The Nation Newspaper

Tag: orphanages

  • Promasidor donates to orphanages

    In commemoration of the World Milk Day celebrated globally recently, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell Milk, Onga, Top Tea, Loya Milk and other quality brands, has donated products to five orphanages in Lagos.

    The beneficiaries are S.O.S. Children’s Village, Isolo; Bethlehem Charity and Orphanage Centre, Ikotun; Hearts of Gold Children’s Hospice, Surulere; Heritage Homes, Anthony Village; and Change a Life Foundation, Maryland.

    Receiving the items, which were Cowbell Milk and Cowbell Chocolate, the General Manager of Heritage Homes, Mrs. Vivian Osuntokun, commended Promasidor for identifying with the less-privileged people in the society and assisting the organisation to meet its obligation to the children under its care.

    She said: “We are excited about the support. This will go a long way in helping us to meet the nutritional requirements of the children. What this shows is that Promasidor truly cares about the wellbeing of the less-privileged members of the society. We look forward to other organisations to take a cue from what the company has done.”

    Co-founder of Bethlehem, Mr. Olowoyeye Bayo, also described the gesture by Promasidor as considerate and timely, adding: “It shows that Promasidor is concerned about the future of Nigerian children.

    “For remembering Nigerian orphans on the occasion of the World Milk Day, the company has shown that it truly cares. Apart from sending products, its staff made out time to come to play with the children and their caregivers. That is thoughtful, caring and motivational.

    “Sincerely, we need this kind of support to realise that we are not alone on this journey. It will also reduce the burden of providing for the needs of the kids because it is challenging doing it alone. We appreciate the effort of the company.”

    The Marketing Manager of the company, Mr. Abiodun Ayodeji, said the donation was part of the company’s desire to support Nigeria in building a healthy and happy future. Promasidor, he said, “believes that good nutrition is the right of every Nigerian child.

    “The essence of the World Milk Day is to create awareness on the health and nutritional benefits of adequate milk consumption. There is a daily dietary requirement everybody should meet. For children, meeting this requirement is not only necessary but critical to their mental and physical development.

    “Unfortunately, some people do not have the capacity to meet the requirement. So, we at Promasidor have decided to take the advocacy a step further. We have chosen to give products to a number of orphanages to assist them in meeting the dietary requirements of the children in their care.”

    Promasidor recently extended a similar gesture to malnourished children in internally displaced camps in different parts of Nigeria through Empower 54, a non-governmental organisation.

    The manufacturing company is also involved in different corporate social responsibilities aimed at developing the mental, intellectual and physiological aspects of the Nigerian child. Examples of such initiatives are Cowbellpedia Secondary School Mathematics TV Quiz Show, Promasidor Harness Your Dream (a career guidance initiative) and Cowbell Football Academy.

     

  • Firm donates N5m to orphanages

    Firm donates N5m to orphanages

    The Lagos Channel Management (LCM), a dredging firm in Apapa, has donated N5 million to some orphanages in the state as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

    Its Managing Director, Mr Danny Fuchs, said the money was given to five different ‘homes’ in the spirit of the season.

    The beneficaries are the Lagos State Government Children Centre, the Lagos State Special Correctional Centre for Girls, Bola Mofo Zion Shelter, Tunji Adebayo Motherless Babies Home and Bab-es-Salam Home.

    Each of the homes got a million naira cheque each.

    The Managing Director urged well placed citizens, corporate and individuals to the needies.

    He urged the management of each home to take proper care of the people in their homes.

    Fuchs said the government alone could not shoulder the entire responsibility of the society, urging well meaning Nigerians to join hand in bringing happiness to homes of the vulnerable children.

    He said: “It is not the very amount we spend on this project that matters; it is the attitude that matters; and the possible encouragement that we might engender, towards encouraging others to also pay worthy attention to the most vulnerable class.

    “I understand all their challenges. It is the same all over the world. The children have no unions to fight their cause and that is why we must come together to always reach out to them.

    “It is possible that our effort may not be enough. But it is in good direction.”

