From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
Former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Y. Danjuma, on Thursday, handed over a 4,000-litre solar powered borehole each to Community Secondary School, Mbaukwu; Boys’ High School, Nteje and Community Secondary School, Igbakwu, all in Anambra State.
Danjuma made the donation through a humanitarian organization, Victims Support Fund Taskforce on COVID-19, which he set up in March 2020 as a rapid response initiative of the Victims Support Fund (VSF).
Chairperson of the VSF Taskforce, Mrs Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, while commissioning the project at Community Secondary School, Mbaukwu in Awka South Local Government Area, said that the initiative was part of the VSF’s contributions to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
Akerele-Ogunsiji listed four hand wash stations, 2,000 pieces of face masks, five pieces of 4-litre hand sanitizers, 120 bottles of 500ml liquid hand wash, and five cartons of bleach as other items given to each of the schools.
She said: “This project is one of his own extensions of solidarity to the good people and government of Anambra State as well as the students and teachers and non-teaching staff in Mbaukwu, Nteje, Igbakwu and Anambra State as a whole.
“The Victims Support Fund COVID-19 Taskforce was set up in March 2020 by General Danjuma as a rapid response initiative of the VSF which is the first private sector led humanitarian initiative in Nigeria. And we kicked off our interventions on April 14 in an IDP camp in Abuja.
“And from Abuja, we went to Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Adamawa, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Ekiti, Plateau, Niger, Benue, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna.
“We have travelled through the length and breadth of Nigeria providing food, personal protective equipment, medical items in support of indigent communities and households across all the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. We did that between April and December 2020.
“In the third phase of the project where we are now in, we decided to move on from just distributing food, PPEs and others to more enduring interventions that will even outlive the COVID-19 pandemic.
“And we decided, based on our needs assessment of our Monitoring and Evaluation and Programmes Department at the VSF, we realized that water is one of the most urgent needs of many communities across Nigeria.
“We make bold to say that since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in Nigeria, the VSF is the first and perhaps, the most impactful private sector led organisation in the whole of Nigeria.
“You will see our projects in communities most people will not really go to. Today, we are here for the official commissioning and handover of this 4,000 litres solar powered borehole facility which has been situated here in Community Secondary School, Mbaukwu.
“In Anambra State, we have three schools. They are: Community Secondary School, Mbaukwu; Boys’ High School, Nteje and Community Secondary School, Igbakwu.”
