Celebration as ICMC graduates 104 beneficiaries of family support program

…inducts another batch of 222 beneficiaries
By OBINNA EZUGWU
It was an atmosphere of joy and celebration, Friday at Oregon, Lagos when the InnerCity Mission for Children ICMC), a non-profit organization founded by Christ Embassy, on Friday graduated 104 beneficiaries of its Family Support Program and took in 222 fresh beneficiaries to be empowered and trained over the next one year.
The Family Support Program which began three years ago as part of the ICMC’s effort to lift families in different communities of Lagos and Ogun States out of poverty, has benefited over 462 individual, including 253 children, and is looking to do even more with the 222 inducted on Friday.
Speaking during the graduation/induction ceremony, Pastor Victor Nosegbe who represented the mission’s director, Pastor Omo Alabi said the program was an initiative aimed at helping families improve their economic well-being in line with the millennium development goals of the United Nations.
“The family support program is an initiative aimed at helping families and households improve their economic well-being and capacity to cater for their children through monthly support with food and material items over a specified period of time,” he said.
“This support is mixed with teaching of God’s word, specialized capacity building classes and skills acquisition and training.
“The program greatly contributes to the millennium development goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowerment of women, reducing child mortality among others.”
He said through the program, the ICMC has been able to lift families out of poverty and avail indigent children of opportunities to have free and qualitative education.
One of the graduands who spoke on the occasion, Mrs. Blessing David, said her life has been transformed from being a depressed widow without hope to a successful entrepreneur who is now able to take care of her children.
She thanked the donors and organizers of the scheme while encouraging new inductees to avail themselves of the opportunity to better their livelihoods.
“I am a widow with five children,” she said. When I lost my husband, things became so difficult for me, I became depressed. So many things went wrong, I became hostile to my children because I wasn’t able to care and provide for them.
“Things went from bad to worse. In fact, to eat I had to depend on what others gave me. If I didn’t see anyone to give me, it meant no food for the day. At a point, I thought about it and said, this can’t continue like this.
“Then, a friend of mine put my name on this list of inner city beneficiaries. Actually, when he first told me I was asking him what he was talking about. But he kept encouraging me until I came. When I did, I was given a Bible, we had Bible study and after that, food was shared to us.
“I remember that day, the pastor was telling us that whatever it was you were doing, you have to be proud of it, that if you are a shoe shiner or a cleaner, you should be proud of what you are doing.
“I now looked at myself and said, in my own case, what will I say I am doing that I should be proud of? Should I be proud of begging or sitting to collect from people?
“When that N5,000 was given to me, I had to do something. I decided to start making liquid soap. The very first day I made the soap, out of anxiety- there was this particular soda which I was not supposed to add more than one table spoon- but because of anxiety, I poured all the soda I bought and mixed it with the soap.
“At the time, we were being taught how to pray and speak in tongues, how we could make our faith work and so on. When I finished preparing the soap, I knew that I had made a mistake, then I called on God, I began to pray, I began to speak in tongues. I asked God, where will I have the money to make another one?
“After that, I took that soap out and I sold everything. I got my money back and that’s how I was able to continue.
“Today, I am supplying my soap to schools, I do home delivery, I do bleach. In fact, whatever you want, I can make for you. Even if you have this paving stones with algae on them, I have a chemical I can make for you which you will use to wash them and everything will be normal.”
She thanked the partners if inner city mission and encouraged the new beneficiaries to rely on God while having the determination to succeed.
In her own remarks, a representative of Mrs. Abiola Adetutu Liadi, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. M. S. Raji, thanked Christ Embassy for coming up with the initiative while promising to encourage more people to partner with ICMC.