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•UTA to the rescue
It is said that one of the best ways to start a new month is by supporting the needy, the underprivileged, by putting smiles on their faces and giving them hope for the future.
So, Monday, April 3, 2023, will remain evergreen in the life of Mr. Joshua Omale, a physically challenged man whose normal abode is the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, where he combines begging with any menial job he can find.
That day was a turning point in his life because the United Towns Agency (UTA), Nigeria chapter, team, led by the country president, Princess Abigail Amalaha, blessed him.
That day, UTA, a United Nations-accredited non-governmental organisation, put smiles on the face of Omale by having lunch with him and presenting him with a brand new wheelchair to ease his movement.
According to Princess Amalaha, the essence of the UTA team having lunch with him was to make him realise that, though he was physically challenged, he was still part of society and that there were people who still loved him.
After lunch, to the surprise of the Kogi State-born 46-year-old Omale, who is married with four children, he was presented with a new wheelchair and cash to support him in any little business he might want to engage in.
The UTA country president explained that Omale caught her attention on the occasion she saw him in Federal Secretariat parking arena struggling with his wornout wheelchair. On closer interaction with him, she was amazed at his good command of English, which made her start thinking of how he could be assisted.
Narrating his plight, Omale explained that he was not born crippled but suffered injuries in an accident on December 17, 2003, which confined him to a wheelchair. According to him, when he lost the ability to use his legs properly due to the accident, he couldn’t afford a wheelchair at the time, but God used a generous man to get him one, which he had been using since 2003.
Although the wheelchair was now old and very uncomfortable, he still managed it because of his inability to get a new one. He also added that life had been difficult for him and his family since he became physically challenged.
According to him, getting a job was tough because of his condition, but in order to meet his family’s needs, he would rather go to the Federal Secretariat every day to beg for money and do any little work he could find to fetch some money than sit all day doing nothing.
Reacting to the unexpected surprise from the UTA team, Omale prayed for the UTA country president and her colleagues. With tears in his eyes, he also expressed appreciation to the organisation for coming to his rescue and giving him a reason to smile again.
He added that he has long prayed to God for a change of his wheelchair and God used the UTA to answer his prayer.
Princess Amalaha explained that her joy knew no bounds on seeing the joy and happiness on Omale’s face because of the token from UTA. She urged government at all levels, organisations and endowed individuals to be their “brother’s keeper” and support the underprivileged in any way they can. She added that it is not their own making that most of them found themselves in their present condition.
“There are so many Joshuas within our neighbourhoods, a little support can change their life,” she stated.
