Jet Stanley Madu
Mrs. Theresa Attai Sappor is the managing partner of Sappor Kitchen and owner of Sappor Retail Thrift Shop. Through her thrift shop, she gives soft loans to widows and helps families hit by disasters in Lagos to start life a new, while her non-governmental organisation, Dorcas Benevolent Foundation, has empowered more than 150 widows
Mrs. Sappor spoke to Daily Sun recently on her political ambition and her desire to reach out to grassroots people if her bid to occupy the councillorship seat ever comes to fruition.
How long has your foundation been running the charity initiatives?
I have been running it for 22 years. The foundation takes care of the less privileged, children, widows and the aged. As we receive favour from well-meaning Nigerians, we are able to give indigent children scholarships. For widows, we have a revolving loan scheme where we give interest-free loans. This is to basically help them to either start up a business or boost an existing but diminishing one. They often tell us their petty businesses go down because that is from where they cater for their families and children’s welfare.
Most of our beneficiaries are traders, some of whom are women who hawk their wares. Some sell pure water. I visited one of them who came for a loan and saw the things she was selling. In fact, all the articles in her tray were not worth more than N3,000. We understand that these women are desperately poor and are in need of loans, no matter how much it is. So, we give them soft loans, ranging from N5,000 to N20,000. The recipient uses it for six months to one year. Then she returns it to enable another person benefit from it, too.
How are you able to cope with such a capital-intensive charity?
Over the years, the programme of Dorcas Benevolent Foundation has attracted so many friends, corporate and individual. It will surprise you to know that some corporate bodies share same values with us. The plight of the downtrodden makes them lose sleep. For several years, they have shown a soft spot for indigent children and widows. That organisation is our number one helper. The firm has cared so passionately for the needy. In fact, they have a heart of gold for the less-privileged.
There are individuals who have assisted us to give a lifeline to the needy in the communities where we work. There is a particular woman who wants to remain anonymous. I have never seen such a heart. She has even placed our widows on salaries for life. She pays them through our foundation. We have about 152 widows whom Dorcas Foundation caters for. At festive periods, we give out food items, clothing and cash. Now, we give out items to them weekly. It starts from Monday through Friday.
Why do you focus on widows?
When I was growing up, I made friends with elderly people. At a point in my life, I read about a woman in the Holy Bible called Dorcas, who did God’s will and helped widows a lot. When she died, most of those widows whom she helped brought out the things Dorcas had given to them and showed to the man of God. She miraculously came back to live because of her good deeds. I admired the story of Dorcas. I chose to emulate her lifestyle and I am happy and fulfilled doing this.
Secondly, I consider our effort as a way to keep these widows positively engaged and busy. It is also important to help take their minds off prostitution.
We have some elderly beneficiaries. Some of them are in their 80s. There is a particular woman who is 86 years old. We pleaded with her and a few others that we would be bringing their items to their homes. They refused and would, instead, come to the venues and distribution channels to get their items. Their reason for walking to the venues is to keep fit. They see it as a form of exercise for them, while our festive parties help them to drive away boredom.
You said earlier that you loved politics. Do you have your eyes on any elective spot?
I just love politics. People say politics is dirty but I always disagree on that. Politics is not dirty. Sometimes, people just like being dirty. I see politics as another avenue to connect properly with the grassroot people to render more service to them. So, if I have the opportunity to serve, I would love to serve in the capacity of a councillor. At that level, I would reach more widows and youths who would need to be impacted by government.
I have presented myself for councillorship but the people said I have grown beyond the level of councillorship. That is the only level at which I believe I will be exposed to the needy who I am desirous to touch and change their lives.
Are you satisfied at the number of women participants in this year’s general election?
I am not particularly happy with the number. It is still below expectations. We need more women in this area because they drive change. The Bible describes us as men’s helpers. Really, more women in the polity can help bring about the desired transformation for Nigeria and Nigerians. You may ask, what did some woman do when they got the opportunity? On a general note though, women are good in politics. And we are good to go.
How soon do you envision a duly elected female governor in this country?
It won’t be long before we witness that.
Aside from your foundation, what other endeavours are you engaged in?
I operate a charity thrift shop. It is more or less like a charity shop. It is like an extension of the love and caring we offer through our foundation. The last experience we had was when a certain lady came to the thrift shop on Igbosere Road, directly opposite the High Court. She said that her house was gutted by fire and they lost all their belongings. We gave her beddings, matrasses, clothes, kitchen utensil, in fact, a lot of things to help them start life again. To my amazement, she broke down in tears and wept profusely.
How do you get your supplies?
Sometimes, we have these things donated. At other times, I buy them very cheap because I tell the sellers and suppliers that I use some of the stuff for charity. So, they give us at very cheap prices and we sell at give-away prices so people would be blessed. We also give out many of these stuff for charity, that is, after we must have paid our rent.
What kind of items are in stock in your charity thrift shop?
We have beddings, clothes, shoes, mats. We stock virtually everything newborns need, including diapers. Basically, we have what most people who might be moving out of the country to other shores leave behind. They donate their wares, household items and so on to the shop. Others may want to have a change of furniture or other property. Some may give them away, while others sell them very cheap to us. So, we have mostly household items –pots, stoves, cookers, freezers, plates, dining and table sets, you’ll find them there.
In the space of two months, you have done two separate charities involving huge amounts in cash and otherwise.
No amount of charity can ever be enough. Our Lord Jesus makes us understand that we shall always have the needy in our midst. We have them in numbers in this part of the state. Our last charity initiative was during the last Easter. The reason Dorcas Benevolent Foundation gave out various sums of cash to over 150 widows as well as to the aged was to help them send their children back to school after the holidays. We gave scholarship aid to indigent children too. What we do at festive periods is to enable our people have a merry and joyous celebration.