By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
Many years ago, when I was a student in secondary school, one of the student teachers who were sent to our school, organised a seminar for us as we were preparing to write a Joint Examination for the School Certificate and General Certificate of Education. One of the topics he took us through was “Occasion Found A Man”.
He told us how certain action we take today (then as candidates) will lead us to somewhere either good or bad.
He counseled us against copycat ie offering the subjects our friends offer not minding how well we individually will be good at very subjects or not.
The story of Lady Grace Udeme Essenowo, 22 years old mother of four children in Eket, Akwa Ibom State which trended on social media few weeks ago took me to the memory lane.
Grace was reported of feeding her children with chicken feeds from the poultry farm where she works as one of the farm attendants on a salary of N15,000 monthly. To her, that was the only way she thought she could augment the feeding of her children, given her very lean income and surrounding family issues.
But what could cause any mother to feed her children from poultry feed, which is not to be consumed by humans, no matter how bad the economy is, remains a mystery but only for divinity.
Shocked on noticing such an uncommon practice by Grace and the danger it could pose on her children whose eldest is four years old, a daughter to the owner of the farm decided to make the post on instagram and drew attention of the public to not just the piteous condition of Grace but what many may be doing in secret as a way of survival as harsh economy in Nigeria bites harder.
Like what the student teacher said, “occasion found a man”, Lady Grace now found favour as the wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Patience Umo Eno who stepped into her piteous condition and settled her into a living home with more benefits lined up to improve her life and children.
Patience Umo Eno, a Pastor had escalated interventions at lifting Grace when she announced an initial N500,000 lifeline after the daughter of the owner of the farm where Grace works shared her plight on social media.
The Media Aide to the Governor’s Wife, Uduak Ekong in update on efforts at improving life for Grace and her children, told journalists on Monday in Uyo that efforts are also being made to let her acquire a skill and set her up in business while also giving her opportunity to further her education from SS1 where she dropped out.
According to Ekong, “What caught Her Excellency’s attention, first, was what would propel any human being to consider feeding her children with chicken feeds?
“Meeting her we got to know she was pregnant at the age of 16 and dropped out when she was in SS1. She speaks impeccable English and comes across as an intelligent person.
“So like parents do, she got pregnant and they sent her out of the house. So she moved in with the guy who got her pregnant. Unfortunately the man was caught for theft of sweet potato from Hausa people.
“He got beaten and left to bleed to death. When he wasn’t there no more thing turned for the worse, for just Grace with four children, including a four year old, three year old, two and the last that is one year old. A sister to the late father of her children had taken the three year old, leaving her to fend for the other three.
“From her initial N500,000 intervention release (from Mrs Eno), she got others who reached out to say they want to support her to take care of Grace. Her Excellency directed all the traffic to the lady who took Grace’s story to instagram. Her details were shared for all who needed to send in something.
“From her tribe of over 300,000 followers, she raised almost N2,000,000. Normally she runs little humanitarian campaigns where people contribute bit by bit for medicals, school fees and sundry goodwill to help the needy.
“But she said this was the first she has raised this much. Within days away from what Her Excellency planned for Grace, she has raised more than N1.4m.”
Plan For Grace
Ekong explained that, “The plan for Grace is, she didn’t have where to stay. That has been secured. A room apartment has been paid for, furnished and she has moved in with her children last week as we speak. A phone has also been gotten for her.
“She’s been given three months supply of food. She didn’t have anything. She got bed, cooking utensils, a dining set up for her children to enjoy their meals. The room apartment is big.
“From the money she’s gotten, her monthly salary has been increased, from N15,000 from her employer to N35,000, that is N20,000 added every month from the money that has been raised for her.
“We are mindful that this is a girl that is still a child, doesn’t have a bank account, no phone. You don’t raise money and give to her bulk. She is already vulnerable. So anything you give her that could make her live flamboyantly, she is going to fall prey. People will come under guise of love and deceive her.
“We are working on having her trained on managing income she will be making, because we are going to give her a skill. We notice her children’s hair, she was the one that made it.
“We noticed she learnt how to use attachment on her own. So we will give her formal training along that skill and be set up a place she will sit to make hair and then an alternative trade on foodstuff or provisions.”
Mental Evaluation
Ekong again explained, “So we are not just giving money and going away. We are going to provide a lot of support. The next thing before empowering her will be mental evaluation.
“After the mental evaluation if Grace is okay, next is to go for skills acquisition and then set her up in her skill and an alternative business.
“The mentorship also include tutoring her on how to manage her finances and income she will be generating, so she doesn’t waste her capital and she can sustainable her life. There are plans to take her back to school and for her children’s school too.”