    A social welfare officer at Lagos State Ministry of Social Development and head of the Lagos State Children Centre, Silifat Giwa thanked the management of LCM on behalf of the state government for their good gesture.

    She said: “We are catering for the under privilege children rescued from the street, as well as children who were emotionally or sexually abused.

    “Our job is to restore the each child to what he should be. As of today, we have 52 children.”

    Sadiat Sabiu of the Special Correctional Centre for Girls, Idi-Araba, said the Correctional home with 71 girls, caters for children from age 10-17years.

    “We try to re-unite children with their parents where they can be found. And where they cannot be found, we manage them.

    “Almost all our children go to school, but some of them can’t speak English language. Those who passed through our schools will go to government schools. But those who come in form JSS 2, would normally go to private schools. Some of the children with us are form Togo and Benin Republic.

    “There is strict supervision. We have our buses which take these children to school and bring them back,” Sabiu said.

  • Lagos pledges facelift for orphanages, others

    Lagos pledges facelift for orphanages, others

    Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development Princess Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf has assured inmates of less privileged homes of improved infrastructure and welfare.

    She spoke during a tour of some rehabilitation homes.

    Mrs Akinbile-Yusuf led officials of the ministry to the Special Correction Centre for Boys at Oregun; Rehabilitation and Training Centre for Destitute and Mentally Challenged in Owutu, Ikorodu, among others.

    The commissioner promised that government would help the inmates exhibit some items produced for their economic uplift.

    “I have come here to see things for myself and look at how our administration can enhance the operations of the centres as well as boost the lives of inmates. We shall give some of the centres and home currently grappling with infrastructure decay facelift,” she said.

    The commissioner said: “I want you to know that there is ability in disability; therefore, you should not be discouraged about life. Instead, you should engage in positive things that would not only add value to your lives, but make you better persons.”

    Principal of the Rehabilitation and Training Centre for Destitute and Mentally Challenged in Owutu, Ikorodu, Mr Sunkanmi Hassan requested for more funding for the home; provision of drugs and accommodate for its teeming population.

    “The centre was built to accommodate 500 people, but we currently have about 1,221 inmates including 40 children with just three doctors,” Hassan said.

     

  • Akwa Ibom governor’s wife gives school materials to orphanages

    Akwa Ibom governor’s wife gives school materials to orphanages

    The wife of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Deaconess Martha Udom Emmanuel, has donated education materials, such as exercise books, text books, school bags, school boxes and toiletries to the children of the Divine Home, Atan Offuot under her ‘Back to School’ project which signifies the return of the children to their respective schools for the new academic session.

    Speaking at the event, Udom noted that in as much as she had sent her children to school with everything thing they required, it was expedient she replicated same with them by providing their basic needs.

    She advised the beneficiaries to study hard, be obedient to their teachers, elders and most importantly fear God.

    Mrs Emmanuel also urged the children not to indulge in behaviors that could hinder their success but rather concentrate on their studies so as to have a bright future.

    She also appreciated the coordinator and staff of the Home for their commitment and labour of love saying that their reward abounds.

    The Commissioner, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Dr Glory Edet, thanked the Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, for his support towards ensuring that every Akwa Ibom child lives a better life. She commended the governor’s wife for being a mother to all Akwa Ibom children.

    Earlier, the coordinator of Divine Home, Mrs. Ime Ephraim Inyang, appreciated the governor’s wife for her benevolence and magnanimity towards the orphanage. She, however, intimated the wife of the governor on their needs such as a utility vehicle (bus), raising the height of the fence and the repairs of the road leading to the facility.

     

  • Association to tackle illegal orphanages, homes

    The Association of Orphanages and Homes Operators in Nigeria (ASOHON) has vowed to combat the emerging menace of illegal orphanages and homes in Nigeria.

    Its National President Reverend Dele George and the General Secretary Dr Gabriel Oyedeji said the emergence of illegal orphanages and homes has led to the disturbing operations of baby factories in the country.

    This, Reverend George said, is not a healthy development for the country.

    George, the founder of Little Saints Orphanage, Lagos, said, ASOHON is set to hold a national conference on trafficking.

