.jpg)
The art of
giving have been second nature of Mrs. Obiano long before she came into public
office, and during the last Christmas through the New Year Ndi Anambra became
fully aware of her undiluted passion for charity and large heartedness.
Before her
husband, Chief Willie Obiano was sworn in as the governor of Anambra State on
March 17, 2014, records show that the couple had spared nothing on charity, uplifting
the status of the common man in Lagos through the United States of America to Aguleri,
their home town. The duo were known for their contributions to scholarships through
assisting indigent students to schools, support for youth skills acquisition
and the aged, and the emancipation of women, especially widows and also in the building
of church projects and classroom blocks etc. Interestingly, the title of Osodieme
is in recognition of Mrs. Obiano’s joint effort in pursuing the philanthropic
ideals with her husband, Willie.
Following
some personal tragedies she made a pact with God in 1991 to
plough a portion of her earnings to charity in churches for the upkeep of the
aged and the indigent, the public were unaware of her charitable dispositions. However
a peep into her entire life would reveal an abiding love for humanity influenced
by late Mother Teresa’s selfless philosophy of continuous “giving especially
when it hurts”. She once said: “I do not believe that you should give what you
don’t need; we should learn to give the things we value, particularly what we
will miss as long as it makes others who need it happier. That is the way to
reach out”. Perhaps this explains Mrs. Obiano’s dedication to charity and the
birth of Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ), a pet project she initiated
for her continuous corporal works of mercy.
.jpg) |
Chief (Mrs) Ebelechukwu Obiano acknowledging greetings from women groups
|
Again she
was quoted as saying that charity is her passion and now that she has the rare
privilege of being the mother of the state she will do what she can to bring
succor wherever and whenever she feels it is needed. In fact, Mrs. Obiano’s commitment
to the well-being of others, especially the less privileged made someone blurt
out during the yuletide outings - idimma gazulu ora – loosely interpreted as
“an embodiment of beauty and love of giving in one person.”
Already,
Ndi Anambra are coming to terms with the fact that Chief ( Mrs.) Obiano, Osodieme,
like the lady eagle is fast spreading
her wings of love to every nook and cranny of Anambra state. It is therefore in keeping with the
Christmas season of love and affection, especially for the indigent and less
privileged members of the society that she embarked on a round of visitation to
Prison facilities at Onitsha, Aguata, and Amawbia to celebrate the Christmas
with inmates and encourage them to change and be reformed. She also visited the
Daughter of Charity Orphanage Home, Fegge, Onitsha where she treated the
children to a feast.
At each
stop, she told the inmates that as a mother she came with message of love
because Christmas is a period meant to be shared with loved ones, especially
those of them who are currently restricted by their circumstance. In her words “I
came to celebrate with you because as the wife of the governor I am privileged
to be the mother of all in the state; I see you as an important segment of the
one big family. The fact that you are in here does not mean that you cannot
come out reformed and better than others, and able to contribute to the service
and progress of our state… Always remember that you are in Prison to be
reformed and rehabilitated into the society”. Above all, she exhorted them to hold
fast to their dream as that would help them succeed eventually by the grace of
God.
 |
Santa
Claus with the Children at the Christmas party
|
The news of
her visit to Amawbia prison in particular was received with cheers and great
expectation by the inmates. Prisoners could not contain their joy according to Mr.
Chris Akubueze, the Assistant Controller of the Prisons. They even refused to
eat as they awaited the food from the wife of the Governor.
Earlier at
Onitsha Prisons, the Assistant Controller of Prisons Mr. Felix Ezeugwu,
expressed gratitude to Mrs. Obiano for the love showered on the inmates and
urged her not to relent as God would continue to bless her for her good works. Her
visit to each facility enlivened the mood in the prison as inmates were
provided with various food items, including one cow to each facility, bags of
rice, noodles, tubers of yam, beverages, soap and detergents for washing and
laundry, and a token for soup condiment etc.
The wife of
the governor was to also visit persons with disabilities and lighten their mood
during the yuletide. In collaboration with some organizations she donated initial
270 prosthetic limbs to the group. President Njikoka Branch of the Joint
Association of Persons with Disabilities, Mr. Celestine Ubby, echoed the
feelings and joy of their members, “The governor and his wife have given us the
best Christmas, many of us were surprised that something which we were making
contributions to buy for some members were handed to us free without any bribe
or struggle. May God bless the Obiano’s.” He prayed.
Governor
Willie Obiano who was present at the hand-over of the prosthetic limbs stated
that his wife’s programmes under CAFÉ, “underscores her passion, commitment and
bold effort at giving meaning to the lives of the dispossessed and
disadvantaged.” He confirmed that a tripartite collaboration ensured that
through the sponsorship of Rotary International Foundation; Tolaram Foundation
of India manufactured the limbs which were attracted to Anambra state
by the wife of the State Governor through CAFÉ.
The Christmas
celebration was also extended to children. At the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia it
was a fun-filled event for over 4,000 children who were entertained by Sancta
Claus with gifts items. They were encouraged to socialize as there was security
adequately put in place by the state government. They were encouraged by the
wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oby Okeke who represented the First Lady to work
hard and imbibe the spirit of team work while also calling on parents to pay
more attention to the children and take good care of them.
Other beneficiaries
of Mrs. Obiano’s gift items include students of special schools, indigent widows
and women groups like the Christian Mothers Organization, Salvation Army, Market
women and others from Local Government Areas across the state etc. They were encouraged to made good use of their
gifts with the assurances that “CAFÉ is committed to supporting the welfare
programmes of Chief Willie Obiano administration which promotes strong and
healthy families through assisting and supporting vulnerable groups amongst Ndi
Anambra to feel the impact of government and eventually contribute to the
socio-economic development of the state.” The first baby of the year born at
12.30 to Mrs. Uzoma Nwachukwu on January 1, 2015 at the Basic Health Centre,
Court Road Onitsha, Anambra State was also showered with assorted gift items,
including a cow, five bags of rice, clothing materials and a token sum for the
mother and officials at the Health Centre.
There is no
doubt that the touch of love and spread of goodwill through CAFÉ by the wife of the governor to a cross section of
the society, especially the indigent persons and the less privileged during the Christmas and New Year festivities
will continue to reverberate positively for
a long time to come.
Emeka Okutaoloibe writes from Enugwu-Ukwu,
Anambra State
No comments:
Post a Comment