EDEBOR FOUNDATION DONATES EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS TO SCHOOL CHILDREN.
charges others to imbibe the act of giving back to the society, as that is the surest way of receiving from God and man
Written by: Nnamani Samuel Freeman and Patrick Ebuka Okoh.
“At the end, it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” Denzel Washington
Driven by the above quote to leave indelible prints in the annals of history, with a view to leaving the mother earth much better than he met it before the inevitable call from the Great adventure could connect, Egnr. Daniel Okwudiri Ohaa, a recalcitrant-self-sacrificing Civil Servant of Nkanu West descent, thought it wise to co-find the EDEBOR FOUNDATION, a pet project saddled with the responsibility of giving a sense of belonging especially in education, to indigent children, and possibly activate a level play ground for all; such that there could be little or no limitations to the distance the children of the poor can travel in achieving their potentials when compared to their counterparts from a richer background.
Whereas conceptualising this lofty but worthwhile dream was made easy by the rather rough and tough personal experiences Okwudiri had while growing up, notably, during his school days, actualising the Idea became much easier by his unprecedented willingness to give, backed up by yet an uncommon zeal to Search for the most appropriate recipients of his generous gestures. For it is one thing to be willing to give, but yet another thing, which of course is the most important, to search for the most vulnerable members of the society – the downtrodden; for while many are poor, more are wretched. It’s said that he who stepped into the river first, knows where it is deeper, and warns those still ashore of impending danger areas. This young Engineer and by the grace of God, the Enugu State Chief fire Officer, does not stop at signalling the red areas, he goes further to bridge the gap between the threats and the threatened. This, he has shown again today by alleviating to some reasonable extent, the suffering of some parents in paying the Education bills of their children.
On 10th December, 2020, the EDEBOR FOUNDATION, in her maiden outing in Okwudiri’s home town – Umueze Awkunanaw in Nkanu West LGC, hosted over 500 Primary School students from Community Primary School Umueze, Obuoffia Primary School 1 and Obuoffia Primary School 2. Over Six Thousand copies of exercise books, Six Hundred pieces of ruler, One Thousand pieces of pen and Five Hundred pieces of Mathematical sets, were donated to Three Primary Schools in Nkanu-West LGC, in the first tranche of EDEBOR Foundation’s outreach, sponsored singlehandedly by Egnr. Daniel Okkwudiri Ohaa.
In his welcome address, Egnr. Ohaa maintained that though the donation was from his personal savings, not as a politician, but a civil servant with a definite income; he went further to explain that the writing Materials were packaged by his foundation to be a source of succour to the parents of the benefitting students for at least one accademic session. He surprisingly insisted that his foundation was even ready to augment any shortfalls that may surface from any benefitting students as a result of the materials being exhausted within the accademic session in view. He finally gave all credence to the Enugu State Governor, His Excellency Lawrence Ifeanyichukwu Ugwuanyi, HELIU, for finding him worthy to serve.
The Nkanu West Local Council Chairman, Chief Nwabueze Nnamani, in his separate speech, emphasized on the irreplaceable importance of quality Education to every child, irrespective of background. He described Education as an inalienable right to every Nigerian Child. He extolled the daring approach of Egnr. Ohaa in always giving back to the society.
The Enugu State Commissioner for Education, Professor Uche Eze, described Okwudiri’s gesture as an ‘enhanced opportunity for Education’. According to him, Education is everybody’s business, as not even the Government can do it all alone. He enjoined other stakeholders to emulate EDEBOR FOUNDATION’S stance on mass Education, as a means of relieving the Government of some burdens.
The Chairman, Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, represented in the occasion by the director Quality Assurance Department of the board, Mrs Oby Igwe, could not hold back his happiness for what a Civil Servant could do in promoting Education in Enugu State. He said that Egnr. Ohaa and his EDEBOR FOUNDATION will go down in history as two of the most selfless bodies in Nkanu West in particular and Enugu in general. He encouraged the donor to keep moving and not relent, as they will be remembered positively by posterity..
Other dignitaries in the event include: Rev. Chris Nwadike – Priest incharge, Methodist Church Nigeria, Umueze; Onyema Okoani – Creative Director Black Jaguar Book Club; Rt Honourable Uchenna Ejim – Legislative Aide to Nkanu West LGC Chairman; Prince Onochie Igwesi – Chairman/Publisher, The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine; Nnamani Samuel Freeman – Co Convener, Nkanu Concerned Citizens; Hon. Bartholomew Ebuka Okoh – Director, Barth Special Agro; and so many others.