From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
An 86-year-old widow, Mrs Francisca Okoye, at St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Awka, alongside over 300 other disadvantaged individuals in Awka and its environ benefited from the Easter largesse of the Catholic bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev Paulinus Ezeokafor, on Saturday.
In the spirit of the Easter celebrations, Bishop Ezeokafor empowered over three hundred vulnerable and disadvantaged people from different religious background with items worth millions of naira
Over 300 impoverished people received relief materials from the Catholic Bishop during this year’s Easter celebration.
The recipients, young and old alike, thronged St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral on Holy Saturday to receive items such as bags of rice, loaves of bread, articles of clothing, shoes, umbrella, cartoons of noodles, tubers of yam, coco yam, coconuts and a host of other consumables.
Delivering the items to the beneficiaries, Bishop Ezeokafor told them to accept their condition in good faith knowing that God was always with them.
Bishop Ezeokafor noted that those selected for the Easter gift are poorest of the poor in society and that there was need to show them compassion by giving them food and water.
He equally observed that religious denomination was of no consequence in charity but what matters was living a good life.
The cleric expressed reservations that some people have made begging a profession, saying even when such people are given jobs, they return to begging.
The Catholic prelate admonished those who can still fend for themselves to venture into things that are worthwhile and morally justifiable, not begging under any guise.
He said that if people should go by what they see or encounter, no one would want to give to charity because he observed that people pretend be suffering from one ailment or the other just to beg for alms.
Bishop Ezeokafor called on good-spirited individuals to come to the aid of the poor and the downtrodden in society.
He emphasised that the underprivileged need help to be able to improve their living conditions.