Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Residents of Nkpor, in Idemili Local Government Area of Anambra State, and Umunya, in Oyi Local Government Area of the state, have continued to express their joy on the quality education they enjoy at subsidised rates from a private school built by a Nigerian-German couple.
Anambra-born Timothy Ebelechukwu Chukwukelu and his wife, Gabriella, a German, have been engaged in the promotion of educational development among some communities in Anambra State.
Ebelechukwu and his German wife have, through the Ebelechukwu Foundation, turned around the fortunes of many within their community and beyond.
Through the Foundation, 13 water projects have been commissioned for the service of the people within Nkpor. The Ebelechukwu Vocational Centre has also produced many skilled youths involved in handcraft and other domestic activities.
Campus Three of the Ebelechukwu schools in Umunya was commissioned recently. The school is a storey building with recreational facilities.
Gabriella Chukwukelu had, in a previous interview, said the vision to establish schools came to her many years ago in Germany.
Her husband, Timothy, said the Ebelechukwu Vocational Training Centre, Ebelechukwu Microbusiness Enterprises, and Ebelechukwu Group of Schools were set up in Anambra to contribute to making the society a better place.
“My wife and I started this without knowing the depth of the unknown waters but because of the passion in us. Having delved into it and realised the depth of educational input and the need for such input in Nigeria, Africa and all over the world; we decided to start from home.
“We consider education to be very important because we know that when you develop somebody educationally, you are building the nation.
“Today, we are happy to see various faces around here who are into the vision and others who are already products of that vision. We are training children to be competent, employable and able to compete in any part of the world. We are not limiting our scope here in Nigeria because we want our children to be global competitors,” he said.
He said Umunya community was chosen as the location for the campus three of the school after prayers with the entire family, having checked other communities like Ojoto, Nkwele Ezunaka and Umuoji.
Spiritual Director of the school, Venerable Ikechukwu Elobuisi, Archdeacon in charge of Alor Archdeaconry, thanked God for what he described as another giant stride in the teaching and training of young ones as being fostered by the Ebelechukwu family.
“This is another beginning in this area for the people of Umunya. The vision started in Nkpor and from there we got another extension for campus two and now we have moved to the rural environment for this campus three.
“As an international school, Ebelechukwu has a vision to impact the young ones whether you are from a lowly background or from an affluent family. This is a rural environment and we took it into consideration that the school fees will be at the reach of everybody and it is a very big boost for education in the state.”
The cleric appealed to the government to give subventions and support to private schools too so that they could provide educational services at reduced cost. He noted that running a private school is not a tea party.
Chief Chinedu Ekwugha from Umunya prayed for the family, describing the location of the school in Umunya as a blessing to the community.
Describing himself as a trader with a difference because of education, he lamented that some rich men in the society invest their money on things that are not worthwhile. He lauded the Ebelechukwus’ vision, which he said would produce maximum benefits to the society.