The Confluence Doctors Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Lokoja, has empowered vulnerable widows with cash awards and offered scholarships to pupils in schools in Kogi.
The organisation is the cooperative arm of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Lokoja.
Addressing newsmen at the event in Lokoja, the President of the Cooperative, Dr Abimbola Odi, said the gesture was to support the vulnerable in the society to alleviate their suffering and improve their wellbeing.
She explained that reaching to vulnerable widows and children, to get them educated was part of the goal of the cooperative.
Odi stressed that the initiative was part of the cooperative’s humanitarian programme to ease the current economic hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.
According to her, a total of 12 widows received a sum of N15,000 each in the cooperative’s Widow Support Fund Programme to enable them start or boost their existing businesses in order to improve their wellbeing.
“This is the fourth Widows’ Support Fund Programme we are having to help the vulnerable widows in the state,” Odi said.
She added that the cooperative had also awarded scholarships with cash gifts to 15 pupils from five different classes ranging from Primary 2 to 6, at LGEA Primary School Serki-Noma, Lokoja, under its Scholarship Scheme for Academic Excellence.
She said the pupils were those who emerged as the top three of their various classes at the end of the 2022/2023 session.
The president said the first, second and third positions in each class got N10,000, N7,000 and N5000 respectively.
Odi disclosed that the cooperative had also given scholarship to pupils in LGEA Primary School, Lokongoma, last year.
She emphasised that the gesture made the parents to be happy and pupils were impacted, and encouraged to do better in their academics.
“We realised that a lot of children suffered within the state and were not able to go to school due to inability to afford tuition fees as low as N2000.
“So, we decided to help the the vulnerable pupils to encourage them to attend classes and be serious in their academics,” she said
One of the widows who spoke on behalf of others, Mrs Christiana Akinsulu, thanked the association for the gesture, saying that it would go a long way to alleviate their suffering especially during these hard times.
“We are very grateful to the cooperative for alleviating our suffering and improving our wellbeing as vulnerable widows. May God bless them,” Akinsulu prayed.
The Head Teacher of the school, Mr Lawal Dogara, appreciated the association for the scholarship and for the choice of their school.
The Head Teacher emphasised that the scholarship would help to motivate other pupils to be serious in their academics and study hard.
“I am very grateful and overwhelmed by the gesture towards our pupils. We pray that God will bless and protect the association,” Dogara said.
