Coronavirus Pandemic
SHIMON Ben-Shoshan, Ambassador of Israel to Nigeria, has underscored the need for ECOWAS to invest in the development of orphanages, to promote children’s wellbeing in post Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Ben-Shoshan, also Permanent Representative of Israel to ECOWAS, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), while donating food items to Darlez Care orphanage in Abuja.
The items, which included rice, beans, groundnut-oil, pasta and maize, were put together in collaboration with ChabadAid, MAG Tech System Ltd. Kings of the World and Brand Life Vision Foundation.
He said that the need to focus on children has become important because they are the future of every country, irrespective of their religious background as Muslims, Christians or Jews.
According to him, ECOWAS is suppose to look at this kind of operations and how children in need in each member country are part of the community in the fight against COVID-19.
Ben-Shoshan said, “We need to ensure efforts that we can, instead of fighting each other to create this kind of charity homes, not only during COVID-19 pandemic, but post pandemic era.
“To remember this kind of brotherhood; efforts to overcome COVID-19 and take it to another level, which means to fight climate change that affects the food, starvation, water and air we breathe.
“Fight climate change and prevent other virus we do not know from coming, this is not the last and it is not the first.
“So, we need to prepare ourselves to assist these children and also think about them.
“Whenever we are about to fight ourselves, instead let us use our resources and our offering to do good things, in order to give a better world to these kinds of children.”
He expressed appreciation to the management of the orphanage, saying he feels glad to see orphans well catered for by amazing people.
Receiving the items, Sen. Eze Ajoku, Managing Director and Founder of the orphanage, expressed appreciation to the Ambassador, saying he was the first visitor to the place since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ajoku, also a former Senator representing Imo-East, said that preventive measures were observed to guard against spread of the virus by keeping people from interacting with the children.
Ajoku said, “These are children who for one reason or the other their parents could not take responsibilities for them.
“We do this as a charity to give back to society; orphanages in Nigeria are not funded by the government.
“We started this operation in 2015 and have not received one naira as support from the government, so we rely on donations and what we can afford ourselves to sustain our operations.”
Ajoku, who is the President of the Coalition of Orphanages and Children Homes in Nigeria, said that there were 14 , 4 Nannies, 1 Security operative and 1 driver in the orphanage, saying 15-children were already adopted. (NAN)
– May 21, 2020 @ 17:29 GMT |
Tags: COVID-19: Israel tasks ECOWAS on investment in orphanages
