BY AHERHOKE OKIOMA.
Bayelsa’s Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo on Monday called on all well-meaning Bayelsans to throw their weight behind the Gloria Diri Foundation (GDF) to make society a better place for all.
The Deputy Governor made the call while speaking as special guest of honour to flag of the First Phase of the foundation’s Widows-Care Project at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Government House, in Yenagoa.
Making reference to Matthew 25 in the Holy Bible, Senator Ewhrudjakpo said attending to the needs of the poor in society, especially the widows, is actually giving to God, which opens the doors for manifold blessings.
He said that although the Widows-Care Project was an initiative of the Bayelsa First Lady, it rightly deserves the material and financial support of all Bayelsans and lovers of the state to succeed.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo, who noted that showing love for God and humanity entails sacrificial giving, pointed out that abundance and overflow of blessings is only guaranteed by giving.
He appealed to the widows selected for the first phase of the project and subsequent beneficiaries to make best use of the opportunities being given to them by the Foundation and other philanthropic individuals and organizations.
The Deputy Governor encouraged them to be courageous and optimistic, and never allow their present challenges dampen their resolve to succeed in whatsoever profitable activity they engage in to make ends meet.
Earlier in her remarks, the Founder of the Gloria Diri Foundation and Wife of the Bayelsa Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria Diri, said she was divinely instructed to initiate the Windows-Care Project under the aegis of the GDF to positively touch the lives of widows in the state.
Mrs. Gloria Diri explained that the Widows-Care Project was not a once-off activity, but a continual one which could only be sustained through support from government, NGOs, corporate bodies and public-spirited individuals.
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She noted that no single person could independently meet the needs of all the poor in society and therefore solicited public support for the Widows-Care Project.
According to the First Lady, the project will provide a wide spectrum of support for various categories of widows ranging skills training, development of existing businesses, and offering of educational scholarships to children of some widows
Speaking as chairman of the occasion, the Leader of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Monday Edwin Obolo, thanked the First Lady for embarking on the Widows-Care Project, noting that it would go a long way to alleviating the plight of widows in the state.
In her goodwill message, the Chief Judge, Honourable Justice Kate Abiri, described the project as a form of evangelism to win souls for Christ and should be expanded and taken beyond its present scope.
While calling for support for the Widows-Care Project, Justice Kate Abiri appealed for its adoption as a social crusade to change the narrative of widows who are often deprived of their rights in their deceased spouses’ families.
On her part, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hon. Faith Opene, expressed gratitude to Mrs. Gloria Diri for the supporting the widows and always giving hope to the hopeless in society.
