At its launch in August last year, Louis Carter Foundation, Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area, Anambra State paid the hospital bills of many indigent patients in the area. Now, 50 bright but financially weak students have benefitted from the foundation’s public spirit, having been given scholarship.
There are criteria for selecting beneficiaries. Bright but financially weak students will be assisted to pursue their education, the foundation announced at the 60th birthday anniversary of the foundation’s chairman, Chief Louis Izuchukwu Onwugbenu, who also chairs the Louis Carter Group Limited.
On that occasion he handed over magnificent school building to St Louis Nursery/Primary and Secondary Schools as well as handed over her daughter in marriage. He was a happy man and many taught he was just speaking for speaking sake until penultimate week he summoned students across Nigeria for the scholarship.
He also handed over a three storey ultra modern school building for St Louis Nwafor Uruagu Primary school to Bishop of Nnewi Diocese , Most Reverend Hillary Okeke as a gift to mark his 60 years birthday.
He said the gesture was to alleviate the sufferings and predicament of the poor but academically and intellectually endowed students to enable them leverage on the condition they found themselves for the betterment of their families.
Onwugbenu, an industrialist par excellence announced that 23 Senior Secondary 1 students (SSS1) and 20 university undergraduates successfully emerged to benefit from the foundations scholarship scheme for the 2013/2014 academic session. He said the health , job creation , wealth creation and feed the poor schemes as well as other arms of the foundation are all active and have their programmes running too.
Louis Carter Foundation according to Onwugbenu gives students at the secondary school level 25,000 per student per session while each undergraduate received N100,000 per session.
The money were handed over to the beneficiaries not without a food for thought that he had a humble beginning, hence they should be mindful of the essence of the support and make their families proud with good grades and sound character, informing them that he had traveled round the world, an experience he said had exposed him to know the importance of education. He told them his money would have tripled had he sound education at is initial stages in life.
“There can be a world leader from you. The President of the United States of America, Barak Obama is of African origin. There is nothing you can do successfully without education. You have the opportunity to study now. Avoid bad peer group who might lead you astray in the course of your study. We will not hesitate to drop anybody found wanting. I am ready to train you to any level and even if I’m not there my son will take over from me,” Chief Onwugbenu advised the students.
He reminded that success without succession is failure hence he is bringing up his son to step into his shoes to contribute in making more families proud and informed that the foundation had been doing charity unofficially for many years but only started official documentation of its activities in the last two years before officially inaugurating a board for it.
Complimenting the speech, Chairman of the foundation, Lady J. N. Nwangwu said progress of the students would be monitored as they enjoyed the largesse. She explained that one of the reasons for the foundation was to promote academic excellence among its beneficiaries who would be able to contribute meaningfully to the development of humanity and society.
She also explained that parts of the mission were to train the students to acquire relevant life skills for higher education and meaningful living, to provide an enabling environment for competitive spirit among the students as well as inculcate sound morals to them.
Nwangwu described the founder as a believer in human capital development which she said was the reason for his (Chief Onwugbenu’s) deep interest in education.
“He has awarded countless number of scholarships to indigent students from primary schools to post-graduate levels. Also this passion for providing quality education to the less privileged compelled him to build primary and secondary schools in the premises of St Louis Catholic Church, Uruagu, Nnewi,” Lady Nwangwu concluded.
She said the vision of the foundation is , ‘’to alleviate the sufferings and predicament of the poor but academically and intellectually endowed. To promote academic excellence among the beneficiaries of the foundation who will be able to contribute meaningfully to the development of humanity and the society.
While the mission is to ensure that, ”the students to be trained to acquire relevant life skills for higher education and meaningful living in the society and to provide enabling environment for competitive spirit among the students of the foundation as well as to inculcate sound morals among the beneficiaries’’.
In her speech , the Chairman of Anambra State Post Primary School Services Commission (PPSSC) Board also known as state Education Commission, Lady Joy Ulasi described Louis Carter as a philanthropist who wants Nnewi to be known more as an academic community apart from commerce and industry for which it is already known.
