Determined to encourage children in rural public schools to study at night without challenges of public power, the wife of the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Her Excellency, Pastor Patience Umo Eno, has promised to ensure that every child in public schools in rural areas of the state has a solar lamp for night studies.
Pastor Patience Eno, who was a special guest of honour at the distribution of over 1000 solar lamps by FEYReP, a humanitarian organisation founded by immediate past Akwa Ibom First Lady, Dr. Martha Emmanuel, told the schoolchildren in various rural areas that the solar lamp would get to them no matter their location.
According to her, “I am calling on our schoolchildren to get ready to study as there will be no excuse of lack of public power supply again, which stopped you from reading to pass your exams. Such excuses are gone and buried with the arrival of these solar lamps.”
She further highlighted, “I advise our schoolchildren to use the solar lamps well to improve in their studying, which will encourage the donors to do more. We will ensure that the lamps reach every child in public schools in the state.”
Eno commended her predecessor, Dr. Martha Emmanuel, for her untiring efforts to improve the lot of humanity, stressing that after eight years of meritorious service as first lady, she is still striving to change the fortunes of indigent citizens.
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She added, “I admire your passion to contribute to the upliftment of humanity. After eight hardworking years, when others have gone to rest, you are still pursuing your passion. Today you are not just reaching out to Akwa Ibom people but the entire South South region.
Speaking earlier, the founder of FEYReP and former Akwa Ibom First Lady, Her Excellency, Dr. Martha Emmanuel, acknowledged that millions of people in Nigeria and the South-South in particular still live without access to public power supply.
According to her, “Today, we take a giant step to bridge that gap through the distribution of solar lamps to schoolchildren in rural communities to aid their night studies and educational achievements.
She lauded the Global Green Sponsors, KuCoin, Global CSR Foundation, and Griffin Consulting for partnering with Smiling Simon Greenbuild Foundation, the initiator of Light Up Africa, through the lens of children, in taking delivery of 2500 solar lamps from Total Energies for distribution to schoolchildren across the rural areas in the South South region.
She expressed gratitude to the sponsors for choosing FEYReP as their preferred partner for the south-south region of Nigeria, stressing that her organisation will ensure that the solar lamps get to every household in the rural areas of the region where public power is not available.
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“If KuCoin Global, which is based in China, is thinking about the welfare and wellbeing of African children, then those of us here must strive to make our own contributions. FEYReP is striving to touch more lives because the government alone cannot do everything.
Dr. Martha Emmanuel, who advised the students to use the equipment judiciously, informed them to only expose it to sunlight to get it energised for usage, adding that her organisation is working harder to attract more life-touching projects to the region.
On her own, the Coordinator of Light Up Africa, Chief Dr. Anita Nana Okuribido, highlighted that the initiative is aimed at addressing the challenges of a dearth of public power supply by ensuring that each African child in rural poor communities has access to at least one solar reading light for studies at night.
According to the coordinator, “Hundreds of thousands of African children, especially in the rural poor communities, have no access to affordable clean electricity, and once it is dusk for studies, they mostly rely on kerosene lamps and candles, both of which pose respiratory health risks, carbon emissions, environmental pollution, and in some cases, fire outbreaks from poisonous gases.”
Dr. Okuribido added, “The benefits include promoting climate change and resilience in children through the use of green devices and conducting life skills opportunities to build green character and empower children to mitigate climate change.
She further highlighted that the initiative will promote a coordination platform for rural children, which will harness their intrinsic green value in addition to their coexistence in the ecosystem, stressing that the creation of a community of solar energy-friendly products for African children while catching them young will be of great value to the continent.
The highlight of the event was the distribution of the solar lamps to hundreds of schoolchildren drawn from Cornelia Cornelly College, Afaha Oku, Apostolic Secondary School, Ikot Okposin, and Itam Secondary School Itu, all in Akwa Ibom State.
Students of the schools, in their messages of appreciation, expressed deep-seated gratitude to the former Akwa Jbom First Lady, Dr. Martha Emmanuel, for her benevolence and to the international sponsors for their love for humanity.
