Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Very cheering news emanated recently from the palace of Igwe Azuka Ngoddy, the traditional ruler of Atani in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra state, when his wife, Mrs. Adaeze Ngoddy (Odua Nwanyi) collaborated with her friend, Mrs. Pamela Okwuosa Nwiloh and donated books and laboratory equipment worth millions of naira to primary and secondary schools in Ogbaru communities.
The royal donation was intended to improve standard of education in the area and help the children compete favourably with their mates across the country as well as prepare them for external examinations.
Items donated to 10 schools in the area include primary and secondary school text books, work books for practical as well as science and laboratory equipment.
For the secondary category, the benefiting schools were Government Technical College, Ossamala, Community Secondary School, Atani, King’s Ambassadors Seminary School, Atani, The Seat of God’s Power Academy, Atani and ArchBishop Valerian Secondary School School, Atani.
The benefitting primary schools include: Urban School, Atani, Central School, Atani, The Seat of God’s Power Academy, Atani, Okpoko School 3, Okpoko and Saint Jude’s Primary School, Atani.
Mrs. Ngoddy who resides in Georgia, United States of America (USA) was said to have collected the books in various schools in America and shipped to Nigeria for her husband to distribute to schools in the community.
Speaking after distributing the books and equipment at the palace, Igwe Ngoddy disclosed that the gesture by his spouse has entered its third year.
“My wife has been donating books to schools for the past three years. Every year, she will spend her money and time and go round schools over there to bring the books especially the schools where her friend, Mrs. Nwiloh teaches. She is highly committed to education likewise myself, I’m always interested in schools in Ogbaru doing well, improving their standard, being capable of competing with any school in the world.
“So our aim and goal is that the kids in Ogbaru should be able to compete favourable with their mates anywhere in the world, that is the main reason why we are doing this and also for our libraries to have books”, he said.
He advised the students to be studious, shun cultism, thuggery, drug addiction and other social vices; assuring that as parents, they would do their best to ensure they achieved their goals.
“I go round occasionally to the schools to monitor the usage of the book and the equipment and also interact with students, teachers and principals/head teachers to ensure that they are doing what they supposed to do in improving their standard,” the monarch disclosed.
He, therefore, urged other indigenes of Ogbaru in diaspora to emulate his wife’s gesture.
Also, Mrs Patricia Ngoddy who represented the donor explained that the secondary schools had benefitted in the previous years; before it was extended to the primary schools year.
Harping on the need to boost reading culture among pupils and students, she said: “The students should have a reading corner not necessarily a library but a corner where they can read quietly”.
The organiser of the event, Mrs. Nneka Udenyi extolled the donor and asked God to bless her, saying that the items were properly and equitably shared to the benefitting schools.
Principal of Archbishop Valerian Secondary School Atani, Mrs Ogbonnaya Chioma, and her Kings of Ambassador Seminary School, Atani counterpart, Mr. Francis Okechukwu, commended the initiative of the Igwe’s wife in encouraging students of Ogbaru in their studies, assuring that they would use the items to impart knowledge on the students.
They also appealed to other wealthy and public spirited individuals to support educational development in the state.
Miracle Simon, Ginika Oluchukwu, Juliet Okeke and Emmanule Nwabunne; all students of the benefitting schools, expressed happiness over the books and laboratory equipment saying that they would spur them to study harder to make good results and make their parents, the donor and the state proud.