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| GIFT LOGO |
A new charity-based Non-Governmental Organization(NGO), Great Impact
Foundation Team (GIFT) was yesterday launched in Abuja at Serob Legacy Hotel,
Area 1, Garki, Abuja.
The Foundation was founded out of the humanitarian
passion of two young Nigerian youths: Ms Patience Ubeng and Mr. Ibimiluyi
Oluwatosin. The vision of the newly-founded NGO is to cater to the needs of the
less-privileged, most of whom are children and women, in the remote regions of
Nigeria.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting which attracted huge
number of Nigerians from all walks of life, Mr. Oluwayinka Oladele, a renowned
consultant, charged members of the new foundation to always be dedicated to the
Foundation which affords them the opportunity to reach out to the needy in the
remotest terrains of the country, adding that government alone cannot do
everything.
In her inaugural address at the meeting, the
Foundation founder, Ms Patience Ubeng, who said the idea of establishing the
Foundation was borne out of her humanitarian passion to touch lives, said it
all started on the 28th March, 2013, after watching a broadcast
which was aired on Africa Independence Television (AIT).
Her words: “I was so touched to see helpless young children
hawking on the streets of this country, one of them was asked why he was not in
school, and the young boy said, and I quote “I hate to hawk while my mates are
in school, my blind mother and I have no one to help us, but one day I’ll
become a lawyer, and I will change my country”. These words re-echoed in my
ears again and again, my shirt was wet with tears, then I asked myself, “WHAT
HAVE I DONE FOR MY GENERATION?” Almost immediately something struck me, I called
a friend of mine, now my partner in charity, and told him about the big dream I
had, at first, he waved it off, thinking it was one of those mood swings people
have during the Lenten season.When I insisted that it wasn’t, he took me
seriously, and brought even better ideas which gave birth to Great Impact Foundation, and today we are gathered here for its inauguration''.
Ubeng who said the constant constraint of most people
to domestic and official affairs, had made them to often neglect the welfare of
the needy-who are not related to them either by marriage or by birth.
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| Patience Ubeng Flanked by Other Members of the Foundation |
“Sometimes,we are often constrained to our own
domestic and official affairs; we think only of our future, our family and our
friends.We neglect the needs of those who are not related to us by way of
marriage or blood.We tend to forget that we are blessed so that we can be a
blessing to others. Last month we took a walk to a certain community somewhere
in Bwari Area Council here in Abuja, there we saw pupils of a primary school
who went to school on bare feet, some wore what could best be described as rags, and
the others either held their torn note books in their hands or carried it in a
nylon bag, as a result of this,we have an outreach programmes in mind that will
help to change the story of those children,who happen to be the future leaders
of our great country,Nigeria''.
On what the Foundation has achieved so far in the last
three months, the Foundation Director said they had travelled to certain
communities in Bwari Area Council in Abuja, where they saw pupils of primary
schools who went to school on bare feet; some were putting in what could be best
described as tatters as uniforms; while many were seen holding in their hands
torn notebooks.
She highlighted the Foundations achievements in the
last 3 months to include visits to Igu Community in Bwari Area council, Kabusa
Community in Dakwo District and Pandagi Community in Abaji Area Council.
Speaking on both the short and long-term goals of the
Foundation Ubeng said: “Before the end of July, 2013, we hope to
visit one or two motherless babies’ homes and impact their lives with undiluted
support.
“Also by September, when schools must have resumed for
the new session, we intend to provide at least a thousand pupils in various
communities with basic school needs-school bags, school sandals and stationery.
These we can only achieve through your help”.
While speaking on the Foundation mission, the
dark-skinned lady emphasized “our mission is to the less-privileged children
and widows in the remote regions of our country and beyond. We hope to achieve
this through various programmes and events in the future. These programmes
will include scholarships and adopt-a-pupil scheme for children; skill
acquisition and apprenticeship for the youth, and small and medium scale
ventures for the widows.
While thanking the members for making out time out of
their busy schedules to be at the inaugural meeting, Ubeng ended her speech
with a quote from John Wesley which says “Do all the good you can, by all the
means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the
time you can, to all the people you can, and as long as you ever can”.
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| Patience Ubeng With Other Members of the Foundation |
Also present at the meeting was the founder, Mount of
Redemption Church, Pastor Kingsley Samuel, who tasked every member of the
Foundation to always strive to touch lives as this is commanded in the Bible.
As at present, the Foundation boasts of over 2071 fans
on Facebook as well as huge number of members all over the country.
Despite this, the Foundation is calling on all
well-meaning Nigerians, who want to put smiles on the faces of the numerous
less-privileged and the needy in the society, to join them.
The Foundation which is not religion-based accepts
members from all religions and is pleading for sponsorships and donations in
order to be able to carry out successfully its mandate.
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