Church donates N250 million worth of relief materials to flood victims

The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints has donated relief supplies worth N250 million to support flood victims in communities in Anambra State.

This is contained in a communiqué by the Church’s Country Director for Welfare Services, Charles Adebayo, in Owerri, on Tuesday.

The relief materials were presented to the Anambra State Government at the State’s Emergency Management Agency office.

Mr Adebayo said the donated items included bags of rice, beans, garri, salt, vegetables, kegs of palm oil, cartons of noodles, milk, chocolate drinks, soaps, detergents, mosquito nets, and toiletries, among others.

They were received by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State and the state’s Committee on Emergency Response, led by the Deputy Governor, Gilbert Ibezim.

Mr Adebayo said that caring for the needy was one of the church’s missions. He said similar donations were made in Benue, and plans are in place for the same in Enugu and other places.

He called on other Nigerians to complement the government’s efforts by supporting disaster-stricken, needy people in their small ways.

“In the past, we have assisted the state with boreholes, renovation of schools and hospitals, so we’re ever ready to support government’s Public-Private Partnerships and to support other private institutions,” he said.

The Church’s Head of Area 70, Justice Otuonye, said that Area 70, a group of church leaders, oversaw the donations.

He said the donated items were only parts of several other donations by the church, in keeping with the Bible account of Luke Chapter 10, where Jesus Christ sent out the 70 disciples to preach the gospel and care for those in need.

Responding, Mr Soludo called for support from stakeholders to mitigate the effects of the flood on victims.

He said intentional steps must be taken to address the challenge head-on. He thanked the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints for its humanitarian efforts and assured them that the items would be distributed judiciously.

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“We will now focus on building the big net for emergency response, both government and all stakeholders, to build enduring partnerships and be able to respond to such emergencies.

“I can assure you that every item brought here will be judiciously distributed to those in most need to satisfy their needs and fulfil the intent of the donor,” the governor said.

(NAN)