BY Samuel Akpan
The house of representatives press corps has donated food items and cash to the orphanages in the federal capital territory (FCT).
The food items, which include bags of rice, cartons of noodles, and spaghetti, were donated on Friday to the Abuja Children’s Home in Abuja.
Speaking on behalf of her colleagues, Grace Ike, chairperson of the corps, said the donation is made in the spirit of Christmas which supports gift-sharing to the people.
“Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus who offered to die for the sins of mankind. It is, therefore, a season of love and sharing and we decided to come and see our brothers and sisters here and share the little we have with them,” she said.
“Jesus said love is the greatest. We believe that one must not be a millionaire before extending a hand of love and fellowship to another human.
“Our being here is not to show that we have in abundance but it is to demonstrate our love and care to one another. The children you have here have blood flowing in their veins like every other human and deserve love and care.
“Yes, people might assume the primary responsibility of a journalist is to inform, educate and entertain, but we also care because we are the conscience of the society.”
Ike appealed to individuals and organisations to “always remember our children in orphanages and hospices.”
“We know that the government alone cannot do it but with the assistance of other meaning Nigerians, the welfare and condition of our orphanages will be improved,” she said.
She advised the children to be obedient and “listen to instructions so you will grow to be responsible citizens”.
In his remarks, Musa Yakubu, the administrator of the Abuja Children’s Home, commended the corps for the donation.
“We appreciate your coming and the most important thing is that it is not as little as you see. We appreciate the effort of your people,” he said.
“There is nothing too small for us. Every other thing, whether food, school fees and all those things we appreciate and it is people like you among other people who come to help with one thing or the other.”
Yakubu highlighted the challenges in the orphanage home, adding that more support is needed from the public.
“Security-wise, just like somebody said he was here ten years ago, the perimeter fencing is breaking down. And we have a building that is almost sinking — the girl’s hostel. It was donated by one organisation but I think there is a problem with the water system. I know water must find its level so it is sinking. We are also hoping that with time somebody would take up the responsibility of renovating them.
He added that the children, in addition to being sponsored in schools, are equipped with vocational skills.
“We have some tailors among our children. Some do shoe-making. The shoes I am wearing were done by one of our children in this home. He does it once in a while, he is still in secondary school. We have a lady that just graduated from hairdressing,” he said.
See photos below:
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