NGO takes food, educational interventions to Abuja children’s home

In a bid to boost nutrition and reduce hunger, a nonprofit organization, One Meal a Day for the Children Initiative, weekend, took food and educational interventions to Abuja Children’s Home, Karu, Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

Speaking on the sidelines of the visit and donations to the children, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CEO, One Meal a Day for the Children Initiative, Ijeoma Nwokpoku, said the essence of the donation is to ensure nutritious meals are given to the children while she explained that her passion has been to see that no child goes hungry, because it is the right of every child to have access to good food no matter the situation, which she has been doing for over 10 years.

She said: “I have always had this mind to be able to give back to the society. Over 10 years ago this dream came about.

“I feel so excited because this is one of the things I have always dreamed to do. My happiness is when I see other people are happy, I feel fulfilled. My husband jokingly said, ‘I hope wont come back and then, you have sold this house to be able to feed people’, so it is my passion, it is something that gives me joy.”

She further stated that what drives her passion and of the organization is to fight malnutrition among vulnerable children and parents.

She added that government a lone cannot solve the problems affecting Nigerians, hence, she is doing what she can to intervene, which she said if every well meaning Nigerian lit his or her candle of kindness every Nigerian would have a sense of belonging.

“Child malnutrition is a pandemic. It is a disease, and that was one of the things that made me venture into it because when you go out and see what some of these children eat at times is not even food at all, it is really something that disturbed me, and that made me to take up this challenge in my own little way.

“I may not be able to solve all the problems but in my own little way let me see how I can to put smiles on these children’s faces by providing for them and then for the government too”, she added.

However, she said the have been visiting the Abuja Children’s Home in Karu, and they brought food items and learning materials to support the Home, and is solely funded by her organization, but are open to sponsors who want to help upscale what they have been doing.

The Administrator, Abuja Children’s Home, Karu Site, FCT, Quincy Patrick, described the gesture from One Meal a Day for the Children initiative as a “great initiative”, and commended the activities of the organization.

“It’s a great initiative, we are happy and excited about it, not just for our children but for every Nigerian child.

“Food is one of the rights of a child, and if an organization is putting together an initiative where children get one meal a day, I think it’s a huge contribution to society, and also to the lives of the children, to the upbringing, development, all around wellness of the children.

“So not just for the children here, every child anywhere should have access to food. They had come and told us about the initiative, told us what they were doing, we applauded it as a good one”, Patrick added.

According to her, the sharing of food will also help the children understand the concept of sharing and giving back, which she also disclosed that the Abuja Children’s Home “is one of the homes that enjoys a lot of donations, and we, in turn, reach out to other homes that are not as probably situated as ours.”

Meanwhile, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Ibrahim Baba-Inna, IBI, Foundation, Lieutenant Commander, Ibrahim Baba-Inna, Retd, in his remarks, commended Ijeoma Nwokpoku for her care and concern for the children, and pointed out that NGOs are really doing their best to ensure the less privileged are positively impacted with their scare resources, which they go the extra mile to reach out to vulnerable Nigerians.

“The non-governmental organizations have been doing their best because these are people that are sacrificing their time, energy, effort, and resources to ensure that people have a better living, condition; education, welfare, and so many things.

“And just like One Meal a Day for the Children initiative that we are here partnering with have sacrificed a lot to ensure that they are here to help these vulnerable children, and as you can see, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2, which talks about zero hunger, it’s all about ensuring that people have a meal”, he said.

Other members of One Meal a Day for the Children initiative including a legal practitioner, Prudential Igbokwe; a lecturer and entrepreneur, Dr. Austin Osuhor; Bilkisu Raji; and Chika Ikegbunam, in their goodwill messages commended the Founder and CEO, One Meal a Day for the Children Initiative, Ijeoma Nwokpoku for her passion and interventions for vulnerable Nigerians, and acknowledged that she has given her all to really give hope to the children at Abuja Children’s Home despite the economic challenges.

However, urged government and development partners to tackle the root causes of children being abandoned and thrown away to the streets, and said the laws on such actions should be enforced to curtail the act, therefore, promote tolerance amongst Nigerians in order to safeguard against such actions, and added that the government should make the process of child adoption less cumbersome in order for Nigerians to adopt the children.