Fides Media Living the Faith
. . . Offers Scholarship to 100 Students
By Abuchi Onwumelu
Justice, Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC) Awka Diocese, has concluded her Community Empowerment and Development Initiative (CEDI) Project In Awka, with the empowerment of forty beneficiaries.
The beneficiaries who came from various Communities in Awka Diocese were those who successfully completed their one year skill acquisition training in sewing which was organized by JDPC under the platform of Community Empowerment and Development Initiative project.
JDPC is a social and charity arm of the Catholic Church through which the Church reached out to numerous people in need.
To this end, JDPC Awka had initiated means of reaching the less privileged amongst them to improve their standard of living.
Speaking while handing over forty sewing machines and other equipment to the beneficiaries, the Catholic bishop of Awka Diocese, His Lordship Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, called on them to be good ambassadors of their faith and the Church and to make good use of the opportunity given to them to improve their individual lives and impact positively on the communities there in.
Bishop Ezeokafor further commended the efforts of the JDPC Awka Diocese for their commitment towards improving the standard of living of the less privileged persons amongst them.
Those in bishop’s entourage included the Diocesan Chancellor, Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Francis Chidume; Awka Diocesan Financial Administrator, Very Rev. Fr. Francis Oranye; bishop’s Secretary, Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael Monwe; Deputy Chancellor of the Diocese, Rev. Fr. Anthony Ezeokeke, among others.
Earlier in his address, the Director, JDPC Awka Diocese, Rev. Fr. Simon Anigbogu, who appreciated the Bishop and everyone who contributed towards the success of the event, called on other affluent individuals to partner the Church through JDPC for sustainability of such humanitarian project.
He described the JDPC Awka as the Social/Charity arm of the Catholic Diocese of Awka and the main organ through which the Church/Diocese as a mother reached out to her numerous needy children.
Noting that the diocese was increasingly finding it difficult to meet up with her role of adequately providing for the ever-increasing needs of her children, he called for partnership with the government, individuals and groups that shared similar visions and missions with her for the purpose of advancing the kingdom of God.
He said that was why the group called Friends of JDPC came into existence for the purpose of working in partnership with the Church/Diocese through JDPC, Awka.
‘Through the CEDI project, we were able to buy a Toyota Coaster bus which was donated by Bishop Ezeokafor to St. Patrick’s College, Awka, last year. Still through this CEDI Project, we were able to give a one-off Scholarship award to 100 students drawn from 20 different Secondary Schools in Anambra State.
‘The last segment of this CEDI project is what we have gathered here this morning to witness, which is the empowerment of the forty lucky beneficiaries of this same project under the tailoring section of JDPC Awka (JDPC FASHION WORLD) located at the first floor of the Diocesan Spero Law Office/ Shopping Plaza beside Uzondu Micro Finance Bank, St. ‘Joseph’s Parish Ekwulobia.
He said the beneficiaries had been at JDPC Awka Fashion World, Ekwulobia under the tutelage of a capable teacher.
He called for the sustainability of that type of project that was geared towards reaching out to the needy.
He thanked Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor for his support, which, he noted, made the partnership between JDPC Awka CEDI and World Mercy Fund to become a reality.
He also thanked the auxiliary Bishop, Most Rev. Jonas Benson Okoye, through whom, he said, the Diocesan Bishop not only commissioned JDPC Fashion World Ekwulobia, but also encouraged and prayed for the beneficiaries during their training period, even as he also thanked their sponsors and others for their support.
In a vote of thanks on behalf of the beneficiaries, Miss Lucy Nwachukwu, while expressing their joy, said it was a dream come true for most of them, as they could not on their own afford such skill acquisition training due to its high cost.
Among other participating Priests were, the Co-director JDPC, Awka Diocese, Father Leonard Okoye; Awka Regional JDPC Priest Coordinator, Father Peter Chikeluo; the Ekwuluobia Regional Coordinator, Father Longinus Ogbeonu, among others.
The event climaxed with the showcasing of different designs of dresses made by the trainees as part of their graduation projects.