Osodieme marks 2018 International Women’s Day
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Remarks by Wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Her Excellency, Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano(Osodieme), Founder of Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ) on the occasion of the 2018 International Women’s Day and Discharge of former Mentally Challenged Persons held on 8th March, 2018 at Nteje, Oyi Local Government Area.
PROTOCOLS
I am delighted that we are gathered here to celebrate the 2018 International Women’s Day, and recovery of some of our brothers and sisters who were once thought incapable of meeting their obligations due to various degrees of mental challenges, not forgetting the special case of our sister who was once assumed lost but now found and fully recovered ready to join her kit and kin.
International Women’s Day 2018
International Women’s Day is a global celebration observed every 8th March, and the theme for Year 2018 International Women’s Day: #Press forProgress is a clarion call for collective action and shared responsibility to drive gender parity and recognition of the rights of women across the globe.
Although our society is still largely patriarchal, we are aware that the Day is not country, group or organization specific. As active members of the global community, Nigeria and indeed Anambra State is at the fore-front of advancing women rights and privileges hence landmark legal advancements like the enforcement of female rights to inheritance especially in Igboland, and the leadership role of our Governor in the appointment of many women to positions of authority in government.
International Women’s Day which was first celebrated in 1911 belongs to all communities everywhere – governments, companies, charities, educational institutions, networks, associations, the media etc. Therefore, I am using this opportunity to call for the acceleration of the drive for gender parity as means of harnessing the strengths of women who are actively involved in ventures for societal progress. I wish all of us a successful celebration of 2018 International Women’s Day.
Discharge of Inmates
It is indeed a thing of great joy for us at Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ) working in collaboration with the Anambra State Ministry of Social Welfare, Children & Women Affairs to note that we are fast realizing the main objective we set out to achieve by establishing this Home for the Mentally Challenged.
As an NGO, CAFÉ strives to be a beacon of sustainable empowerment for indigent women and widows, youths, the physically and mentally challenged and the less privileged. One of the ways we do that is by working to Rebuild the Fabric of the Family.
The place of bonding between parents and children cannot be over-emphasized; by treating and reuniting estranged member of a family we stop the incidence of trauma and ambivalent relationship between them and restore the fabric of the family and by extension that of the larger society. Thus we feel highly elated at the landmark achievement of reuniting eleven of our inmates with their families, especially our dear sister-Rose who is going back home after 32 years of estrangement due to ill-health.
Since inception of this 77-Bed facility in September 2014, we have made tremendous progress treating and rehabilitating over 62 inmates who come from different states in Nigeria including Abia, Ebonyi, Edo, Oyo Anambra etc. We give God Almighty all the glory for the recovery of the eleven inmates we are discharging today especially the remarkable case of our sister Rose.
I also commend my dear husband our Governor, Chief Willie Obiano (Akpokuodike) whose support and encouragement made all this possible. He actually donated his monthly salary to support the upkeep of the inmates. May I therefore use this opportunity to thank all others who support what we are doing and also call on those who have not done so to please lend a hand.
We need all the support both financial, food items and equipment to sustain the extra-mile we travel to ensure the welfare of these inmates. It may interest you to know that late last year; one of the recovering inmates was sponsored to a corrective surgery to remove a growth in his two hands as a result of injury sustained at the peak of his ill-ness. The surgery was successfully carried out at Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital Amaku, Awka and today he has fully recovered.
On my part, I will continue to support the good works of our Governor through CAFÉ programmes. We have touched many lives positively across our communities through the eleven houses we built for indigent widows, twelve toilets to promote hygiene in rural markets, training and empowerment of over 3020 women, free cleft lip surgeries for 45 children and care for the mentally challenged etc. As it is our tradition, we ensure proper post recovery rehabilitation for the inmates by making sure they are meaningfully engaged when they leave here.
Thank you and God bless
Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano
Wife of the Governor, Anambra State.
