Group takes hope to streets of Lagos

Nigerian children living on the streets of Lagos will have cause to smile soon as a nongovernmental organisation, Glorious Vessels Foundation, perfects plans to lift their spirit.

Glorious Vessels Foundation Nigeria is an offspring of Vessels of Hope, a non-profit organisation and the charity arm of Hope Now TV and Conferences, founded by Ruckey Peniel.

It was established in 2012 as a response to the needs of the less privileged observed by Peniel while working as a legal counsellor and interpreter for victims of human trafficking in Zurich, Switzerland.

Peniel, an international public speaker, author, and host of Hope Now TV and Conferences, has many years’ experience as a pastoral counsellor and relationship coach.

She seeks effective preventive ways of dealing with the psychosocial issues of the people especially the less-privileged as opposed to just intervention.

On her foundation’s latest project titled Hope on the Streets (HOTS) slated for March 23 in Lagos, Peniel said the event is targeted at street children in the Oshodi area of Lagos.

She said HOPE NOW through the Glorious Vessels Foundation in Nigeria is working to empower the hopeless and less privileged in Nigerian communities. She said the overarching idea is to bring hope to the hopeless.

“Our March 23 programme is targeted at street children in Oshodi area of Lagos. We have observed that there are children many of whom are exposed to the vicissitudes of daily living without anyone caring for their well-being. It is a globally accepted principle that children and the vulnerable must be protected by the state and individuals in a position to do so.

“In Nigeria and Lagos in particular, children are exposed to the elements and other hazards with many of them out of school. At Hope Now through the Glorious Vessels Foundation, we aim to reach out to as many as we can. We have to change not only this deplorable situation by appealing to the conscience of our people but equally through physical action like the one we have scheduled for March 23,” Peniel said.

Shedding more light on the event, she said HOTS Lagos, as the programme is officially tagged, is an action to bolster self-confidence in street children and to inspire a crime free lifestyle whilst emphasizing the importance of education and dignity. She said on that day, the foundation will distribute food and gift items to the street children.

Recently, the foundation brought succour to widows of the victims of insurgency in Nigeria’s Northeast by supplying them with food items purchased through funds realized from a fundraiser organized by its sister organisation, Vessels of Hope, Switzerland at the Hope Now Zurich 2018. In attendance at that event was Nigeria’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Baba Madugu.