Fides Media Living the Faith
…Celebrates Christmas for Orphans
By Chioma Ndife
In the spirit of Christmas Celebration, Okolo Cajetan Foundation, a non-governmental organization, has donated about three wheel chairs and 35 mattresses to orphanage homes in Anambra State.
The foundation made the donation on Sunday, December 20, 2020, at Tender Love Orphanage Home when it a hosted Christmas Party for all the orphanage homes in Anambra State, in order to offer Children in the Orphanage homes reason to celebrate the season.
Speaking on the motive behind the donation, the Founder of the Foundation, Comdr. Cajetan Okolo, said the wheelchairs and mattresses were needed in some homes which they visited before the Christmas.
He maintained that the tour embarked upon by the foundation was to access the condition of orphanages across the state and to identify areas of need. He noted that the firsthand information which they received during the tour would enable them plan better in order to address some of the perceived problems which they observed during the visit.
‘Before the Christmas Party, we toured all the orphanage homes in Anambra State to have first-hand information about the condition of orphans in different home. This tour was to help us identify areas of need that the foundation will address.
‘The mattresses are for some homes where the children still sleep on mats and some we observed needed wheelchairs for mobility. There are so many needs in the homes but we cannot address all at the same time. So we will keep working hard to ensure that the children enjoy a fair living condition.
‘So today we reached out to six homes and gradually, we will get to all the homes which we visited in Anambra. Okolo Cajetan Foundation cannot do it alone; there is need for everyone to reach out to children in orphanage homes. The children in the home need our love and care to ensure effective formation and subsequent integration into the larger society later in life,’ he concluded.
He regretted that the children’s living condition in private orphanage homes was far better than those in government owned homes and called for more measures to be put in place to beef up conditions of homes owned by the government even as he observed that a lot had been done by the present Commissioner of Social Welfare, Children and Women Affairs.
He expressed optimism that the condition of Children in government owned homes would improve in no distant time as the Chairperson of the association in Anambra State had introduced some activities geared towards regulating irregularities.
He noted that the Christmas party was put together to celebrate the children and offer them opportunity to interact with each other in a different environment than their homes. The party according to Okolo was organized after due consultation of the Association of Community Children’s Home, the umbrella that manages the affairs of orphanage homes in Anambra.
Receiving the donation, the Chairperson, Anambra State Community Children’s Home, Mrs. Helen Eze, appreciated members of Okolo Cajetan Foundation for what she termed their constant show of love to children in orphanage homes across the state. She assured that the donated items would be utilized effectively by the children.