    With the theme The Nigerian Orphans – Any hope for the future, Reverend George said

    the one-day conference billed for Saturday, 22 at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, is meant to bring together all operators of orphanages in Nigeria on how to improve social interventions services in the country.

    George said: “Our goal is to chart a cause for our industry and brainstorm on actionable solutions to problems confronting the association and Nigerian orphans. We are hoping this event will help bring orphanages across the country together to network, get to know ourselves, exchange information and ideas that will provide a way forward to the many challenges we face to build a stronger association in Nigeria.”

    As special guests of honour, the wife of the Vice-President, Mrs Oludolapo Osinbajo and the wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode would be delivering keynote addresses at the conference, according to the General Secretary, Reverend Gabriel Oyedeji.

    Human rights lawyer, Mr Festus Keyamo, will deliver a lecture on Child Trafficking in Nigeria, Causes and the Way Out while Reverend George will share the experiences of running an effective orphanage or home drawing from her 21 years’ experience in care giving to orphans in Nigeria as well as shed light on how the Lagos State Chapter of the association has been able to consolidate on her members, a feat that have been replicated in Oyo, Edo, Delta and Plateau States. Five delegates from each state are expected attend. According to Oyedeji, 25 states have confirmed their participation.

    Oyedeji said: “We want to share our experience with other orphanage and home operators across the country with the idea that, after the conference, members will go back to their respective states and rally other orphanages in their state to form a united chapter in their states. The association wishes to use this opportunity to invite all operators of homes and orphanages to the conference”

  • UI donates to orphanages

    The University of Ibadan (UI) yesterday donated items worth N1 million to orphanages in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    The items, including food items, sanitary equipment, drugs, mattresses, beds, were presented to five homes across Ibadan.

    Orphanages belonging to the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Basorun;  Jesus Kids Homes for Special People, Monatan; His Heritage Home, Akobo;  Ibadan Home for Motherless Babies and Jesus Children Missions Homes benefited from the gesture.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Isaac Adewole, represented by the Dean, Faculty of Arts, Prof Remi Raji-Oyelade, said the donation was part of the university’s corporate social responsibility.

    According to him, “what prompted UI to embark on the charity programme was the same thing that prompted the establishment of the school. This is the first time we will be extending this gesture to five homes in a day.

    “It is just a token and we are going to make it an annual event by giving to others too. We will also encourage our departments, offices and association to embark on similar projects. We have to help the needy and by doing this, the society will be better off.”

  • A queen’s love for orphanages in Anambra

    A queen’s love for orphanages in Anambra

    The usually quiet children’s home in Nise, Awka South Local Government Area, Anambra State, was a beehive of activities when Jennifer Okorie, the Miss Goodluck 2015, Southeast visited the orphanage last weekend to give succour to the less privileged and the needy.

    Tears of joy rolled down the cheeks of those present.

    Queen Jeloy as she is fondly called by all and sundry in the state, took with her some items needed by the children, including cartons of soaps, packets of tissue papers.

    Also, she presented some bags of rice, bags of salt, cloths, beverages, Indomie noodles among others.

    The secretary of the motherless babies home in Anambra state, Dr. T. C. Aguocha, told TheNation that he wished the Miss Goodluck South East was made Miss Nigeria.

    He said the kind hearted mind of the queen was exemplary, adding that she behaved like somebody from the moon.

    According to him, “this young lady has shown the qualities of a good leader, she has showers the kids with lots of goodies in this community orphanage home and you can see that the children themselves are happy”.

    “I have nothing else to tell her, but I will continue to pray for her for more successes and God’s best wishes and I believe the hearts of the children will equally guild and protect her in all her endeavours”.

    The queen’s intimate friend, Chinwoke Nkemere told the Nation that it was not the first time the beauty queen had done such a thing, adding that she had taken such gesture to Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo states.

    “She has a good heart and wonderful initiative and these had endeared her to the hearts of not only the children in these states but to those that matter in the society”.

    The Nation discovered that the orphanage home which was established over 10 years ago, has over 12 children and situated along Nise – Agulu road.

