BY KENNETH ORUSI
A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), ASDEV ’81 Club, has doled out a whooping sum of N1.5 million on 100 Indigent widows of Asaba, to improve their living standards.
The gesture is geared towards giving back to the society especially those whose late husbands left little or nothing for and who do not have handwork to live on.
Speaking Saturday shortly after the ceremony held in Asaba, Ogbueshi Wing Commander Peter Nwenze, (rtd), disclosed that the aim was to help the development of Asaba, in all ramifications.
“It is one of the things we do on charity. We do many other charitable things, this is just one aspect of it. Sometimes too, we go to old peoples’ homes, motherless babies homes and we donate things to them on yearly basis. This year, we decided to do this as one of our charity programmes”.
Ogbueshi Nwenze, revealed that 100 persons benefited from today’s event, ” We have five Ebohs in Asaba, “Our Organization is not profit making, so, it is just what we can do. For now, we were able to just handle 100 Indigent widows”.
The Wing Commander, who said he is being foldly addressed as ‘the chairman of widows’, hinted that he has the knowledge of those who live below the poverty line.
Hear him: “They call me now the chairman of widows because virtually I know all of them. Those who live in shakle houses, those their children don’t feed, those whose husbands left nothing for, they have no handwork.
“We go from house to house and we keep shortlisting them depending on how many that we want to take. In Umuezei alone, the widows I have are up to 88 but amongs them we know whom their children are taking care of, we know those whom their husbands left properties for; we are not interested in those ones”.
He disclosed that 100 of them were picked last year and another 100 in 2020, totaling 200 widows, “next year by the grace of God, we will pick another 100 or more depending on how much money we can gather”.
On how much was involved, he said: “we don’t hide anything, the little we have is what we give these people. This year we have given them N15, 000 each and they appreciate it because some of them don’t see N1, 000 to eat”, stating that such persons if they were petty traders would add the money to the trade without stress.
Two beneficiaries, Mrs. Victoria Odiaka and Mrs. Equitus Onwanje, appreciated ASDEV for the kind gesture towards their well-being.
Mrs. Odiaka’s widow said: “I have been hearing about ASDEV ’81 Club but today, I have seen with my eyes. What they are doing is very marvelous because it is hard to see such a thing in a community. I don’t know what to say but I will only say God should bless them more for them to be doing more because I know that by the special grace of God they will do more than this”.
She called on well-meaning Asaba Indigenes to come out and emulate ASDEV ’81 Club noting that givers never lack.
Mrs. Onwanje, on her part disclosed that she was grateful to ASDEV, over their benevolence and magnanimity towards them, “am so grateful. My prayers for them is that God will keep and preserve them as they have remembered us, the God widows will replenish anywhere they took out this money from in hundred folds”.