The Speaker of Taraba state house of Assembly Dr. Joseph Albasu Kunini on Wednesday donated food stuff cash and other materials worth Millions of Naira to some orphanages and a convent in Jalingo as part of activities to mark this year’s Christmascelebration.
The speaker said that Christmas was meaningless if it is celebrated without reaching out to the destitute and vulnerable members of the society.
Kunini said that it was a great delight for him to take out time on a special day as Christmas to visit and spend time with very special children.
He said that “Christmas is not only a season of prayer and reflection but a season when we show love and care to our loved ones. That is why I am here to show love to these great leaders of tomorrow. I have heard your challenges and in collaboration with the state government, we will see how we can come in to make life better for these orphanage.
“I commend you for the good job of giving hope to these children and modelling them to be better citizens, thereby checking the menace juvenile delinquency in the society. You are playing some of the roles that the government ordinarily should have taken responsibility for” he said at the orphanages.
The Coordinator of the UMCN Orphanage Mr. Simon Benjamin in his remarks thanked the Speaker for the kind gesture by remembering to come and spend time with the children on a day most people are caught up with enjoying themselves.
Benjamin disclosed that since the establishment of the orphanage several decades ago, this was the first time a Speaker of the state House of Assembly would visit and spend time with the children on a Christmas day.
The Speaker also paid a surprise visit to the Augustinian Sister convent in Jalingo where he donated items and cash and urged them to continue praying for peace and stability in the state.
He noted that “today, been the birth of Christ, it is important for me to come and spend time with you because you are often in your private world. We have enjoyed your prayers. We have experienced challenges as a state at times just to remind us that God is still God. I implore you to pray for us without ceasing so that we can succeed. I salute the Bishop for his prayers and advice to the governor and government of the state. We are nothing without the Grace of God”.
While responding, Rev Sister Lucy Ebilomahi of the Augustinian Sisters of the Mercy of Christ said that they were pleasantly surprised by the kind gesture of the Speaker and prayed for the grace of God upon his life to continue to do good. “Your generosity is a great blessing to this convent” she said.
Our correspondent reports that the Speaker visited the Alheri And UMCN Orphanages before proceeding to the convent and at each place, made a donation of food item, toiletries, cash and other items and spent quality time with the people.
