Fides Media Living the Faith
By Adejumoke Aminat Alebiosu
Justice, Development and Peace Caritas, JDPC, of the Catholic Diocese of Awka visited the flood victims of Awka North LGA in Anambra State on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022 at St Paul’s Catholic Church, Awba-Ofemili which served as camps for Internally Displaced persons in the local government.
His Lordship, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, Catholic Bishop of Awka, who led the visit to the camp, sympathized with the people affected by the flood. He urged them not to give up. ‘Flood will come and go, but Jesus will remain for us. Be strong, don’t be weary, we are also with you. The church will do all it can to help its people.’
The Catholic Bishop also explained he did not know how bad the place was affected until he got the pictures of the affected area, he then took it upon himself to visit them.
‘When I got the news and the priest sent me the pictures, I was devastated, I called on the JDPC to see to it as it is one of the duties of the commission in the diocese. We would have been here long before now, but the Parish priest, insisted we should come later and said he will inform us when the time is right to come,’.
The Catholic Prelate also called on the government to pay attention to the internally displaced people. He asked that the government repair the roads and do everything it can to put a stop to the flood. He also appreciated the Parish Priest for calling his attention to the issue of the area.
Speaking to Fides Media, Director, JDPC, Rev. Fr Levi Ukor, appreciated the Bishop for giving the commission the opportunity to help the people which is one of the function of the commission. ‘We got to hear of the flood of from our dear Bishop and we took it upon ourselves immediately to attend to it. We are grateful that this day has finally come to pass,’.
He also appreciated the the donor of the items especially Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria, CCFN, saying the donors were the ones who provided the gifts they brought for the internally displaced people.
On his own part, Rev. Fr Joseph Nwilo, Parish Priest, St Paul’s Parish, Awba-Ofemili, appreciated the Bishop for taking out time to visit them and coming with gifts for them. He also appreciated JDPC, Awka Diocese for listening to their cry and not leaving them on their own.
Earlier, the Chancellor, Awka Diocese, Rev. Fr Charles Ndubisi, while addressing the victims, encouraged them to always believe in God because He will never leave them alone in times like this, he will be with them till forever.
Fides recalls that the flood started in September and the flood has displaced many people and also claimed lives of some in different parts of the state. This led to people relocating to IDP camps for safety.
Some of the items given to them include tubers of yam, cartons of noodles, bags of crayfish, bags of rice, groundnut oil, rolls of tissue paper, bags of beans among others.
