Mrs Ngozi Ijeoma Uzoukwu, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Welish Orphans Centre, has called on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country to synergise for a selfless and holistic service delivery to improve the well-being of orphans and destitutes.
According to her, empowering them with skills would enable them to earn a living.
Mrs. Uzoukwu, a retired Assistant Director of the National Assembly Service, who stated this at the inauguration of Welish Orphans Centre, in Abuja, was optimistic that the centre would empower orphans through skills acquisition for self-reliance, “particularly those who were not opportune to be adopted.”
She added that the motivating factor was to prevent such less-privileged youth from becoming susceptible to abuses that could endanger their lives through kidnapping, robbery and prostitution, among other vices.
On the need for cooperation among stakeholders, she stressed, “Welish Orphans Centre hopes to work in synergy with some of these reputable organisations that run training and skills acquisition programmes here in Nigeria, such as Tony Elumelu Foundation, NDDC, ITF, NDE, PTDF, UNESCO, and InspirationAfrica, among others.”
On how, as a civil servant, she came about such an idea, Mrs Uzoukwu recalled, “as a philanthropist, I derived inspiration from frequent visits to some orphanage homes I visited to share with the inmates in Abuja.
“There, I was overwhelmed with the plight of adult orphans, hence the empowerment and Skills Acquisition idea became imperative, to add value to their lives as fellow Nigerians.”
