Showing posts with label Charity. Show all posts

Thursday, 26 March 2020

CBN introduces N50bn credit facility for households and small businesses affected by the Coronavirus pandemic

A N50bn Credit Facility has been unveiled by the Central Bank of Nigeria, specifically to cater for the needs of households and small businesses that have and will be adversely affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19).

According to the CBN, those eligible for the stimulus package must prove that they, their livelihood and business operations have been adversely affected by the spread of the virus.

Businesses eligible for the scheme are agricultural value chain activities, hospitality, health (pharmaceuticals and medical supplies), airline service providers, manufacturing and value addition, and trading.

The maximum amount to be received depending on proof of cash flow of investment size is N25m while households can access N3m with an interest rate of 5 per cent per annum for a maximum period of one year.

The apex bank says facility will be administered by its officers and the NISRAL Microfinance Bank.

Reasons your teenage girls are obsessed with boyfriends!.

Eje Peter Charity ,

Reasons your teenage girls are obsessed with boyfriends!.

By EJE peter

Dear Sister Temilolu,

You are doing a great job in the lives of our younger ones and I admire you a great deal. I wish you greater grace to do exploits in ministry in Jesus name. God bless you woman of God!

Mrs. Charity Oyibo Taiwo

Dear Temilolu Okeowo,

Your article in Punch online inspired me. Indeed, you are a great mentor to Nigerian youths. Please keep up the great work! You are indeed a beautiful woman.

Anonymous

Parents of my darling, precious, glorious, dignified, world-famous and heavenly celebrated Nigerian sisters,

I salute you all! In the last two weeks, I’ve been writing on our teenage girls and their obsession with boyfriends. Some permissive parents could say it’s no big deal for their daughters to date in their teens but I tell you it does more harm than good. I’ll forever emphasise the importance of the delicate teen years which is what eventually determines how one’s life would go- its fair success, average success, outstanding success or massive failure! No wonder former American First Lady-Mrs. Michelle Obama once said while speaking to teenage girls, “If I had worried about who liked me and who thought I was cute when I was your age, I wouldn’t be married to the president of the United States today.”

THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS MATTER and shouldn’t be handled with kid glove! As I mentioned last week, it is normal for every girl to have a crush or fall in love in her early teens if not sooner because the world has gone crazy. However, she must be compassionately assisted to nip her uncontrollable infatuation in the bud before it gets wild and becomes a way of life!

Too many beautiful destinies are being diverted daily by stupid, bad devil who just loves to confuse the children of God! Without having boyfriends in their teens, a lot of girls would be more knowledgeable, have better grades, better qualifications, better self-esteem, make use of their vivid imagination and create wonderful lives their parents could never boast of. They would easily realise glorious and lofty dreams and have uncommon achievements; in fact, we would have so many teenage amazons and environmental transformers! They’d be more in control of their emotions and spirituality and above all be well-equipped to handle life’s vicissitudes and a lot of challenges the female folk face. They would become very strong after spending all the time they should have spent on falling in and out of love and having their hearts torn apart and their souls painfully wounded by having boyfriends on self-development! They would become better builders of a saner society!

Your daughter could be obsessed with some guy or the other because of the following reasons:

Inadequate love and attention

Let the truth be told, before the society begins to get at your children, you are the major determinant of the path they eventually choose to follow! Sadly, so many parents in this age are not intentional about their parenting and raising of their offspring. While some are too carried away looking for daily bread and dealing with personal issues, some are wealthy enough to give their children what they never had as kids but don’t bother to pay attention to every detail of their children’s lives! Too many children are unfortunately left to domestic staff and unwholesome misinformation from their peers at school. A child’s impressionable years are so scary such that just one information or experience could set a child rolling on the wrong path of life. And once this happens, it only takes God to help that child and that’s why trying to change your children’s thoughts about life and their attitude towards issues of life in their teens is nothing but damage control!

Your girls need your 100 per cent love and attention if you truly love her and want her to turn out well! No one should love your children more than you do because you brought them into the world although there are so many parents who don’t love their kids. If you ask me-I don’t know which planet they come from! The world out there is extremely hostile and very tricky! So tricky that an average girl sees what she wants to see in the eyes of her parents (who should lift her up every time life hits her) in the eyes and arms of a complete stranger who more often than not endangers the poor girl and leads her on a most dangerous path! A few days ago, a 13-year-old girl confessed how her teacher constantly slept with her and assisted her in aborting two pregnancies! She also mentioned how he showered her with so much love like no other person in the world yet she lives with her parents! May such not happen to our daughters!

