Mrs. Obiano Doles out Houses to Widows

Wife of the Anambra State governor, Chief Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano may have opened a new vista in humanizing governance in Nigeria as she handed keys to three functional bungalows to three widows spread across three communities of Anambra State on Thursday.

The gesture forms a part of the central thrust of Chief Mrs. Obiano’s NGO, the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFE) which the wife of the governor established as an interventionist organ that makes critical interventions in the lives of society’s vulnerable members like widows, women, children, the mentally and physically challenged and the destitute.

Handing the house over to indigent widows in Alor, Agulu and Nri communities in Idemili South and Anaocha Local Government Areas respectively, Chief Mrs. Obiano said that the houses were the fulfilment of a dream nurtured by faith.

“This is the fulfillment of a promise I made after I observed the living conditions of some
of the widows before my husband became the governor. His mission is to serve Ndi Anambra; mine is to support his efforts through the programmes of my NGO, CAFÉ,” she said.

According to her, it had always been clear to her that little drops of charity can change the fortunes of the vulnerable members of the society and that explains why her CAFÉ Housing initiative came on stream to improve the living conditions of beneficiaries who hitherto lived in dilapidated mud houses with roofs of thatch. 

Speaking further, she said, “I almost shed tears when I saw the transformation from the mud houses to what they have now. We cannot afford to allow the challenges of the lack of basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter to dictate the lives of the less privileged amongst us in this 21st Century.”

She explained that the three commissioned houses for Mrs. Rebecca Ekezie of Okebunoye Village Alor; Mrs. Helen Okafor of Amatutu Village, Agulu; and Mrs. Catherine Ibekwe of Obeagu village, Nri are part of the Phase One of the CAFÉ housing for Widows spread across three Senatorial districts of the state.

Earlier, the Chairman of Idemili South LGA, Prince Henry Ezenwa commended Mrs. Obiano for her wonderful work of charity through CAFÉ, while Igwe of Alor, His Royal Highness MacAnthony Okonkwo, confirmed the transparency of the process that chose the beneficiary.  “It was the five-man Committee I set up which went round to take photographs of mud houses before the selection of the beneficiary.”