PHOTOS: Oyo deputy gov’s wife commissions multi million ABC Foundation in Ibadan

…pledges physical-financial support for motherless children

The wife of of Oyo Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Ajibike Lawal, on Tuesday, commissioned a multi millionaira Atoke Best Care Foundation (ABC) newly built by Mrs Olayemisi Ayeni equipped with a modern facilities and amenities which is first of its kind in Oyo state.

The Foundation, which is a non profit organization, is to serve with empathy and compassion to promote the sanctity and dignity of orphaned and motherless children population and the community at large.

Speaking at the official commissioning of the ABC foundation in Ologun Eru area in Ibadan, the wife of the Oyo deputy governor, Chief (Mrs) Lawal said that Atoke Foundation is basically to assist the needy, vulnerable, motherless children and those who are less privileged to some of us.

While congratulating the initiators, whom she said comprises of the husband, wife and children for the brilliant initiative in Ibadan, noted that they deserved commendation for thinking it good to bring about the ABC foundation to help the society and humanity as a whole.

According to her, “It’s a laudable one. It’s indeed out of your kindness, because in the society, we have many rich people amongst us who have not even think of having this kind of foundation in our midst.

Mrs Lawal stressed that their lack of thoughtfulness has made the society to be filled up with many vulnerable people around us and orphanage whose parents have passed on or one way or the other suffering around us.

“You are not claiming a Nigerian, I suppose, but even where you are coming from, United State of America, all these types of endeavors are available there, but you deemed it fit to bring the foundation to Nigeria to help those of us here having some issues and to take care of our children.

“Thanks for your willingness to give back to the society. Where you come from, for the recognition of the fact that this is Nigeria, and you need to render the help here where you are born instead of United State of America. Thanks for that. We appreciate you and I pledge my support to be part of this foundation,” she said.

The wife of the deputy governor equally reiterated that she will be available for any physical support, occasional visit or to encourage the children and whatever way her support would be needed.

While recalling that she had once participated in such an event like this in recent time connected with people with disabilities and physically challenged, she disclosed that she can facilitate a training program as not all children would be interested in intellectual activities.

“If you want to do that, we can help on that. And in whatever way I can be helpful for the foundation, I am always available.

“Thank you so much for counting me to be part of this noble profession. I feel highly encouraged. And those of us who has the means, please kindly think of this way and let us have more of this so that it can go round everywhere. Thank you. And God bless you”, she sad.

Earlier in her welcome address, the founder, Mrs Olayemisi Ayeni, said ABC foundation is not simply looking to getting children off the streets alone but to to create an environment that fosters overall development for them.

According to her, the Foundation will continue to offer hope by joining other well-meaning members of the society in helping these children who are in need.

The statement reads in part: The idea of Atoke Bestcare Foundation was born a few years ago when I celebrated my 50th birthday. It was inspired by a conversation that started with my twin girls, Dara and Dire. To celebrate my birthday, I wanted to do something that is impactful. I have always loved giving back to the needy and less privileged, so I thought what better way to mark my golden jubilee than to visit different orphanage homes in Nigeria to donate gift items with my family.

At this time, I knew that Nigeria had a large population of orphans and vulnerable children, but I did not realize how bad it was. In fact, according to Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, as of 2013, Nigeria had over 17.5 million orphans and vulnerable children nationwide. These children face detrimental issues to their health and overall development. In fact, they estimated that 95 percent of these children do not receive any type of medical, emotional, social, material, or school-related assistance. Based on our experiences so far, these numbers do not seem to be coming down soon. We need to do something about it.

“At one of the orphanage homes we visited, we saw four sets of twins between the ages of just 7 days and 9 months. My children were very shocked to see children at that age with no families or homes. This led them to ask the caregivers why these little ones were here, and they were informed that the children’s mothers died during childbirth with no other option of care for them.

“This really affected me all the way to my core. In that moment, I was filled with sadness. So much so that tears began to roll from my eyes. I could not help but think that these could have been my children. Just like these women, I also had a very challenging child birth with my twin girls. It was one of the most difficult things I have had to go through in my life. During their birth, I had some complications and my heart stopped beating! The healthcare providers in the hospital had to call an emergency code to get me back. I could have died if not for the mercies of God who saved me. My children’s birth bed could have been my death bed, but Jesus brought me back to life, He gave me another chance!

“As I continued to reminisce on that time, my twins snapped me back to reality. Dire, one of the twins then asked, “can we adopt them?” Not long after, Dara, her twin-sister then expanded on the idea, “why don’t we just build a home just like this one instead, so that it will give even more orphans and motherless children a home and an opportunity at life?” The whole family loved the idea, and Atoke Best Care Foundation was born.

“Atoke Bestcare Foundation is a subset of our home health agency in the United States of America called Best Care Providers Inc. where we provide much needed medical attention and aid to patients and their families in the comfort of their homes. With our over ten years of experience, especially in dealing with the young population, we have cared for children who are living in accommodations with no families to fend for them. This has educated us to understand that this endeavor requires more than a roof over their heads.

“Building ABC Foundation from an idea to a reality took a lot of emotional, physical, mental, and financial commitment. To the point of the commissioning of this foundation, I did not get or seek funding from anywhere. This took a lot of hard work and perseverance, and I would like to give all the glory to Almighty God for the opportunity given to me to be used as His vessel for this.

“The bible says in Psalms 127 verse 1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain”. The completion of ABC Foundation is simply because the Lord built this house and its mission. I believe that God placed us here, in this position to help humanity, give hope to the hopeless, put a smile on people’s faces, and be a blessing to our generation and generations to come. I do not take this calling for granted.

“I do believe that it does take a village to raise a child. In our case, it took the help of a man of God whom God used to fulfill this dream in the person of Pastor Olugboyega Olusola. Pastor really worked tirelessly, day and night, to make sure this idea became an accomplished reality. I also thank all my late mother, Mama Deborah Doja Olajide and Mama Caroline Olukemi Ogunsola, spiritual fathers, and mothers for their prayers and moral support through this process. I want to appreciate my husband and children for their inspiration and support to birth this foundation. I also thank my families and friends who were instrumental to the foundation physically, financially, and spiritually. God has been faithful to us from the very start to this point.

“I am so excited for this idea to start bearing fruits, as we begin to welcome the children who will call this place home.

“Finally, I look forward to partnering with you all and other entities to take Atoke Bestcare Foundation to even greater heights. Thank you all”, she said.

On the entourage of the wife of Oyo deputy governor include Yeye Adenike Aderibigbe; Mrs Kike Pitan; Princess Gbonjubola Owolabi; Hon. Suliyat Opeyemi Alakufo and host of others.