To be continued.

I invite you to follow me on Facebook –TEMILOLU OKEOWO (not Temilolu okeowo girls club or TEMILOLU OKEOWO Girls Club group). Instagram @ Okeowo Temilolu.

Scam Alert: Temilolu okeowo girls club page and group as well as Temilolu cares for you are fake facebook accounts.

Are you still engaging in pre-marital sex? Each act devalues you! Your wonders are waiting to start. God is waiting for you to become a Secondary virgin! You are most welcome on board the chastity campaign train and Girls Club is open for all girls and ladies. Please text your name, age, school or occupation and State of domicile to 07086620576.

FINAL WORD

Chastity does not belong to the past. It saves you a lot of trouble, preserves your beautiful destiny and stands you out from the crowd. You are better off not engaging in pre-marital and extra-marital sex. Stay chaste!

(TEVB)

At 10, Rose of Sharon counts its blessings.

Eje Peter Charity ,

At 10, Rose of Sharon counts its blessings.

By Eje peter

The Rose of Sharon Foundation, founded by businesswoman, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, gives succour to widows and orphans.

It is a fufilling moment for super-rich businesswoman, Mrs Folorunsho Alakija. This is not just because her businesses have kept blossoming, but because her Rose of Sharon Foundation has clocked 10.

The foundation dedicated to the emancipation of widows and orphans is thus counting its blessings and Alakija is delighted that it has not in any way failed the vision she has for it.

Part of the great stories the foundation has to share is the fact that it has touched the lives of over 3,000 widows.

Alakija says in an interview with our correspondent, “We thank God for the grace and ability to impact the lives of these wonderful people. We have to thank God first and foremost because He is the one who called us into it. Whatever we are doing is only in obedience to His instruction. Right from the beginning, we have been allowing God to guide us. Even while evolving the name and logo of the foundation, we allowed God to guide us. But because we also believe strongly and passionately in the cause, we have, from the bottom of our hearts, been giving the foundation all it takes to achieve our dream.”

While also thanking her husband, Mr Modupe Alakija and the staff of the foundation, Alakija noted that one of the things that had worked for the Rose of Sharon was that it allowed experts to run its affairs. According to her, it also gets ideas from people with the right experience in the running of NGOs.

Rose of Sharon is built on the philosophy of teaching people how to fish, rather than just giving them fish to eat. Alakija believes that this is the best approach not just towards helping the beneficiaries to become independent but also make the foundation sustainable. As a result, she places a lot emphasis on the education of widows and orphans, as well as in financially supporting their businesses.

She adds, “We give the widows interest-free loans and allow them to pay back over a long period of time. We give them till a year and half to pay back the micro loan. We usually start a widow off with N30,000 and many of them have come back with wonderful stories. When they repay, we allow them to ask for more so they can raise their businesses to a higher level, for them to be able to expand their coasts. We then give up to N50, 000.”When the Rose of Sharon Foundation started, it gave scholarship to up to two children per a widow’s family. But when demand grew, it reduced the number to one per family. But it also realises the need to help the women to further their education. Now, Alakija explains, the foundation had produced 11 graduates from among the widows under her care.

One lesson it has learnt is to strengthen and tighten its structure especially to guard against manipulation by beneficiaries. The reason is that there have been cases of women who are not widows but claimed they were. They ended up getting from the foundation what they are not entitled to.

“Apart from the fact that we ask would-be beneficiaries to bring the death certificates of their husbands, we follow up on the claims they make in the documents because some of them cook up documents. There are other ways we check their claims – which I need not disclose here. Of course, we have data-capturing equipment. Well, when the women realised that we have strengthened our check system, some of them on their own stopped coming as there is no place to hide again. “

At a time, the foundation had to suspend taking new widows and orphans. The reason, according to Alakija, is that it needed to concentrate on the building of an independent head office, a skill acquisition centre and a clinic. But before the end of the year, it will admit another 350 widows, with the intention to take 100 on the coming International Widows Day.

Alakija does not believe that it is only rich people that should go into charity or philanthropy. According to her, everyone has a role to play in ministering to the lives of others.

