By Bridget Ikyado
Abuja – The Nikki Udezue Foundation (NUF), has unveiled a project targeted at supporting widows and out-of-school children in the country.
The founder, Mrs Nkiru Udezue, said in Abuja that she was inspired to set up the foundation and initiate the project by her experience during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“It was born out of genuine concern for Nigerians after going through the 2020 COVID ordeal, of which my husband and I were caught up in the pandemic.
“While in isolation, taking care of my husband who was in a very critical condition, i thought to myself that some of us still think this pandemic was a joke and some people died because we weren’t first truthful to ourselves.
“We needed to learn how to show love to our neighbours; I felt reassured that I was on the right path.
“As I turn 40 years today, I will like history to remember me with the lives I have impacted”, she said.
Udezue explained that the project would provide skills to widows and take back vulnerable and indigent children back to school.
She said widows deserve love and support of the people, because of the “pains after the demise of their husbands with no plan, no friend, no concern or support from families”.
She said that the foundation would work with individuals and organisations to provide help to people in dire need of assistance.
“We are desirous of making deeper impact in more communities, creating great partnership as we continue strengthening the structure of NUF,” she said.
Udezue added that the foundation which was focused on empowering the poor and sending vulnerable children back to school, also planned to assist children in need of critical medical aid.
The founder of NUF said Nigerians needed to make the country better by dealing with inherent challenges rather than thinking of relocating.
“We have to create the change and enabling environment we desire by finding out the issues and tackling them,” she said.
Udezue pledged that the foundation would be transparent, build focused partnership, and be honest and resilient in the discharge of its mandate.
In a keynote address, Mrs Alanyingi Timipre-Sylva, wife of the Minister of State Petroleum, spoke on the topic “Non-Profit organizations: Bridging the gap between the people and the government”.
She said every NGO should consider as critical, the training of development communicators who will translate and propagate its programmes.
“We should be able to convey critical development information and navigate cultural nuances vital to the communities and their families.
” This could be health care, climate change or child development”, she said.
Timipre-Sylva also said NGOs should train and equip sizeable number of volunteers with the required skills and techniques to make impact on their communities.
She said that proper engagement
of communities and relevant stakeholders would lead to sustainable changes in the lives of the people.
Mrs Kenneth-Francis Edoama spoke on the topic: “The Nexus between the SDGs and the Nigerian child.
She said NGOs should strive to focus on the economic and social wellbeing of women and children and ensure government programmes benefit rural communities.
The event was also marked with the presentation of the foundation’s 2023 strategic plan.(NAN/vitalnewsngr.com)