    For the beauty queen, the inspiration to help the needy and the homeless children came from God.

    According to Okorie “these are bundles of joy from God, we are not going to allow them suffer in the society, I feel fulfilled celebrating this day with them”.

    “They are the gifts of nature and should not be abandoned, all I am praying for is that the rich in the society should come and help in making sure that they live the normal life like every other persons in the society”.

    “Nigeria has many individuals who have plenty of money, corporate organisations, let them not only concentrate on sports and other mundane issues, they should equally spread their tentacles to the motherless children in the society”.

    “They are not the cause of what has befallen them, therefore, all of us should rally round them to lift them to greater height, this is just the beginning from my little end” Jennifer Okorie told The Nation.

  • Joy as Total lifts orphanages in Rivers

    Joy as Total lifts orphanages in Rivers

    The management of Total Exploration and Production (E&P) Nigeria Limited   visited two orphanage homes in Rivers State as part of the company’s social responsibility. The orphanages visited were the Compassionate Centre at Nkpogu road Port Harcourt and Global Foundation for Orphaned located at Mercy land Estate, Nkpolu, in Rivers State.

    Mr. Ikwuazom Norbert, the Manager, Public Relations in Total’s Port Harcourt district, led the team to the Compassionate Centre. The excited children and management of the home welcomed the team with a special song.

    The items donated included toiletries, food items like instance noodles, canned foods, cooking oil and other essentials everyday items.

    Receiving the items on behalf of other children of the home, a 10-year-old old inmate of the home, Master Barry Edora, thanked Total E &P Nigeria Limited for considering them as part of the children in the society. He said the items brought before them would go a long way in taking care of the needs of the children in the home. The young child also expressed his appreciation to the management of the home, as he told the Total team that they were well taken care of.

    Appreciating the donations, Sister Pauline Butler, who is the Coordinator of the home, commended members of the public for the sacrifices they make in giving generously towards the upkeep of the needy. She however said the donation by the Total E &P Nigeria Limited showed that they are indeed an oil giant.

    She said the survival of the home depends on free will donations by the members of the public and appealed to constant help and remembrance of children forced to seek succor their because they were abandoned by their own parents families.

    “We have 42 children staying with us; we feed, clothe and take care of them. We also pay their school fees. Though, we expect members of the public to always come to our aid, we realized that our most challenge here is lack of constant electricity. We spend a lot on fuel powering the hostels and the entire home. We believe that God will always take care of His children.”

    The Total E&P team led by Mr Ikwuazom also visited the Global Foundation for Orphaned located at Mercy Land Estate, Nkpolu, in Obio/Akpor Local government area. Here the story about the home is somehow interesting and different from the Compassionate Centre. Unlike the latter where most of the children are at the infant stage, some of the children at Global Foundation for Orphaned are now adult; a couple of them have graduated from the university, and a few numbers of them are presently in universities both in Nigeria and abroad. It was also gathered that about four of them wrote the last West African Examination Council (WAEC) exam.

    The Coordinator of the home, Mr. Cliff Jarrell, who like Sister Butler is a foreigner, said it was God that directed the company to take the gesture to their home despite the fact that there are many orphanage homes in Port Harcourt where they could have donated the items.

    He said the items donated were just what the home used on daily basis, especially the little children among them. He said the challenge of taking care of the needy and abandoned children was growing, revealing that he had just received a call from University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) where a woman had abandoned her baby and ran away. He said that showed that they cannot relent in their service in spite of the challenges of how to take care of the needs of their wards.

    “The most important thing is to thank God for directing your step here and making Total E &P to show love to us.  We are trying our best, one of them is in Delta State studying Petroleum Engineering and one is at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO). Others are abroad studying too, and presently some are writing WAEC. We pray that God will continue to bless you, it could have been another home but you chose to assist us.

    Jarrell used the opportunity to pay tribute to his Nigerian wife, saying, “Without my wife Nkiruka, the foundation wouldn’t have gotten to where it is today. It is just a home not like an institution. I came to Nigeria 22 years ago to work at a mission hospital.