“We all have to be our brother’s keeper,” she says. “Some say they cannot help others because they don’t have money. But there is a lot everyone can do to help their neighbours. You can enlighten, encourage and use your talent to assist others. You can package your old things in your home and give to those who need them. Anything you have in your home, which you have not used in the past two years, give them out because it means you hardly need them again.”

(TEVB)

Ifeanyi Ubah: When Charity Meets Capacity (2)

TheEaglesVoice Charity ,

By Adoga Michael Oyi

It is the same with widows especially in his native Nnewi town. His generousity has wiped out tears from the faces of the indigent among them. Rather than treat the widows with scorn as some in his position would do, Ifeanyi Ubah has brought great succor to them. Obviously, their happiness is his happiness!

Furthermore, in order to create jobs especially for Nigeria’s teeming youths, Ifeanyi Ubah has ventured into other areas of business including the media where he owns several radio stations, a newspaper company, a not-for-profit Foundation, a high profile football club etc, employing thousands of youths, from all walks of life including his native Anambra State, not just employing them but also entrusting them with critical offices, functions and positions of authority that shows he is a man who has great faith in the younger generation.

The oil magnate has also proved that he has the Midas touch as everything he touches turns to gold.
His football club FC Ifeanyi Ubah had existed for a long time initially as Gabros International FC.

All the while, the club had only managed to exist and remained at best a mid-table football club without any laurels except relegations and promotions back to the elite division of the Nigerian Professional League. But the moment Ifeanyi Ubah bought over the club in 2015, its transformation and upward progression started in earnest. Hence, in 2016, just within a year of being acquired by Ubah, the football club became not only the first Nigerian Professional Football Club to enter into a historic and strategic partnership with a leading football club in the English premier league, West Ham United FC, the club also lifted the FA Cup in 2016 after beating Nasarawa United in the final.

The victory brought immense joy to the people of the State as it was a dream come true for NdiAnambra as such feat within so such a period of time was hardly anticpated by the people.

Apart from this, it also puts Anambra people on the map of intercontinental soccer as FC Ifeanyi Ubah represented Nigeria at the CAF Confederations Cup the following season.

All these have also stimulated economic activities around Anambra South as visitors, fans and supporters from the different countries whose club sides had to face the Nnewi-based football club came in and also patronized businesses in the area.
Even in politics, he has proved to be a force to be reckoned with. Unlike many others, Dr Ubah has proved that he is not into politics to be served or to get enriched but to serve his constituents from the depth of his own personal wealth, experience and clout.

His role in the last Anambra gubernatorial election cannot be overemphasised. He proved to all and sundry through that election that anyone or party who underrates him does so entirely at their own risks. His movement into APGA immediately shored up the chances of the incumbent governor, Willie Obiano, as Ubah declared total victory of 21/21 local governments for Obiano. It was a target he set for himself and he remained committed to it until it was achieved using the catch phrase “Afa Igbo Efuna” which resonated widely with the people. Not even all the presidential powers from Abuja brought to bear on Anambra from the centre could stop Obiano.

A proven prudent manager of resources and lover of his people, Ubah’s sojourn into politics is borne out of the desire to elevate the standard of life of the people and contribute his own humble quota in ensuring they get their proper place in the scheme of things in Nigeria’s highly complicated web of politics and highly contentious system of distributing resources.

Partisan politics aside, every community or constituency deserves a leader who has the clout and the temperament to negotiate best for them amidst competing forces, to set a target for his people and achieve it fully. No doubt, Ifeanyi Ubah has both and even much more.

A man whose acts of charity are well documented and his philanthropy acknowledged everywhere, Ifeanyi Ubah would continue to do everything to protect, project and promote his immediate constituency for the benefit of all concerned. He has done it before, he can do it again. He is a man who has been tested and trusted. If he could take the enormous risks and be selfless in coming to the rescue of the entire nation in 2015 when we were grappling with fuel scarcity occasioned by strike action embarked upon by the ubiquitous oil marketers, what will he not do for people of his immediate constituency?
There are many who want to do charity but are not empowered enough to do that which they would like to do to help humanity, and there are others who are greatly empowered with enormous capacities but lack the heart to help humanity. Fortunately for the people of Anambra South, God has deliberately blessed them with Ifeanyi Ubah, a man whom He has endowed with not only the capacity to reach out but also the heart to do charity.

In Ifeanyi Ubah, charity has met capacity. The least the people can do is to support him to lead them to the Promised Land! They must not miss the looming opportunity!