Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-city
The Oloi Evbagharu Erediawa Foundation (OLEF) yesterday gave the first set of 10 indigent children an N100,000 each as a scholarship, saying plans are underway to establish a skills acquisition centre for women in Edo State.
OLEEF is a non-profit organisation established in memory of Oloi Evbagdaru Janet Erediawa, late wife of His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Oba Erediauwa, to provide financial aid, primary healthcare support and educational opportunities for Nigerian children and youths, especially those without adequate social or economic status to fulfill their academic and vocational dreams.
Speaking at the formal launch of the foundation in Benin-city, the capital of Edo State, a member the Board of Trustees (BoT) and husband to the first daughter of the late Oloi, Ebhodaghe Sylvester, said each of the awardees is to get N100,000, while there is also a plan to expand the scheme.
In her welcome address, the Chairman of BoT of OLEEF, Joyce Ojemudia, said the late Oloi Janet Erediawa, during her lifetime, did so much for God and humanity, and that her legacies must not be allowed to die.
She stated that that was why the family wants to keep her legacies alive, using education and health care for the community.
“All of us as parents know that education is so vital in the life of any child. So, we are here to sponsor and partner with the Foundation. We have a lot of projects to be done, as no child should be denied education. The Foundation will do everything to make sure that we give education to every child in our space of contact.
“And it will take your cooperation to achieve this, and that is why I said that sponsorship is not enough. I believe that many people here will partner us to take this laudable venture to a greater height.”
Speaking also, the Chairman of the occasion and former Deputy Governor of Delta State, Kingsley Otuaro, said the departed Oloi had lived a life of service to God and humanity, and that is the basis through which the Foundation is built.
According to him, “We all know that you cannot overemphasise the need for education in the lives of our children, and that is why we are doing it in remembrance of our mother today. I want to encourage us to give this our best by supporting the Foundation, knowing that we are touching lives the way our mother did.”
While delivering his keynote address, the Vice Chancellor of Benson Idahosa University (BIU), Prof. Sam Gubadia, said it has become obvious that the government cannot cover all the space in governance, and that’s what necessitated the need for groups like OLEEF.