    “They called me last night that a baby was left yesterday night at UPTH, another boy has been abandoned in another hospital. So we will continue to assist. The children are more than 40. The challenges are what every family is facing, how to raise them in a way that they would be healthy, happy and productive. We want them to have their own impact in the society, how to train them in school and how to feed them. Some unique challenges we have is that we have a blind  girl that is in school, she is in boarding house, we have another girl that is paralyzed she is also in school. When you lose your parents, you also lose your sense of identity.”

    Responding, Ikwuazom said the gesture is part of the company’s human face policy and social responsibility. He said Total had being doing such for many years because the company is more interested in giving back to the society.

    Ikwuazom said: “This is what we do in every festive time like Christmas and Easter but because of the heat of the 2015 election we decided to choose this period for it.  Total as a company has a policy that promotes human lives and dignity and the motherless babies and other especial homes are not left out. It is an age-long practice of the company that gives them the opportunity to show love to others.”

  • Orphanages and the plight of orphans

    SIR: A major humanitarian and development challenge facing Nigeria and which has hampered the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is the increasing number of orphans and vulnerable children in the country. A visit to some of the orphanages in Nigeria shows that the impetus created by Nigeria’s participation of the 2002 West and Central Africa regional workshop on orphans and vulnerable children has since fizzled out. Although only a small percentage of orphans find their way to the orphanages as most of them finds solace in the homes of family friends or relatives where they often end up being abused in many ways, the government still has to beam it searchlight and lend some support to the orphanages or motherless babies homes as they are often called.

    Years of enquires and research have shown that some of the owners of these orphanages/motherless babies homes didn’t set them up because they have enough resources to cater for the orphans and abandoned children but for their passion for humanity and human survival. After over-stretching or exhausting their resources, many of them have to depend on donations from well-meaning Nigerians and when such donation aren’t forthcoming, they often resort to all manners of activities to keep the orphanages running. Apart from the ones being and operated by some religious bodies that have definite access to regular funding, many of the orphanages/motherless babies homes operators sometimes engage in activities that demeans the very existence of this category of children.

    Today, insurgency and HIV/AIDS pandemic have made the problem worse, producing millions of orphans and countless vulnerable children whose rights are being violated as a result of the combined effects of poverty, conflicts, terrorism and gender inequity. The children are left to experience untold economic hardship, lack of love and attention, withdrawal from school, poor health and psychological and emotional difficulties.

    Government cannot claim to have achieved most goals of the MDGs while millions of orphans are still out of school; when more than 40% of Nigerians can hardly feed even once a day due to abject poverty and the health and emotional well-being of orphans and vulnerable children are not prioritized. Ours is a country whose number of orphans, abandoned and vulnerable children keeps increasing almost daily.

    Governments at various levels should look beyond the political achievement of MDGs and chart a way forward towards addressing the plight of orphans and abandoned children in this country. As a matter of deliberate policy, the Federal Government should set up a task force through the ministry of social development to liaise with the state ministries social development towards appraising the activities of orphanages/motherless babies’ homes.

    Educational support should be provided to them; ditto nutritional support through the provision of cost effective, locally sourced and sustainable nutritional supplements in order to address the nutritional needs of the children.

    Individuals and groups operating and managing orphanages/motherless babies home have done and are still doing their own part of championing the cause of humanity; it is time for governments at various levels help them to help humanity. Corporate bodies, the well-to-do in the society and of course all Nigerians have a role to play at addressing the plight of orphans, abandoned and vulnerable children in our midst.

     

    • Hussain Obaro,

    Ilorin, Kwara State.

     

  •  Jos Rotary Club rewards orphanages

     Jos Rotary Club rewards orphanages

    The popular Eliel Centre in the Rayfield area of Jos came alive when the Rotary Club of Jos assembled four ophanages for special recognition for their service to humanity. It was the first time they were doing such a thing. Even though the occasion was supposed to be installation of the 44th President of the club, the club found it an auspicious time to appreciate the good efforts of others.

