As the world celebrates World Orphans’ Day today (November 13), two senators, Senator Solomon Adeola aka Yayi (APC, Ogun West) and chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriations and Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the leader of the 10th Senate have donated the sum of N24 million to 13 orphanage homes in Abuja and Nassarawa state for their upkeep.
Donating at an event organized to mark the day by Mrs. Temitope Adeola, the wife of Senator Adeola through her non-government organization, CHADASH, dedicated to widows and orphans, the two senators donated N12 million each to the orphanages with Senator Bamidele making and additional donation of N5Million for CHADASH and other senators making various pledges to the charitable NGO.
The benefiting orphanages include Gifted and Talented Orphanage, Facado Orphanage, Cherry Field Orphanage, Christ Bethel Orphanage, Dynasty Orphanage, and JKS Orphanage. Others are Shinning Star Orphanage, Queen Esther Orphanage, Maratha Care Children Home, Osaze Orphanage, Desired Orphanage, Purity Rose Orphanage and Gifted and Talented Home, Nassarawa.
Senator Adeola who described himself as an orphan having lost both parents stated that there are many challenges and difficulties confronting orphans as they live in sour society adding that like himself, they usually don’t have biological parents to stand up for them when it matters.
“I want to encourage all of us to be our brothers’ keeper in assisting orphans to properly fit into the society, I recall that even in political field I suffered discrimination as an orphan as some disputed my state of origin for political vindictiveness and may parents were not there to assert my indigene-ship of Ogun State. I am sure that the children before us are all Nigerians with various need and nothing must stop us from making them useful and productive members of the society” he stated.
While disputing official estimates of orphans in Nigeria put at 17 million, the chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriations said their number would be in the region of 50million nationwide promising to always participate in any effort, at government and private levels to address the challenges of orphans.
Speaking as the Guest of Honour of the event which was kickstarted with a keep fit and awareness kilometer walk around Maitama, Abuja, Senator Bamidele stated that with the numbers of orphans in Nigeria outnumbering the population of many countries in our continent and elsewhere, there is need for proper government policies to address the needs of the orphans in addition to any private efforts by humanitarian and charitable individual and organizations.
He commended Senator Adeola and his wife for always giving back to the society in various ways stressing that Senator Adeola is known to be a giver even among his colleagues over the years as he is the “go to” man when you are in need.
In her welcome address at the event tagged “Caring for the Uncared”, Mrs. Adeola, who was the first to ever celebrate the World Orphans Day in Nigeria with her NGO stated that her organization is focused on widows and orphans in the society stressing that beyond giving funds and materials for orphans, important as that is, there is the urgent need for individual to donate/volunteer services and skills for orphans to improve their chances of competing in the society.
She enumerated her NGO’s accomplishments so far to include commissioning of borehole, donation of cash, household and food items, equipping orphanages with laptops, empowering 1000 widows and vocational training, startup kits and grants for 120 widows adding that we can all invest our time, resources and talents in helping the orphans rebuild their young lives.
There were different presentations by the orphans including display of karate training, musical rendition and the successful dressing of a doll by a paralytic Down Syndrome orphans who was taught the impossible skill giving her condition.
