28/11/2016
Good evening everyone.
For the better part of the past six weeks I have kept procrastinating and delayed in putting out a message to our followers and partners.
As many of you are aware, since December of 2008 we have had an outreach to people the less privileged amongst us. Our giving has been hinged on the generosity of our partners and the need to give back to a society that has blessed us with so much (more on that later).
In that time we have cumulatively raised well over N 2,500,000 in cash and kind as well as grown a formidable support base of friends and partners at home and abroad who have ensured that every year we are able to meet our collective goal.
Last year over two days we reached out to the Makoko community, the Ebutte Metta Medical Centre, the destitute home in Yaba, the residents of Adekunle village in Ikeja and the Cerebral Palsy Centre in Surulere.
We have now reached a tipping point.
After our experience at the Cerebral Palsy Centre, we realised that we would need to radically adjust how we define "less privileged" and make our token contributions to those most in need amongst us. The children at the CP Centre struck as "forgotten", "most vulnerable" and "helpless", but thanks to the founder they were not without hope.
But there are increasingly those around us who seem to have been denied this most basic of human aspirations; the right to hope, the right to dream about a better tomorrow, a brighter future. While many of us take these things for granted, there are countless many others who cannot.
Since 2009 the flames of insurgency were lit in North Eastern Nigeria when a militant and intolerant group commenced an assault on the people and has since waged a war against the State and its people in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. Lives have been lost, families have been devastated, homes have been burnt and the cost to our nation is incalculable.
But the greatest victims are the families, men, women and children that have been displaced by this conflict which still rages unabated. Even in the camps where they are supposed to receive succour, they are still plagued by disease, starvation and other forms of abuse and undignified treatment. This is unacceptable.
It is our sincere hope that this December, all our friends and partners will join us as we raise funds with a view to making a modest contribution to alleviate the plight of the internally displaced people, our brothers and sisters who need our help the most at this time.
Most of you have probably read the story of the legion of starfish stranded on the beach, and the young man who kept picking them up and tossing them back into the sea to give them a chance at life. As the story goes an observant elderly fellow asked the boy what he was doing to which he responded - he was trying to save their lives. The old man responded that his actions were futile as he could barely save them all. The young man reflected for a second and tossing the fish in his hand back into the sea, he said 'Well I can make a difference for that one".
We hope you will adopt the same attitude and join us as we try to make a difference for these people and prove that they are not forgotten and that they are of great value both to man and to God.
In the next few days we will be sharing more details on the entire process and how our outreach for 2016 will work and we can make a splash in the lives of these internally displaced people. Here’s looking forward to reading from you and hearing your feedback and comments.
God bless you abundantly.
The hands of a Servant
