the feelings of the invitees in the hall.

    He said: “Mr. President, thank you very much for giving us this opportunity and for serving us what we used to break our fast today. I believe what I will say to the President and this government is merely appreciation.

    “As person with disability, in the history of Nigeria, it is only President Muhammadu Buhari that has appointed persons with disability as his Senior Special Assistant.

    “Because he believes we are important in the society, he also added another appointment. We really appreciate Mr. President and that really shows your concern for us people with disabilities. I believe this government is working hard to ensure improvement of welfare and security of Nigerians.

    Replying, Buhari said: “I assure you that the leadership of this country is conscious of you. I’m being told that more has to be done.

    “Be mindful that we care about you on daily basis. We will try to improve health services so you will spend less time looking for medical care. This government is concerned about your welfare and will work hard to improve it.”

     

    Homage

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari last Wednesday received the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) residents on Eid-el-Titr Sallah homage at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    It was the first time Buhari was receiving the Muslim community on Sallah homage under the current dispensation.

    The President was not able to receive the Muslim community during the Eid-el-Kabir festival in September, 2015 as he spent the period in his home town of Daura in Katsina State.

    But since then, he has received the Christian community at the Presidential Villa, Abuja during the Christmas homage last December.

    Being the first for Muslims, the excitement of the occasion was very obvious on the faces of members of the delegation last Wednesday.

    Dressed in their beautiful attires, some of them accompanied the President to the praying ground around 9a.m before the homage.

    Back from the praying ground, they were joined at the President’s residence by other Muslims and non-Muslims from the FCT.

    The President’s sitting room was filled beyond capacity while many who could not find space or came late for the function had to wait outside for the homage to end.

    Those who were able to gain entrance to the President’s residence were entertained with light refreshment.

    At the end of the homage, they also took turn to pose, one after the other, for photographs with the President and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as they filed out of the President’s residence.

    This will also remain in the memories of some of the delegation members for some time to come.