    Our Lady of Apostles Ophanage home owned by the Catholic Church,  Gidan Bege, also owned by Christian missionaries and the Awareness for Educational Development Initiative (AWEDI) owned by the Muslim community in Jos were selected for appreciation. The President of the Rotary Club of Jos, Rotarian Santos Ayuba Larab told his guests which included Rotarians from across the state and non-Rotarians that “this kind of charity to an unknown community of beneficiaries, we must say, is consolidated by your patronage, gift of hearts and surely in tandem with the constantly professed dicta of our Rotary leaders of ‘giving until it hurts’ and ‘Giving even when we have nothing’.

    He said further that “ours is a year that will be packed full with small but impactful community service projects to light up the Rotary. This will be possible through God’s guidance and your kind donations towards the actualisation of these projects. As a show of our commitment to these project, we are beginning the year with three projects which key appropriately into three areas of focus; water and sanitation, maternal and child health, and disease prevention and treatment”.

    Known worldwide for their humanitarian services, Rotary Club often goes to rural areas to offer help to the segment of the society that hardly get government’s attention while rendering selfless service to the needy.

    Rotarian Santos describes Rotarians as slaves to service saying, “We are slaves to service. We give even when we have nothing and we spend our personal income for charity in our immediate communities. At times we go cap in hand to beg money from influential individuals and corporate organisations which we use in helping the less privileged in our communities. It is a way of strengthening the bonds of humanity, bringing people in their diversities to a common fellowship for community service and also for the purpose of collaborating to foster unity and solve society’s problems. This is synergised and weaved through the sacrificial aspect to which Rotarians give their time, talent and treasure for the wheel of rotary to keep flowing since 1905 when it was established”.

    The services rendered by these homes marked them out for the Rotary award which also included donation of some items and officials of the club said that such humanitarian services is the best thing to have happened in the society and their gesture meets the core objectives of Rotary Club worldwide. With a large population of under-privileged Nigerians in their camp, they try hard daily to fend for them and provide their daily need. The Nation gathered that the OLA Orphanage home caters for motherless babies that are sometimes picked up from the gutters and dustbin where their teenagers mothers dump them, while some others are willing taken to the home by mothers who claim they cannot take care of the babies and would also not want to throw it into gutter like others do in the city. The home provides the needed shelter and training for the children. Gidan Bege on the hand renders services to orphans and children with poor background. With four centers in Jos and other parts of the country, the centre provide training for the less privileged and provide little capital to set up in life in addition to providing food, clothing and shelters. The Awareness for Educational Development Initiative (AWEDI) owned by the Muslim community also provides similar humanitarian services like Gidan Bege.

    The event also marked the commencement of the 2014/2015 programes of the club. Santos said “Our focus in the year ahead which falls within the framework of Rotary’s six areas of focus are; peace and conflict prevention, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, economic and community development”. The club presented bundles of Blankets, Treated Mosquito Nets and Water Filters to the three orphanage homes. He said, the blanket is to warm up the users from the harsh cold of Jos, the treated nets will prevent mosquito bites and Malaria diseases, while the Water Filters are to ensure the users have access to hygienic, clean portable water source at the centers.

    Rev. Sister Lydia Audu who oversees the OLA orphanage home expressed deep appreciation to the Rotary Club for the recognition and assistance. She said, “We feel great and appreciated with this award of humanitarian service, it shows the society is appreciative of what we do at the orphanage. The items presented to us has even encouraged us the more. We want to use the opportunity to send our appeal to the general public to emulate the Rotary Club and come to the aid of these motherless babies. Nothing is too small to be given to us”. Director Planning, Reaserch and Statistics of AWEDI, Engr. Ya’qoub Saleh Isa said the organization feels elevated with the award as well as the donated items, saying “these items is coming at the right time, the rainy season when cold and mosquito attack is at its peak in the city of Jos”. On his part, the unit head of Gidan Bege, Elisha Akwai who received the items on behalf of the organization said the award came when they least expected. He promised that the items will be used strictly for the purpose it was meant. He was full of appreciation to Rotarian Santos, the 44th President of the Club.