Follow Us on Google
By Agatha Emeadi
The passion of Princess Mercy Suess is to help the less privileged children grow, get a good education and become successful adults. This she first began with several children of her siblings and gradually expanded the circle of beneficiaries such as children in orphanages.
This informed her decision to set up the Fraususs Children Empowerment Foundation (FSCEF), about 10 years ago, to serve as a platform for executing her philanthropic activities.
Prior to establishing the foundation, Suess who hails from Oruk Anam Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State had career a meritorious career in Luthansa Airlines, where she rose through the ranks to become Operations Manager, before she retired, to focus on philanthropic activities and build a loving family with her German husband and adorable children.
In this interview, she recounts her journey in charity works.
Please, give us a snapshot of yourself.
About 20 years ago, I started out as an agent, went up a notch as customer services officer, later supervisor and then became Operations Manager, all in Lufthansa Airlines here in Lagos, Nigeria. I resigned in 2019. From Lufthansa, I joined Pathfinder, a private security firm as Project Quality Assurance Manager for a year. I took the contract for one year and left because I was preparing to leave Nigeria so my son could start school in Germany. My husband and I agreed that when the children got to school age, we would relocate them to Germany, their home country. I am married to a German. However, when I was preparing to leave the country, it was heartbreaking because I was so worried about the foundation. That was a part of me that I never wanted to leave behind. It was challenging because a lot of people looked up to us. Well, God gave us the grace and we were able to get this office as our rallying point. We have a coordinator and other members. The coordinator took over the physical work. Thank God for the advent of social media, which aids me to attend all our programmes, especially on zoom and also reach out to our donors.
What was the specific thing that spurred you to establish the foundation?
Well, I would say that charity which starts at home is part of my bloodline. My late mother was the same, though she did hers in the village and in a different way. But when she passed on, I realized that this is inborn because everyone testified about her services, up to the extent that when we went for the burial, the women in the village came together to meet my sister and I asking what would happen to them since their benefactor was no longer living.
They asked us who would stay back to continue from where our mother stopped. They said she guided and showed them the way. Now that she was no more, who would take over. We just laughed about it.
For me, when I started charity, I began because I wanted to cause a generational change in my father’s house. I am from a royal but not a wealthy family. So, it was a struggle. I am the last child in a family of six. I grew up to see that most of my siblings did not further their education appropriately and it was backward. I was the only one striving to go to school and make something out of myself. I tried to influence my siblings to do the same, but because I was the last born, no one listened to me. Even when I made resources available to finance extra classes to forge ahead, it was turned down and that was frustrating. So, I saw that they were just giving birth to children and not raising them properly. And if I allowed it, the children would also grow up to be like their parents. I saw a need to stand in the gap. I told myself that it was possible to cause a change with little action. But then, the mind of a child is like a skate which one can write whatever he or she chooses. Therefore, I decided to write myself in the mind of their children so they could all grow the same way with me. I was 24 at the time and a staff member of Lufthansa. I rented a three-bedroom apartment and took a child each from my senior siblings and they all lived with me like my own children. I sent all of them to primary, secondary and universities. Today, they are all graduates. The good thing was when I took those three to be under my care and supervision, all the other grandchildren of my parents sat up. It became like a competition. Everybody looked up to my children who I gave the best I could. When my siblings could not provide for the ones with them, I stepped in to support with generational change in my mind. Today, I am happy because every single grandchild of my parents has graduated or is about to graduate.
How do you feel as a mother hen who brought a generational change being the youngest in the family?
I am a proud mother, and a big aunty who is always celebrated at all times. Then again, while I was training my nieces, I felt I could do more, so I got introduced to Ijamido Children’s Home, Ota, Ogun State and I started visiting them. When I had my traditional marriage, I had a lot of wedding gifts which I sent to the home.
So, during my white wedding which took place in Germany, I told most of the guests that I didn’t want gifts, instead it should be converted to cash. That was how we went to Ijamido Children’s Home to find out what they needed, which was a drainage problems to avoid a waterlogged compound. We sent an assessor to the home and my wedding guests responded positively and all the donations went to the home. During my birthdays, my mother-in-law loves to celebrate my birthday in Germany. I told my friends over there to bring things for the children which I packed and brought to Nigeria. This time around, I wanted my friends to join me to visit the home instead of going alone. That was how the event gave birth to “A Day With Frau Suess.” It is a programme we do once a year and other charity works like visiting other homes to donate various foodstuffs. In the subsequent years, other homes joined us. I was encouraged to register a foundation, which I named Fraususs Children Empowerment Foundation. From that moment we started caring for children living with very low income parents, orphanages and in rural villages in Akwa Ibom State.
How did you come up with the monthly food drop-off?
During visits to some homes, I have seen children that were in very low mood. When a child is hungry, he/she will lose focus, so I decided to get my friends, poo resources together and make sure that every month the children have food in the homes. As the number of homes increased, we found a central place and asked the homes to come to the place to receive their items. That was how monthly food drop-off started. Before now, we used to get a lot from our sponsors and send out, but with the economic situation in the country, all that has been streamlined because the resources have gotten so tough.
What about continuity because you cannot abandon what you have started?
Well, God is with us. We hope to get more sponsors who are interested in what we are doing, seeing we are helping the commo,unity. If we don’t get that, God will find a way for us.
What has it been like being married to a German? Have faced cultural shock?
It has been beautiful and peaceful. We were not colleagues at Lufthansa, instead he came to see off his friend who was travelling. As he was outside the checkin counter looking, I walked up to him to ask if he needed any help. After his friend checked in, he came back to ask me to be his friend. We exchanged contacts and every other thing followed. For me, I love my husband, family, peace. In fact, before we married, I told him, “This girl does not want anything divorce, it is not in my dictionary; he said it will not be in our family.” Apart from seeing my family in Lagos, he visited my mother in the village. After that we travelled to see his family in Germany. So, presently in Germany, we are living in the house where my husband was born and bred. My children are attending the same primary school he attended. We were joined by the priest that baptized him at birth and our children were also baptized in the same church where he was baptized.
Does he eat African foods?
His favourite is egusi soup and poundo. My first son likes drinking garri and sugar, while his brother likes poundo and egusi like his dad.
