By Sunday Ani
A non-governmental organisation, Adonai Empowerment Foundation (AEF), on Saturday, November 20, responded to the needs of hundreds of widows, children and women-in-need in the Festac area of Lagos State through the provision of social support.
Women and children numbering over 500 were given items such as food stuff, packs of noodles, loaves of bread, school bags, ankara clothing materials, packs of detergent and packs of noddles as well as medical checks, including breast and cervical cancer tests, among others.
Founder of the organisation, Rev Lyn Oladapo, said the organisation initially started with feeding the poor and helping people to get jobs but later narrowed its activities down to women and children since she couldn’t help everybody.
Her motivation, according to her, was based on her experience in England where organisations provide social support for the needy since the government alone cannot do everything for the citizens.
On the items for distribution, she said: “We are sharing over 500 cartons of noodles, over 220 school bags for children, over 600 loaves of bread for the first 600 women, packs of spaghetti pasta, 100 bottles of detergent, 200 ankara clothes for the women, and N1000 for each of the women. We are also providing medical checks for cervical and breast cancer for over 300 women, dental tests, sugar level and malaria tests, as well as eye tests and drugs.”
Oladapo said she was fulfilled helping the women, even as she felt that God was gradually rewarding her commitment to the programme.
Chairman of the occasion, Lanre Eyinfunjowo, commended the organisation for what it has been doing over the years. “This is an empowerment, healthcare and welfare programme, which the organisation has been running for over 30 years now. The Foundation has been touching the lives of women over the years,” he said.
He commended the organisation for the health support programme, saying: “We don’t give priority to health in Nigeria, so we thank God for Adonai which has taken it upon itself to care for the needy. We don’t have the figure but a lot of people die from common ailments like malaria.”
He said the large number of women and children that turned out for the event showed the level of care that people need in society which they have not been getting. “You can’t get this number of people overseas because the system has made provisions for everybody’s welfare but in a situation where the system does not provide for social welfare, you are bound to see this kind of large turnout. We need more of this kind of organisation to come in and fill in the gap; that is what Adonai is doing,” he said.
He called on the government to wake up to its responsibility to the people. He also tasked other corporate organisations to emulate Adonai. “Most of our leaders are selfish; they are always concerned about themselves and their families. The advanced countries make provisions for people’s welfare not because they have money to waste but because the system has taken care of those that are struggling. I want to encourage other corporate organisations to wake up and support programmes like this. We have a lot of security challenges today because the focus is only on the upper class at the detriment of the lower class. There should be more social welfare and support programmes like this,” he added.
One of the beneficiaries, 46-year-old Blessing Elue, a widow with four children, said the programme has been supportive to her and encouraged Adonia to keep up the good work. “I am sure that if they focus, it would definitely take them to a height where they will begin to train women in the society,” she said.
Another beneficiary, 51–year-old Olubunmi Ikeyo, who has eight children, said she has also benefited a lot from the Foundation. “Three years ago, they gave me money to boost my business. I have received rice, noodles and other food items in the past. Today, I have also undergone the tests for malaria, eye, cervical and breast cancer and I will still get other things like food stuff and clothes. God will continue to bless them. They are helping women. What we are not getting from the government, they are giving to us,” she said.