— the journey/impacts so far
*concept translated into realities
As Nkwa Chi Kwere Foundation, a humanitarian organisation continues with its self-assigned sacred responsibility of making tangible impacts in the lives of families and Individuals in the society, particularly, in Owerri senatorial district of Imo state, its Chief Convener, a physician, entrepreneur, outstanding politician of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) extraction, Chief Dr Chijioke Kaduru unveils and pinpoints specific and identifiable areas of positive impacts.
In the words of Dr Chijioke Kaduru, “as a philanthropic/humanitarian organisation, instead of dishing out mere handouts or empty rhetorics, we step in with real, tangible support : barbing kits, chairs, power generators, seed funds for rent payment, motorcycles, mini buses for road transport workers, grinding machines, or startup capital, after periods of training and incubation. What we do is not tokenism, and it is certainly not politics. It is about asking what will actually lift this person or that person out of poverty and set them on a path to present and future income”
Continuing, Dr Kaduru posited, ” the same thinking drives our approach to our educational support interventions. For us, it is liftinng real burdens from real families. We had on several occasions, stepped in to help schools, to stand by teachers, pay school fees and cover tuition for students who would otherwise, be forced to drop out of school.
For so many people, education is a pathway to stability, dignity and a chance to move their families out of poverty. This is also, why we are preparing new rounds of support, to take the weight off parents by providing books for children in basic education and paying school fees for young people in tertiary institutions, with a target that every kindred in our constituency ultimately benefits in the years to come. Our guiding principle is simple, stretch every Naira to touch as many families as possible. This is not about fine words or political promises, it is about adding real value and real impacts in people’s lives”
Dr Kaduru further, spoke about the foundation’s impacts in the health sector, ” our approach has been ambitious and practical. We built a world-class model Primary Health Centre in my community, soon to be handed over to the state government and the community. While this facility has been expensive, we have demonstrated that we can deliver facilities that meet global standards, if leadership at the national, state and community levels align”.
Appreciating efforts by the federal and Imo state governments to strengthen the health system, the public health practitioner pointed out, ” the co-ordinating Minister of health and the Chief Executive of National Primary Healthcare Agency have ambitious agenda to strengthen our health system, and they are delivering real tangible value. Imo state government has keyed in and is pushing primary healthcare revitalisation as well. Nkwa Chi Kwere Foundation has keyed into this agenda, by delivering this model health centre in Obiangwu community of Ngor Okpala local government area.
Alongside this, we have financed the enrollment of hundreds of people into the Imo State Health Insurance Scheme, one of the most functional financial risk protection schemes in the county because, we believe that no one should be pushed deeper into poverty by medical bills, especially, when the scheme has proven its value under strong leadership by the current Chief Executive, Dr Uche Ewelike”
Dr Kaduru disclosed that through medical outreaches in collaboration with Mbaise Policy Roundtable, the Foundation has supported 5,000 pregnant women with medications and multivitamin supplements to strengthen their pregnancy Journey and outcomes.
Concluding, the Chief Convener of Nkwa Chi Kwere Foundation stated with satisfaction, ” when I look at all of this together : our empowerment programmes, our support for education, and our health interventions, I see more than projects. I see lives changed, I see parents who can breathe easier, because, their children are in school, people who now have the tools to start a trade and families who can walk into a clinic without fear of going broke. This is not about token gestures or politics. It is about showing what is possible when leadership is genuine and philanthropy is Intentional”.
