Chiamaka Ozulumba
As part of his quest to reach the grassroots, the Kingsley Femi Fanwo Foundation (KFF) recently procured health insurance for widows.
Championed by Hon. Kingsley Femi Fanwo, who is the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, the foundation is committed to community development, educational support and healthcare of rural people.
According to him, “the KFF is a vehicle for the empowerment of the vulnerable in the society. The foundation was established to contribute to community development, educational support as well as healthcare delivery. We also do a lot in women empowerment. And we have been doing quite a lot in those areas.”
On his motivation in starting the foundation, he said: “I am not a rich man. I am just like every other person with needs. But I have a passion for lifting others and putting smiles on the faces of the hopeless. I was raised by teachers.
” But as poor as they were, they were great philanthropist. I saw my late mum giving her own dinner out and sleep with empty stomach. So I learnt a lot from them.
“My wife and I are committed to doing our bit for communities, indigent students, women and youth. We are committed to empowering people who are helpless with the little we have. So the foundation was birthed to cater for the people.”
While commending Governor Yahaya Bello for his untiring support to the foundation by backing them immensely to deliver on the core mandates to the people, he reiterated on the impact the foundation has on the grassroots, adding that last year, “we discovered there are hundreds of bad borehole across Yagba while our people had no access to water. We can’t wait for government to do everything for us. So we moved in to fix many of those boreholes so that our people could have access to portable water.
“Through the foundation, many students at secondary and tertiary institutions have enjoyed scholarships. The foundation also organised ICT Training for UTME candidates to prepare them for Computer Based Tests. Early this year, we also built and equipped a clinic for the people of Takete Ide and we recently procured Insurance Scheme for Widows in Mopamuro LGA.
“We are already planning to move to the other local government areas to replicate the Widows Health Insurance Scheme. As far back as 2016, we distributed working tools to artisans to empower them and also text and note books to pupils and students”.
Shedding light on what influenced his choice of procuring health insurance scheme for widows, he said: “My Boss, Governor Yahaya Bello brought the beautiful initiative to Kogi State to help the people access quality and affordable healthcare. It is therefore important that we don’t allow that opportunity waste.
“If you are provided with a tap, water won’t come out until you switch it on. So what we simply did was to switch it on. The Governor has done so much for the people of Kogi State.
“That is why he is so popular among the people. He kept firing us to reach out to the grassroots. He is the main motivator behind what we are doing.”
On the issue of funding, he quipped “funds will never be enough. Do what you can do, no matter how small to lift others. That is the best code to subscribe to God’s blessings. We do not have enough to do all we would have loved to do. But we will keep doing what we can.
“Let me tell you a small story about myself. In 2019, a young man approached the foundation that he was about to lose his admission as a result of his parents inability to provide his fees. I felt bad. Our students shouldn’t go through this in the 21st Century. I didn’t have money. So I pleaded with my account officer to borrow me money to pay for him.
” My son overheard my conversation and reminded me I hadn’t paid their fees too. I told him no one will drive him away from school because they will trust me to pay. But the poor boy would have lost the opportunity to go to the university.”
Disabusing claims that his philanthropic features was for political reasons, he said: “Those who know me would tell you I have been doing all of these since I was a child. Remember I told you about my parents. I grew up to see my dad use his entire salary to pay for indigent students and came back home empty handed but fulfilled and happy.
“It has nothing to do with politics but the desire to help others remove limits. We are structuring KFF to outlive our political career. They are separate and different.”
Pic caption: Hon. Fanwo and one of the beneficiaries
