GIFA: Putting Smiles On People’s Faces

Mr. Benjamin Asuquo Umoren, a middle-aged father of six from the quiet community of Mbiabong Ikot Udo, Ini Local Government Area, was miserable for months. His only source of income (a mill processing facility) had packed up, and life was fast becoming unbearable in the ramshackle hut he lived in with his wife and children.

Mr. Umoren’s pitiable condition caught the attention of Pastor Patience Umo Eno, who directed her Golden Initiative For All (GIFA) team to provide a brand-new building and well-equipped cassava/oil processing factory for him. At the inauguration, which elicited jubilant celebrations from the natives of the area, Pastor Patience Eno, in her remark, said it was a rewarding experience to be able to put smiles on people’s faces through her pet project, GIFA.

“I am aware that this is the only available mill in this vicinity and therefore will serve the people of this community in a significant way. As we reopen this facility today, we aim to increase the income of farmers in this community, create jobs and produce products that will serve the local community and the state in general,” she said.

Mr. Benjamin Umoren is not alone in this story of hope and support provided by GIFA, a pet project of the wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Patience Eno, who during her birthday and launch of GIFA had declared that “Borne out of sheer compassionate yearning, GIFA is poised to address specific needs for all members of the family. GIFA envisions a society with happy, healthy, educated, successful and sustainable families devoid of vulnerabilities.”

Away from talking about ensuring that families are happy, the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State has put in the work to leave permanent smiles on the faces of “ordinary people like Madam Hannah Okorie whose life has changed together with the lives of neighbouring families following the provision of potable water in Nung Ukim Ikot Udom of Ikono Local Government Area. GIFA’s focus on creating a cleaner, healthier and safer environment through the “Water of Life project” under the improving environmental health thematic area also informed the resuscitation of a 12,000-litre water facility in Ibiaku village, which serves the water needs of adjoining communities in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, a development that has been received with happiness by the residents of the area.

These are just a few of the many people and communities who have benefitted from the interventions carried out by GIFA to address some of the most pressing challenges faced by families, one of which is the birth of multiple children to low-income families. To cushion the burden, essential mother and child care packages have been provided by the Akwa Ibom First Lady, who has taken her Maternal and Child Health Care program to the three senatorial districts and created a database for sustainable monthly support to beneficiaries of the multiple birth programs.

Related: A’Ibom Governor’s Wife Hosts Female Stakeholders, Strategises Ahead Of LG Elections.

Pastor Patience Umo is interested in enhancing literacy and learning and has intentionally invested in providing school supplies for pupils of public primary schools in the state through the provision of higher learning scholarships to indigent students while educational materials are being supplied to public schools. Already, 10,000–4000 students and 6,000 pupils of public schools in the state are benefiting from the back-to-school supplies as schools resume for the 2024–2025 academic session.

Her passion for women and their wellbeing has necessitated the empowerment of women, and this occupies a special pride of place under GIFA, which focuses on improving women entrepreneurs’ access to finance. Several women at various times have received grants to boost their businesses.

GIFA has also promoted menstrual hygiene among girls with improved access to safe and affordable sanitary materials in rural communities. This provision of sanitary wares to students of public secondary schools across the three senatorial districts as well as collaboration with organisations has led to the successful enlightenment and gifting of thousands of disadvantaged girls with materials for their periods to last a year.

The reintegration of widows through reorientation, rehabilitation and empowerment to promote their stability and dignity has received priority attention from the governor’s wife, who has convened a widow’s enhancement program for hundreds of women and members of some registered NGOs who have been empowered with finances and food for their families to ensure that they thrive despite the demise of their husbands.

Another worthy project is the ARISE Initiative for the Elderly, set up to complement the Renewed Hope Initiative Elderly Support Scheme (RHIESS) of the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, where 3000 senior citizens, 600 per edition, irrespective of political affiliations, gender and tribe, have so far benefitted from the program, which provides free medical checks, advice, care and support that improve their quality of life.

Advancing the economic, political and social status of Akwa Ibom women through empowerment is at the heart of GIFA, where many laudable programs have been implemented by the First Lady to empower them through the provision of business grants, to set them free from the shackles of poverty and ensure they become financially stable, resulting in strengthened families and communities.

Making strides towards eradicating preventable diseases, GIFA, in the wake of the cholera outbreak in Nigeria, engaged in community health campaigns across the three senatorial districts in the state to sensitise the people on healthy lifestyles, sanitation and early detection. Under the fight against diseases thematic area, this proactive measure has significantly increased awareness of the disease and its threat to public health in the state. It has also brought to the fore preventive measures against the entry of the disease into the state.

In collaboration with the State Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Management Committee, GIFA participated in a month-long intensive campaign against the violence in June 2024. It is working with relevant stakeholders to break the silence surrounding the menace through advocacy, awareness and community engagement. To say the least, the initiative is at the forefront of providing support to survivors, ensuring that they receive the help they need and that communities become safer for everyone, under the GIFA “GBV prevention and response” thematic area.

Programmes by GIFA are all-embracing; from poverty intervention schemes to the widows’ program and gender-inclusive financing, the NGO of the governor’s wife, GIFA, has provided a platform for economic empowerment and wealth creation in society and is propelling Akwa Ibom people to work towards nurturing families that are healthy, educated, successful and free from all forms of vulnerabilities. GIFA is walking the talk by enhancing family lives, one family and one community at a time.

Office of the Press Secretary to the Wife of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State