An Abuja-based non-profit hosted a party for the internally-displaced persons and orphans around the Federal Capital Territory last weekend.
The Osasu Show Foundation held the event on Saturday to bring succour to citizens who were displaced by the eight-year-long Boko Haram war, as well as orphaned school children.
An estimated two million people are said to have fled their homes across the north-eastern part of the country, the region most affected by the deadly acts of the terrorists, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Thousands of the fleeing victims have taken shelter at makeshift camps in different parts of the country, including the FCT.
Osasu Igbinedion, an Abuja-based journalist and host of ‘The Osasu Show’, told PREMIUM TIMES she’s using her foundation to support the troubled and the less privileged because she doesn’t want them to feel left behind this season.
“Anytime I visit the IDPs’ camps, I leave with a heavy heart as most of them are going through very difficult situations,” Ms. Igbinedion said. “That’s why I feel elated to be here today to celebrate the season with the displaced persons.”
“I truly hope it will make them forget their sorrow, even if it is only for a moment,” Ms. Igbinedion said, adding that she was inspired by the vital roles women play as the bedrock of every family around the world.
She said her foundation also supports orphaned schoolchildren and provides up to 200 women with a start-up capital for small-scale ventures that could help improve their livelihoods.
“I was happy to be a part of the Christmas party,” said Aminat Aina, a senior school four student at Hajara Ahmed International Secondary School in Kano. “I met new friends and I learnt new things at the party.”
The 14-year-old was at the River Plate Gardens venue of the event in the company of scores of other orphaned schoolchildren whom the foundation had selected from the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Ms. Igbinedion said she hoped her foundation’s efforts would help spur others to contribute their time and resources towards dignified living conditions for the less privileged.
