Group donates food items to 150 households as community decries FG’s palliatives

Residents of Takushara community in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried neglect in the disbursement of Federal Government palliatives to cushion the impact of the lockdown.

The community made the complaints Wednesday when Skyewise Foundation, a multi-sectoral and human development-oriented organisation, donated food items to 150 households in the community.

The foundation through its medical arm also enlightened and sensitized the community on the basic health tips towards curbing the pandemic.

President of the Foundation, Elvis Abuyere, stated that it was the foundation’s way of giving back to the society, especially with the hardship associated from the lockdown.

“Since the beginning of the lockdown, my heart has been bleeding. We have heard about the government palliatives but a lot of people have cried out that they have not been able to receive any palliatives. So, we said to ourselves there is something we can do to help our society and assist the government.

“We are doing this because we have come to realize that the greatest illness in the world is an empty stomach. If you want to reduce the number of sick people in the world, you have to give them food to eat, because even hunger kills faster than the Coronavirus. So, that is why we are doing this and we will continue as long as we get support from other people and from the government,” he said

Abuyere further expressed excitement at the number of people that turned out to receive the donations, stressing that “today, I feel so excited and this gives me a sense of fulfilment and a sense of belonging, reaching out to people and they are happy just for food.

“This was what motivated me and with the support of everybody, we can do better to develop society.

“Gone are the days when we depended on the government, we don’t have to depend on the government anymore.

“We have to create something out of nothing to help young people to become self-reliant in the 21 century,” he added.

He also tasked Nigerian leaders to set perspectives and create enabling environment for entrepreneurs and philanthropists and empower them to do more for the country.

Responding, the village head of Takushara, Saidu Mohammed, expressed delight at the donations. and prayed to God for more support, especially as they have been neglected by the government.

Some of the beneficiaries, who decried lack of federal government palliatives, expressed joy that the organisation came to the rescue with the donations.

The youth leader of the community, Rilwan Shehu, also lamented the impact of the lockdown without support from the government.

“Things have been very hard on the people here because most of us are farmers and those of us that are working; the government said that junior workers should stay home and we find it difficult to cope with life.

“The help from the organisation means a lot to the community. The palliatives from the Federal Government have not reached us up till now but the government asked us to make a list and we are hoping they will remember us someday.”