By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Mr Herbert Wigwe, recently distributed some food materials to residents of Isiokpo in Rivers State.
The items were shared to members of the community by the renowned banker through his not-for-profit organisation known as Herbert Onyewumbu Wiwge (HOW) Foundation.
Several families who received the foodstuffs and relief packages worth millions of Naira, could not hide their excitement for the kind gesture.
Mr Wigwe said the distribution of the foodstuffs to people was a conscious plan to tackle the post-coronavirus pandemic effects.
He said a lot of businesses have been badly affected and economies have been disrupted, and as a foundation, “we have come to the aid of the people and assist this Isokpo community by targeting the households with the distribution of our food relief materials.”
According to him, the move was to further support the government in making living easier for the masses by putting smiles on the faces of thousands of people in some communities in River State.
Also commenting, the CEO of HOW Foundation, Ms Antonia Ally, informed the people of Isiokpo community and its environs that the NGO’s decision was to spread love and alleviate the effects of the lockdown on the people of Rivers State in general, and to connect with the mission statement of the non-profitable organization.
According to her, the foundation had been feeding several homes and indigents in Lagos state for weeks and had now decided to extend this novel gesture to the good people of Isiokpo community and its environs.
“We believe that majority of those that are alive today have never experienced a pandemic, and to cushion the effects of the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19, the HOW Foundation had made available palliatives to the people of Isokpo and its neighboring communities in River State,” she said.
In his remarks, the Nye Nwe Ali of Isiokpo community, Blessing Wagor, thanked the organisation, especially the founder, Mr Herbert Wigwe, for remembering “the people of our community in this troubled period of hunger, and he has also promised that the palliatives will be shared with all the families in the community with the help of our council chiefs.”
Also, Chairman Isiokpo Council of Chiefs, Mr Wobodo Amadi, thanked Mr Wigwe and stressed that, “Those who remember to feed the needy in this deadly pandemic period deserves more blessing and as he (Herbert Wigwe) is feeding us, God won’t let him, his family and the entire team to be hungry, God will continue to protect you all, thank you.”
To date, the HOW Foundation has been changing and shaping the lives of many with their focus and three major agenda that consist of health, education, and empowerment, all of which have formed the fulcrum on which the NGO designs its programs and activities to ensure that they make positive and measurable impacts to be made in these specific areas.
The foundation has over the years been fighting malaria and prostate cancer with massive awareness to eradicate health challenges across the country.
Adedapo Adesanya