She told the beneficiaries that the reward for hardwork was more work “and if you work hard no challenge will overwhelm you. Aspire to achieve the best, aim to live up to expectations. Remember to whom more is given much is expected and that is more reason you should fully use the opportunity given to you.”
In a speech one of the earlier beneficiaries of the Louis Carter foundation, Master Ike Chukwuemeka expressed their inestimable gratitude to Sir Louis Carter Onwugbuenu known also as Okpata-Ozuo-Ora Nnewi.
Chukwuemeka expressed shock that despite volatile economic situation of the country , the foundation was so magnanimous in charity as many of them least expected to be partakers having not come from Nnewi and thanked the foundation for getting beneficiaries from across the country.
‘’ We are all like viable seeds which you, a great former have cultivated in his large and fertile land which is devoid of weeds, pests and rodents with a very favorable weather. I want to pose this question to everybody here; can anything stop these viable seeds from growing? No! Lucidly is what everyone has on his or her lip as an answer to this question and so shall it be. We shall all assembly here one day m celebration of the various successes we have achieved. However, if nothing can stop these seeds from growing, what about Daddy’s biological children? I strongly believe that they have already made it and God will not fail lo continue working in daddy’s vineyard even as he is working in that of others’’.
But another beneficiary, Chiagozie Cynthia Okonkwo of Umumejiaku Uruagu Nnewi described Chief Louis Izuchukwu Onwugbenu as a philanthropist par excellence and thanked God for granting them the opportunity to be trained by Louis Carter.
‘’However gratitude they say is the least of the virtues and ingratitude the highest of the vices, sequel to this, we wish to present our unalloyed gratitude to our esteemed philanthropist. We still find it difficult to believe that we are the first beneficiaries of your philanthropy. Bearing in mind that knowledge is power and the greatest legacy you choose to educate youths than to invest your money in some other material things.
‘’Sincerely speaking, it is only one all out of thousand that can stand such challenge of picking up the less privileged parents in our society who in one way or the other have found if difficult to train their children. You have therefore become the hope of the hopeless, the eyes of the blind and the dream of those dream were dead. If we have the opportunity to advise the Elites of this community, we will suggest that they should borrow a leaf from Chief Louis Izuchukwu Onwugbenu’’.
The first son of Louis Carter , Emeka Onwugbenu assured that the foundation would be sustained even after his father and after himself as it was properly deliberated on as a family foundation to reach out before instituting hence everybody is contributing to the foundation’s sustenance.
He said it was not easy to moot a concept and live to witness the actualisation, and that the foundation board of trustees would do a good job.
He said: “I am very confident that they would do a good job to ensure the right people benefit and the foundation achieves the mission and vision of establishing it in the first place. The foundation is laid in such a way that it would outlive my father and myself.”
He informed that the both indigenes and non-indigenes resident in Uruagu were considered during selection of beneficiaries and students that passed JSSCE Exams preparing for SSI as well as students found to be really indigent through information ascertained from teacher, school authorities and parents with academic excellence as the attarction.
On the undergraduates , he said students that gained admission into higher institution were asked to present their Admission letter whether indigenes or not but resident in Uruagu as well as students found to be really indigent with information ascertained from teachers, school authorities and parents and academic excellence as his or her core competent.
He said having passed through rigorous management training from his father that he would not fail in his expectations both at the company and in the foundation but called for prayers as God is the center stage of whatever they are doing.
The list of the students and their names showed that many are studying Engineering and many are not from Anambra state like Onyima Michael from Ebonyi state and Iwoanya Chinonso from Imo state among others.
Cross Section of the Beneficiaries with some guests and donor Chief Onwuegbenu on black cap flanked left by Son Emeka and right Lady Joy Ulasi , Chairman Post Primary School Services Commission, Board (PPSSC) with other members of the Board of Trustees of Louis Carter Foundation
