NGO fetes street kids, orphans in A/Ibom

By Isaac Job, Uyo

Determined to take many children off the streets and cater for children delivered at local birth attendant homes in Akwa Ibom state, a non -governmental organization, Hope for Coastal Women Empowerment Initiative has showered children with numerous gift items to celebrate the 2019 Children’s Day.

The gift items include baby toiletries, baby wears, food items and cash.

Speaking with our correspondent in Uyo after the presentation, President of the organisation, Ememobong Okon explained that the group was moved to identify with the vulnerable children in line with United Nations charter.

“Children’s Day is known to be a special day for every child in Nigeria. It is always that time of the year dedicated to celebrate childhood and generally, children get all excited and eagerly wait for that day. All the local schools go to their local stadium where each school has a special march.

“In recent times, it has become the tradition of some government officials, institutions and media organisations to honour some children with leadership opportunities. However, majority of the events are cantered around the privileged children while the less privileged are left on their own.

“More often than we care to admit, we turn away from these sets of people forgetting that vagabonds do not grow from the soil, neither do terrorists fall from the sky,” Ememobong said.

She reiterated the group’s resolve to restore hope to the less privileged by empowering and equipping them with the necessary skills needed to make life worth living, adding that “homelessness is too overwhelming and painful to witness.”

Ememobong appealed to the state government, individuals and groups to join the organisation in its quest to make living more meaningful.

Speaking on behalf of the children, Emmanuel Asuquo while expressing thanks to the organisation for the kind gesture, said that he has never enjoyed such gesture before from anybody since he became homeless.

Explaining how he became homeless, Emmanuel, an indigene of Afaha Atai in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area, said “I became homeless when my father who was blind, passed on after a brief illness.

“Since then I have been the one taking care of myself and two of my siblings and this I do by washing car windscreens. After the daily work, I normally sleep in market stalls on the bare floor at night.”