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• Water, shelter, skills for families as Fr. Mazi UC commissions N25m projects
From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
On a bright morning in Umuezeugwu, Ihitte/Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State, the sound of drums met the sound of flowing water. Children in crisp uniforms lined the road, while traditional rulers sat under canopies beside government officials. And at the centre of the scene stood a priest well known to millions on social media simply as Father Mazi UC.
Reverend Father Henry Igbokwe, founder of the Father UC Foundation, was not commissioning just one project. He was commissioning a story: a N25 million water project, a new bungalow for a struggling family, sewing machines for young people, school materials for children, and scholarship gifts from Godparents in Austria. It was a charity made visible. And for the community, it felt personal.”Faith must have hands”.
Fr. Igbokwe opened his address with gratitude, then with honesty.
“Many people know me as Fr. Mazi Uc,” he told the crowd. “People see the pictures. They watch the videos. They see children receiving support, families being helped, and projects being completed. Sometimes, when people see the finished work, they see the celebration but they do not always see the journey behind it.”
For him, the journey began quietly. Not with one dramatic moment, but with faces. “I studied poverty and social inequality,” he said. “A thesis can explain poverty. Statistics can measure poverty. Governments can debate poverty. But only a human heart can truly encounter a person who is poor. And that encounter changes you.”
That conviction shapes how he sees his priesthood. “The altar and the street must never be separated,” he said. “When I celebrate the Eucharist, I hold the Body of Christ in my hands. But when I encounter the poor, I am also confronted with the wounded Body of Christ in our world. Helping the poor is not a hobby. It is not a side project. It is not something I do for social media. Faith must have hands. Love must have feet. Prayer must sometimes become bread. Compassion must sometimes become school fees.”
On the surface, the day’s projects looked different. A borehole and tank system worth about N25 million. A newly built home. Sewing machines handed to graduates. Bags, books, and pens for school children. Envelopes and gifts from Godparents abroad.
“A water project is not simply about pipes, tanks and pumps,” he said. “Somewhere behind those figures is a mother who needs water for her family, a child whose daily burden will become lighter. A house is never merely blocks and roofing sheets. For the family who receives it, it is security. A sewing machine may appear ordinary. But in the hands of a determined young person, it can become a profession, a business, a source of income.”
One of the beneficiaries, Anyanwu Blessing, a recent graduate, received a sewing machine after struggling to raise money for her own. “I am happy being remembered,” she said.
Another beneficiary, Uche Chinagorom, also empowered with a machine, said he had felt stuck until the gift arrived. “I felt happy, not handicapped to buy a machine till the gift came,” he told the crowd, thanking the organisers.
Much of the funding came from thousands of kilometres away. Friends and benefactors in Austria have followed Fr. Igbokwe’s work for years through photos and videos. Two of them, Mrs. Waltraud Pühringer and Dr. Christina Schmid, traveled to Imo to witness the impact firsthand.
“For a long time, you have heard the stories,” Fr. Igbokwe told them. “Today, you will see the faces. You will meet the children. You will experience the joy of a family receiving a home.”
He described their support in simple terms: “When a friend in Austria gives towards this work, that generosity does not remain a figure in a bank account. Here in Nigeria, it becomes water. It becomes a roof. It becomes education. It becomes an opportunity.
“Love does not first ask whether a person is Austrian or Nigerian. Love first recognises a fellow human being,” he added.
The event drew wide support. Present were the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chike Olemgbe; Rev. Fr. Dr. Sabinus Iweadighi; the Executive Chairman of Ihitte/Uboma LGA, and traditional rulers, including HRH Eze Marcel Iheme, Egwu Nte III; HRH Eze Engineer Basil, and HRH Eze Desmond of Umuopi and Ugwu Ichie. Their presence, Fr. Igbokwe noted, sent a message: “Government has a role. The church has a role. Traditional institutions have a role. Communities have a role. And every individual who has been blessed with the ability to help another person has a role.”
There was also a quiet, emotional moment when his father, Pa Cyriacus Igbokwe, spoke. The former taxi driver recalled years of being mocked while struggling to train his children. He later bought his own vehicle and pushed his children through school. Today, one of them stands before a community, giving back.
Fr. Igbokwe’s charge to the young people was direct: “See what you receive not merely as a gift, but as a seed placed in your hands. Use it well. Learn. Work. Be disciplined. Be honest. Be patient with the process. And if, one day, God blesses the work of your hands, remember this moment. Then go and believe in someone else.”
To the scholarship children he said: “Your present circumstances do not have the right to determine the size of your dreams. My dream is that one day, some of you will return here as doctors, teachers, engineers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and leaders. And when you return, find another child and say: ‘Now, it is my turn to believe in you.’”
He was clear that charity should not create dependence. “True charity says: ‘I will stand with you, today, so that tomorrow, you can stand and, perhaps, help someone else to stand.’”
In a time when needs often feel overwhelming, Fr. Igbokwe offered a different measure of success.
“I remember the family receiving a home today. For that family, this is not a small thing. I remember the young person receiving a sewing machine. For that young person, this is not a small thing. Hope is never a small thing.”
He closed with a vision bigger than the ceremony: quality education for poor children, skills for young people, basic needs treated as rights, not privileges.
“We do not become poorer by lifting others. We become more human,” he said.
As the taps were turned and water began to flow, the crowd clapped. Children ran. A new door had opened on a new home. Machines placed into waiting hands. And Fr. Mazi Uc, the priest with a phone and a mission, stood as a witness to what he believes most: that kindness still exists, that friendship can cross borders, and that faith, when it leaves the altar, can change a community one person at a time.
