By Sumaila Ogbaje
Gurku (Nasarawa State) – The Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA) has donated trucks load of relief materials to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Gurku IDP camp in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that DEPOWA carried out the visit to the IDPs as part of its Charity Out reach activities on Monday.
Items donated by DEPOWA are 100 bags of 50kg rice, 300 cartons of Indomie, 150 gallons of 3 litres Groundnut Oil, 200 tubers of yam as well as 70 cartons of detergent and 50 cartons of bathing soap.
Others are eight 100kg bags of beans, 30 bags of Maize, 20 bags of Garri, 15 bags of guinea corn, 15 cartons of milk, 15 cartons of Bournvita and Milo and 10 bags of Sugar.
The items donated also include 100 pieces of mattresses, 50 cartons of washing soap, three cartons of medical supplies, eight cartons of pomade and 300 pieces of insecticide treated mosquito net.
They also donated bags and sacks of used clothes, 54 pieces of new wrapper materials as well as toiletries such as Nivea body cream and roll on and rolls of tissue paper.
48 widows also got special package of all the items donated each.
The President of DEPOWA and wife of the Chief of Defence Staff, Mrs Omobolanle Olonisakin, said that the visit was to identify with the IDPs with the belief that every Nigerian deserve basic necessities of life.
Olonisakin said that DEPOWA had always strived to reach out to the most vulnerable people so as to help them meet their basic needs.
She however called on all Nigerians to lend a helping hand in alleviating the suffering of the IDPs.
“We should collectively come together to assist the less privileged in our communities especially those displaced from their own communities due to insurgency.
“It is with high sense of humility and our commitment to continue to provide succour for the less privileged in our society that we are here today to pay a humanitarian visit to the occupants of this camp.
“It is a well known fact and in my candid opinion that the Boko Haram sect has in no unmistakable terms declared war on Nigeria and her people but the Almighty God has continued to grant us victory over our enemies.
“We salute the courage of the security agencies who have risked their lives for our sake thereby making our being here today possible to identify with you in your trying time.
“We sincerely pray to God for you for quickly return to your communities to start life in a better way.
“Also, we salute the courage and effort of Nasarawa government, her agencies and the management of the camp for all efforts so far.
“Our visit here today is to meet the IDPs who have been displaced as a result of insurgency.
“This displacement has made life very unbearable despite efforts of the federal and state government through the various emergency management agencies and other international donor partners,” she said.
Relief materials donated by the Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA) to the Internally Displaced Persons at Gurku IDP Camp in Nasarawa State on 13/1/2020
Earlier, the Programme and Camp Coordinator for Gurku IDP Camp, Mr Bulus Garba, commended DEPOWA for the gesture while briefing them on the history of the camp.
Garba disclosed that the camp, which was inaugurated on May 12, 2015 started with 62 houses that housed not less than 100 families.
He commended NGOs such as faith based organisations, community development organisations, and other government organisations for their support for the camp by making it a community.
“We are happy to have you in our midst today and we appreciate your humanitarian visit to this camp.
“It is through this type of your visitation that we achieved what we have achieved here today.
“When I learnt that you are coming here, I made a little research and I discovered that this is not just the first or the second or the third of such an activity that you have engaged yourself in.
“Anywhere there is DEPOWA branch you are doing this humanitarian work and it is only God that will reward you and we the IDPs here welcome you with an open heart.
“We pray that you will continue to grow from strength to strength and what you will be doing in future will not be just to come and donate relief materials but to empower people to live the lives they want to live,” he said.
Garba also solicited for more support for the camp in the areas of medical services, educational support among others to cater for the needs of the people.
A beneficiary, Mrs Hannatu Umar, thanked the DEPOWA and its president for the humanitarian support provided for them.
Umar said that people and organisations had been visiting the camp but that what DEPOWA donated to them was quite enormous compared to what they have been given in the past.
She commended the management of the camp for ensuring that they had decent lives in the camp.
(NAN)
