Gloria Ikegbule
Nigeria’s first hospital owned and operated by the Catholic Church, Sacred Heart Hospital in Lantoro, Abeokuta now has an orphanage center. It was built and dedicated by the Late Most Supreme Apostle Matthew Omodayo Owotuga Foundation in honor of Late Most Supreme Apostle Omodayo Owotuga who passed on 10 years ago.
The hospital, established in 1895 with this development has recorded another feat to be the first catholic orphanage in Abeokuta. The orphanage was said to be built to support the less privileged including orphans, motherless children, and the destitute.
Speaking during the commissioning and hand over ceremony of the Omodayo Owotuga Centre to the now Sacred Heart Orphanage on Tuesday in Abeokuta, the Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta, Most Rev. Peter Odetoyinbo, expressed his gratitude to the Omodayo Owotuga family and enjoined the rich and influential figures to begin empowerment programmes for the destitute and orphans.
“With a sense of gratitude to God, having blessed so many, the only way to express such gratitude is to share with all these children and those who don’t have. I implore all who can, to do it,” the Bishop said.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees, Omodayo Owotuga Foundation, Samuel Jonathan, said the act of the generosity and benevolence was born out of commemorating and promoting the legacy of the Late Most Supreme Apostle Omodayo Owotuga who passed on 10 years ago.
He said part of the efforts of the foundation since its inception in 2009, was to extend charity and gifts to different organizations, orphans and indigent children whose parents can’t pay their tuition fees.
According to him, the late Owotuga was a lover of education who enjoyed helping the less privileged, especially children with respect to their academic pursuits.
He said, “The late Owotuga had laid the foundation of kindhearted gesture before he died, so it is only mandatory that we continue his tradition; as such we have been able to reach out to indigent students who can’t pay their school tuition fees and for examinations, be it West African Examinations Council (WAEC) or the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB).”
First child and daughter of the late Owotuga, Mrs. Agnes Ehinmowo added that, while the foundation has helped in paying up bills of hospital patients, giving out scholarships to indigent students, visiting Ibara prison, other orphanage homes, amongst others, she is hopeful an orphanage centre will also be built in Ondo State very soon since her late father hailed from the state.
Picture tag:
L-R: Chairman, Omodayo Owotuga Foundation, Jonathan Samuel; Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta, Most Rev. Peter Odetoyinbo; Chief Matron, Sacred Heart Hospital, Rev. Dr. Roseleen da Silva and CFA, Group Executive Director, Finance & Risk Mgt. Forte Oil Plc., Julius Omodayo-Owotuga, at the Commissioning and Hand Over Ceremony of Omodayo Owotuga Centre to Sacred Heart Orphanage, Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta on Tuesday 23rd April 2019.