For the 69 inmates of Model Community Children’s Home, Awka, the 2023 Children’s Day celebration will remain indelible in their minds, as it marks the first time a Governor’s wife will cook for them and feed them in a special way.
The children who were all excited at the physical presence of the wife of Anambra State Governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo, were treated to a sumptuous lunch and dinner, specially prepared by the First Lady.
The governor’s wife upon arrival at the home, had interacted with the children and the home management to identify their challenges, after which he put on her apron and prepared special dishes for them.
Speaking at the event, Mrs Soludo explained that the gesture was to show motherly care to the children, who she noted are putting up without the warmth and affection of their parents, which is not their fault.
She said as children in the state, they deserve the love and care their counterparts in their parents houses are getting, and must not be treated as unimportant.
“My visit today here is very special for me and it’s simply to extend love to these my children who life has not been too good to.
“We want to tell them that although their parents are not here, we as a government will always be there for them.
“As children all over the country are celebrating, I thought it would be wise and proper to also give these ones reason to smile and that is why I am here,” she maintained.
The governor’s wife said the present administration is doing a lot to reduce the incidence of child abuse, labour and trafficking in the state.
According to her, one of the major strategies for addressing the anomalies which the present administration had adopted is education.
“Deprivation is a major challenge that the state government will not tolerate and that is why it is ensuring that education at the lower level is made free so that our children can afford it irrespective of their social class.
“We find it rather absurd that a parent will send their wards of lower than 7 years away to live with others as maids or servants, to be taking care of adults, when they should be under the tutelage of their parents.
“This is unacceptable and we are fine tuning laws that will help us fight this issue,” she said.
In her remarks, the coordinator of the home, Mrs Precious Asiegbunam expressed the appreciation of the home management to the governor’s wife for finding time to spend with the children in the home, noting that her gesture speaks of hope and encouragement for the children.
She revealed that the Governor’s Wife through the State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare has been responsive to their plights but appealed for greater attention to the home especially with the increasing number of the inmates.
“We need help in the home as it concerns the feeding of the children and some other infrastructure here to make the home look more comfortable for the inmates.
“We also need some more staff to attend to the caring for the children in the home,” she pleaded.
