Fides Media Living the Faith
. . . Assures Diocesan Support for Technical Education Initiative
By Chioma Ndife
The Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, has called for more consistent faith among parishioners of All Saints Catholic Church, Awgbu, Orumba North LGA, Anambra State.
He made the call last Sunday in a homily during his pastoral visit to the parish where he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to about 60 faithful.
He urged the faithful to allow their faith to be visible in all they did and to contribute effectively to the growth of the Church, both structurally and otherwise, and called for more commitment among the faithful, stressing the need for them to pool their resources for the completion of the ongoing church renovation.
He described the renovation of the church building was a welcome development and recalled when the church building was embarked upon during his pastoral days at the parish. He expressed optimism that the church after its renovation would serve the people and help despairing souls to find solace whenever they visited the house of God.
Reacting to the address of welcome, Bishop Ezeokafor commended the initiative of the parish behind the establishment of the technical school which was championed by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Innocent Nwafor. He said the technical college would help the students to develop necessary skills needed for one to create wealth and empower others without resorting to the government.
He emphasized the importance of technical education in Nigeria and called on parents to equip the children with technical skills as it would help them to excel more in life.
He assured the college of Awka Diocese’s support to complement the efforts which had been put in place by Fr. Innocent Nwafor to ensure that the idea behind the College’s establishment was accomplished.
In his remark, the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Innocent Nwafor, thanked God for making the bishop’s visit in the parish possible and appreciated Bishop Ezeokafor for his pastoral care in the diocese. He urged the newly confirmed faithful not to separate themselves from the church and tasked them to join pious societies as it would help them to groom their faith more.
Fr. Nwafor explained that the idea behind the establishment of the technical college was to equip young people in Awgbu Community with necessary skills and reduce the dependency of people on white collar jobs.
He noted that technical education was very vital in any society and expressed satisfaction that people from neigbouring communities had started developing interest in the college.
In an address of welcome, the Secretary, Parish Pastoral Council, Mrs. Francisca Okoye, traced the history of Catholicism in Awgb and revealed various activities that had been going on in the parish. She noted that the new zonal structure in the parish was introduced to strengthen basic Christian communities and ensure maximum interaction among its members.
She described All Saints International Technical College (ASITEC), Awgbu, as the pet project of their parish priest which the execution had been made possible through his Austrian friends, saying that previous efforts of the community to start the school were futile. She called for support from the diocese and other well- meaning individuals to assist the college embark on the construction of a standard hostel and workshop projects in a bid to accommodate people from 16 neigbouring communities that has no technical school.