The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints has donated relief supplies worth N250m to support flood victims in Anambra communities.
The relief materials , presented to the state government at the State’s Emergency Management Agency office, were received by the Governor, Prof Charles Soludo and the state’s Committee on Emergency Response, led by the Deputy Governor, Dr Gilbert Ibezim.
Mr Charles Adebayo, the Church’s Country Director for Welfare Services said that caring for the needy is one of the missions of the church and that similar donations have been done in Benue, with plans for same in Enugu and other places.
He called on other well meaning Nigerians to complement government’s efforts by supporting disaster stricken, needy people in their own little ways.
“In the past, we have assisted the state with boreholes, renovation of schools and hospitals, so we’re ever ready to support government’s Public Private Partnerships and to support other private institutions “, he said.
The Church’s Head of Area 70, Mr Justice Otuonye, said that the Area 70, a group of church leaders who build up the church by practically assisting with aid for the needy, oversaw the donations.
He added that the donated items were only a part of several other donations by the Church, in keeping with the principle found in the Bible account of Luke Chapter 10 where Jesus Christ sent out the 70 disciples to preach the gospel and care for those in need.
Otuonye listed the donated items to include bags of rice, beans, garri, salt, vegetables, kegs of palm oil, cartons of noodles, milk, chocolate drinks, soaps, detergents, mosquito nets and several toiletries such as sanitary pads and others.
In a response, the governor described flooding as a “permanent occurrence “, and called for support from stakeholders to mitigate its effects on victims.
He said that intentional steps must be taken to address the challenge head on, and thanked the Church for its humanitarian efforts while assuring them that the items would be distributed judiciously.
“ We will now focus on building the big net for emergency response, both government and all stakeholders, to build enduring partnerships and be able to respond to such emergencies so that together we will build a compassionate society.
“ I can assure you that every item brought here will be judiciously distributed to those in most need to satisfy their needs and fulfill the intent of the donor “, he said.
