Akpo Nnaa, an umbrella body for indigenes of Akpo community in Anambra State, has reached out to vulnerable indigenes amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has culminated in the death of thousands across the globe.
Speaking on the development, the immediate past PG of the community, GOC Ezeno, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has raised very serious concerns for everybody. In this light, the need to organize palliative measures in order to cushion the effects of the virus and the subsequent lockdown cannot be underestimated.
“Consequently, Akpo, through its online platform, Akpo Nnaa brought up the matter. Initially, there were challenges but eventually people bought into it. And then, we started appealing for contributions from sons and daughters of the community; the response was overwhelming. Within the space of a week, we had raised N1.5 million and this was disbursed among 159 vulnerable indigenes.”
Commenting on the criteria used for selecting beneficiaries, Ezeno said: “The criteria was a problem when we started. Some people thought that the people are proud and wouldn’t want to identify with such an initiative because it would be like they are soliciting for assistance. So, the admins of our Whatsapp group decided to nominate people who were seen as being vulnerable.
“We had sleepless nights on how best to get this going, and after extensive brainstorming, we were able to come to a compromise and people began to contribute to a dedicated account, and we raised as much as N1.5 million”.