Flood, shelter our major challenges, says Ebonyi orphanage

The Trinitarian Foundation for Orphanage and Helps in Ebonyi has identified the dearth of accommodation and flooding of its premises as the two major challenges confronting the home.

It, therefore, solicited the immediate intervention by Gov. Francis Nwifuru.

The operator of the orphanage, Rev. Sis. Nkechi Nwosu, made the call on Wednesday, when the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) visited the home as part of the activities to mark its 2024 Press Week.

Nwosu said the need for more accommodation became imperative due to the increasing size of the inmates of the home.

According to her, the home is accommodating at least 26 children and five social workers.

“This place can no longer accommodate the number of children here and the ones we are supposed to help.

“We get requests often on the number of children to be admitted here,” Nwosu said.

She further called on the governor’s wife, Mary-Maudline, to come to their aid to reduce the sufferings of the orphans and vulnerable children at the home.

Speaking during an assessment of the flood situation on the premises, another operator, Rev. Mother Mary-Agnes Onyejeli, lamented over the impact of the menace, saying that the premises were always flooded, leaving the inmates displaced every rainy season.

Onyejeli, therefore, solicited the urgent government’s intervention towards providing adequate accommodation and a lasting solution to the flood.

“We plead with the governor to assist us in this regard.

“The flood is another great challenge we have here,” Onyejeli said.

The President, Society of St. Vincent De Paul Old Peoples and Destitute Home in Abakaliki, Mr. John Lekpa, also appealed to the State Government to include the home in its ongoing empowerment programs.

Lekpa commended the union for its continuous support of the home.

Earlier, the state chairman of the council, Mr. Samson Nwafor, said that the union decided to identify with the less privileged during its press week.

Supreme News reports that the council donated bags of rice, detergents, cartons of tomato pastes, and tissue papers to the home.