Some orphans in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have solicited support from the federal government, organisations and individuals to survive the harsh economy and conditions they found themselves.
In an exclusive interview with Blueprint reporter on Saturday, during an outreach by the Sapphire Community Group at the Christ Foundation Orphanage Home in Kuje, FCT, a 19-year-old orphan, Agho Omoyemwen Success, said they survive through the help of few individuals and organisations, urging government to look into their plight as orphans.
“We need all the help we can get as orphans. I have been staying in this orphanage home since I was little and I can’t describe the lack we experience. There are many things we need, but the funds are not there. I just finished my secondary school and wishing to proceed to the university. So, it is not easy. I wish we can get help from the federal government, organisations and individuals to improve our condition of living,” she said.
Also speaking with our reporter, the CEO of Sapphire Foundation (Nigeria), Jasmine Cannon-Ikurusi Wigodo, who was represented by the Event/Programme Manager of Sapphire Community Group, Chidinma Stephens, said that her Foundation decided to give the orphans a sense of belonging by celebrating and donating food items to them in the spirit of Christmas.
She said: “I want to thank God for the life of the children we met here as orphans. It is not easy to live without a father or mother to take care of you. Many of the children found themselves here as a result of the abandonment by their parents and can hardly be blamed. The outreach here is just part of our programmes aimed at giving a sense of belonging to orphans, widows and the less privileged. We do this all the time.
“I want to encourage government, organisations and individuals to look into the plight of the children and intervene in their lives. They need love. They need care. Above all, they need financial support to overcome the challenges they have found themselves as orphans. Sapphire Foundation is open to partnership for us to reach as many people as possible. We can’t do it alone, hence the appeal to the general public to support us to reach thousands of people we have in mind.”
Speaking earlier, the founder of Christ Foundation Orphanage Home, Kuje, Evangelist Patricia Omoze Agho, said she was inspired to establish the home in Lagos in 2004, when she was working in the United Kingdom, before moving the vision down to Abuja in 2010.
“The life of an orphan is a peculiar one as they face a lot of challenges. However, Gotd has given us the strength to cater for them. We get the children from the Social Development Secretariat and government agencies as some of them were abandoned to die and picked up for us to cater for. We have 45 children here. Some have graduated out of the home. We are also catering for over 300 widows according to our capacity, so we need all the help and support we can get from government, organisations and individuals to continue providing for the orphans and widows,” she said.
On her part, a librarian and the CEO of Aghama Initiatives and Support for the Needy, Evangelist Mrs Clara Aibangbee (Nee Alile), who built and equipped a library for the orphans, advised the orphans not to be discouraged by their conditions, but to look up to God for succour.
“All my life, I have been interested in taking of the poor, including widows, orphans and less privileged. When I visited this home 8 years ago, I couldn’t help but worry about the condition of the children and decided to support in my own way. I built and equipped a standard library for them, for the children to improve themselves. It is not their fault that they found themselves here. They should be encouraged by the fact they have a home as other orphans are not that lucky. They just have to face realities and soldier on in life, while government, organisations and individuals can look into providing assistance to them,” she said.
