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By Bolaji Okunola
Days after reuniting Lagos youths with grassroots football tourney, a Non- governmental organization, Navaney Foundation extended her kind gesture to orthopedic patients, while vowing to do more for the betterment of the country.
The foundation whose core aim is reuniting the community using football as a tool, feeding the needy, sponsoring kids to school and empowering the widow , disclosed this while dashing out wheelchairs and crutches to patients at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos.
Speaking at the charity occasion which took place on Saturday, 29th of November, founder, Chief John Apkan, expressed gratitude to staff and patients of the hospital for embracing their idea while urging all never to relent in their bid to make Nigeria great. Apkan however hinted the charity is a tip of the iceberg compared to other plans in the offing which will be executed in a few days time.
Speaking further, the philanthropist revealed over N30million is spent annually to ensure all projects are executed while he looks forward to extending the foundation tentacle beyond Lagos.
“This is our way of giving back to the society and I’m happy seeing people smile most especially the less privileged. Let me also make it clear this is not the first time we’ve been doing this and as a matter of fact the foundation has been known for meaningful outreach which can promote the image of the country.”
“I often tell people the government can’t do it alone. If others can embrace this idea I bet you the country will be a great place to leave. I can’t imagine seeing patients finding it difficult to walk while we have a foundation as to what it takes to assist.
Aside from this outreach, we also have other plans which include the back to school program where we share school uniforms, school books and other writing materials to students.”
“This year, we gave about 200 children from five schools in Lagos and we’re hoping to do more. We also have a free food program where we feed the needy in various communities. We are also known to give palliatives to widows and we’ve been doing this majorly for residents of Kirikiri town, Lawanson, Ojuelegba and other areas of Lagos.
We’re just starting, this is our third year and our aim is to extend this beyond Lagos. We ought to have gone beyond this vicinity but finance has been a major tool halting our plan and I hope with time things will get better for it’s not easy spending over 30 million naira annually on charity. If we get more money, then I can assure you we’ll reach out to more people,” he assured.
In a similar vein, the foundation Communication Manager, Onyinye Udeh also hinted all hands are on deck to ensure a project of this magnitude is being executed regularly while she prays patients get quick recovery from their various ailments.
The foundation, however received kudos from beneficiaries, Idris Alabi and Okunade Gabriel. The duo expressed their gratitude while praying the outfit would get bigger in days to come.
