Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
Onicha-Olona in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State was practically electrified yesterday as more than 2,000 children drawn from different schools in the area were treated to an elaborate year-end reception by the Doris Amaka Ochei Foundation (DAO Foundation) as part of a special Christmas cum Boxing Day annual party package.
The host and initiator of the foundation, Dr. Doris Amaka Ochei, also lavished numerous gifts on the obviously excited children who turned out in the uniform of their respective schools, including customized strap-on school bags, notebooks and writing materials specially designed for them.
Many children, who attended the event with their teachers, also carted away various prizes and gifts for participating in the Bible Quiz and dancing competitions as well as cultural display and drama presentation during the event, which was attended by the monarch of Onicha-Olona, HRM Obi Agbogidi Christopher Uzumefune with a full complement of the Obi-in-Council and numerous other dignitaries.
Ugba Primary School Olona field was the venue of the event, which was the second edition of DAO Foundation’s Christmas Party for children, with Major-General Raymond Nkem Ochei, husband of Dr Doris A. Ochei and Executive Director of the Foundation, as Father of the Day.
The event got an unprecedented solidarity boost from members of Ezemu Girls Grammar School Old Girls Associations, Ubulu-Uku, Viva Foundation Lagos and friends of the founder who graced and added colour to the occasion.
Moreover, the K’ibedinma Divas, comprising the wives of K’ibedinma Social Club of Enuani, in collaboration with DAO Foundation, made financial donations totalling N600,000 to primary six pupils of two schools in the locality to offset the cost of their enrollment for the Common Entrance and first School leaving certificate examinations in 2024.
The two schools, Iyiogbe Primary School and Ugba Primary School, Onicha-Olona received a cheque for N300,000 each for the aforementioned purpose, to the delight of their parents and teachers.
In an interview with newsmen after the children’s get-together, the Foundation’s executive director stated that politics and money were not the motivation for establishing the Doris Amaka Ochei Foundation, noting that she has always abstained from partisan politics in Nigeria as her foundation was all about “giving back to the society from what God has blessed me with”.
Ochei said, “DAO was born out of compassion for humanity. It is a Foundation that is to reach out to the downtrodden, a Foundation that is meant to reach out to those who are genuinely in need and we are indeed living to our goals and objectives. We are torching lives in different ways and one of them is the children’s Christmas party.”
“The youth section of our programme comes up by Easter when some of the Youths would be empowered. We are coming up with a unique idea to empower them and teach them how to fish, from there, they can fish for themselves.”
Nonetheless, her Foundation is focused on women development, even as she said the DAO Foundation had been able to empower over 140 women who she revealed were given “interest-free loans to engage in one form of small scale business”.
“By doing so, they have the capital, year-in, year-out, to continue with their business all the time. We also have DAO Market Women Empowerment Programme. It is a scheme basically for market women which we have done in Ubulu-Uku and we are ready to replicate in Onicha-Olona in January 2024”, she disclosed.
She further revealed that DAO Foundation was also involved in infrastructure development for communities such as building and rehabilitation of markets, construction of roads and provision of solar street light, water boreholes, adding that DAO Foundation remains a Non-Governmental Organization being fully funded solely by herself.
The Foundation has not received donations from anybody or from any organization, she stressed, ruling out any suggestion that DAO Foundation might be in league of organisations set up for monetary gains rather than purely humanitarian services for the less-privileged and variously challenged.
Dr (Mrs) Ochei vowed to continue on the trajectory of a multi-faceted business woman and entreoreneur, traversing stock brokerage, tourism and traveling consulting and industrialist rather than dabbling into the mucky waters of politics, which she noted required enormous energy and special orientation.
Earlier, one of the school children, Miss Kikachukwu Glory Olunwa, excitedly welcomed guests and participating children, noting that she, on behalf of all the children, greatly appreciated the “unbelievable and uncommon show of love by the founder of DAO Foundation, Dr. (Mrs) Ochei”, praying that God will continue to bless the her and the Foundation for her kindness.
