Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The Multiple Birth Trust Fund disbursement has been restored in Ekiti State after a break of four years, courtesy of products support made to 104 families by the First Lady of the state, Erelu Bisi Fayemi.
Fayemi, who made the first tranche of the support yesterday in Ado-Ekiti,, expressed her happiness that the trust fund was back and congratulated the parents who gathered at the ceremony organised by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, in collaboration with the Office of the First Lady.
“I say congratulations to you all on these blessings from God Almighty, it is my fervent hope that these babies that you carry are going to be sources of joy and happiness for you, all the days of your life. May you never mourn over them, may you never grieve over them, and may you live to reap the fruits of your labour,” she said.
Items distributed at the occasion included cash gifts, baby foods and other support products.
While giving the background of the fund, Fayemi said: “The Multiple Birth Trust Fund was initiated in 2010 just after the inauguration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and throughout the first tenure of Dr. Fayemi as Governor of Ekiti State, the Multiple Birth Trust Fund assisted families in Ekiti State, who have been blessed by God with multiple births but due to their circumstances were finding it difficult to cope.
“We were receiving many reports of mothers giving birth to twins or triplets in the hospitals and the fathers running away because they were scared of how they were going to settle the bills of their obligations.”
The fund has over a period of four years: 2010 – 2014, supported at least 740 families. While some of these families received cash and products support from the administration, investments were also made on behalf of some of the families who had triplets.
The investments were created to support the children through school on a long term basis.
However, Fayemi expressed her sadness for the non-continuance of the initiative after Kayode Fayemi’s first term administration. She also alerted the public on the institutionalising of the Multiple Birth Trust Fund.
“I was deeply saddened to note that this initiative did not continue in the post-Kayode Fayemi administration. It is, therefore, my pleasure that it has commenced now as part of the Social Investment Programmes of JKF2.
“However, I am also using this opportunity to alert the public that we are going to be working on ways to ensure that this programme is institutionalised, so that it is not done at the discretion of incoming administration but done as a matter of cause, as an obligation to Ekiti people. Therefore we are going to be seeking legislation to back the multiple birth trust fund,” she added.
On her part, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Moji Fafure, explained that over 700 multiple birth parents have benefited from the cash disbursed during Fayemi’s term.
She urged them to utilise the amount given to them for the care and upkeep of their babies.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Oriowo Victoria, lauded the first lady for the initiative while describing it as unprecedented.
