By Sunday Ani
Rotary Club of Lagos Festac Cosmopolitan recently donated birth delivery kits to pregnant women in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Several pregnant women who attended antenatal care at the Amuwo Odofin Primary Health Centre, Festac, received nursing mother bag each containing delivery kits such as cord clamp, cotton wool, sanitary pads, surgical gloves, razor blades, scalpel blades, mucus extractor, delivery mat and Chloxy-G gel
Addressing the women, chairman of the planning committee, Ik Onodi, told them that what the members of the club had done was help them with some of the items needed for delivery.
He said: “We know that you must have prepared for this journey but we just want to identify with you by providing you with some of those essential things you need for safe delivery of your babies. The idea is just to show that we are also concerned.
“We care for you and as you enter the labour room, just know that it is not only your husband that is concerned about your safe delivery; we at the Rotary Club of Festac Cosmopolitan are also not just in prayer but making every effort within our power to ensure you come out safe and smiling.
“Inside the bag are those things you are usually asked to buy for your delivery so that the burden will not be so much on you.”
Responding on behalf of the pregnant women that received the bags, Mrs. Treasure Okem, thanked the club members. She said: “We are very grateful. Most of the things you gave us here are the things most of us are already planning to buy. I am personally very grateful and on behalf of the pregnant women, we say thank you very much. May God bless and replenish your pocket a million folds.”
In a related development, the Club also re-equipped the library of two primary schools – New Town Nursery and Primary School and Ideal Nursery and Primary School, both located on 3RD Avenue, Festac, Lagos.
The Club donated verbal and quantitative reasoning text books for all the classes ranging from primaries one to six in both schools. Last year, the Club established the two libraries and equipped them with novels and other textbooks but this time round, it decided to supply the schools with more books on quantitative and verbal reasoning.
Presenting the books to the Head Teacher of the Ideal Nursery and Primary School, Onafeso Adebola Olufemi, Onodi said they were encouraged to provide the books because the last the Club visited the school unannounced, pupils were seen reading at the library. “The last time we came, we saw some of the pupils reading and that was the motivation to donate more books. Last time, we provided novels but this time we decided to go for quantitative and verbal reasoning. We are happy that the books are being utilised. We are happy to be here and we will keep coming,” he said
Responding, the Head Teacher, who is also the chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Amuwo Odofin LGA, Mr. Olufemi thanked members of the Club for the gesture.
He thanked the club for making his school the first primary in Festac to have a standard library and promised that the pupils would make good use of it. “I really appreciate your efforts. You are doing a good job. At least, these books will go a long way to strengthen the vocabulary of the pupils and also to help them in mathematics.
“Apart from this, you have done some other projects for us. This library was your handiwork and my school happened to be the first primary school to have a library in Festac. I promise you that the pupils will put the books to use but like Oliver Twist, we are asking for more,” he stated.
Presenting the books at New Town Nursery and Primary School, the president of the Club, Uche Ibiang urged them to ensure that the books were not for decoration but that the pupils read them to improve their knowledge.
Responding, the Head Teacher, Mrs Badiru Oluweaseyi thanked the Club for taking care of the children and promised to ensure that the books are well utilised
“We can’t thank you enough but the almighty God will continue to be with you. As you are taking care of these children, wherever your own children are, the hand of God will be upon them. God shall continue to be with. We assure you that we will make use of the books. We are equally expecting more from you,” she said.
The Club also refurbished the water borehole under its water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) project at New Town Nursery and Primary School.
Speaking about the project, Ik Ugwu said what the Club did was to refurbish the already existing but dysfunctional borehole, by installing a water filter and redistributing the water to the school’s toilets and the two wash-hand basins at the school’s entrance gate.
He urged them to take care of the borehole and make proper use of it. “We also bought a pumping machine and fixed two generating sets so you can pump water when there is no light. We are members of the Rotary Club of Lagos Festac Cosmopolitan. We feel we are part of the school and we will do more in future,” he said.