COVID-19: Eatery, football club begin distribution of food to children at IDP camp

Food

By Emmanuel Oloniruha

Abuja, March 30, 2020 (NAN) An Abuja based eatery, Cockerel Fast Foods and Beverages; and Corporate Kickers Sports Club (CKSC), a recreational football club, has donated packaged cooked food to children in Internally Displaced Persons camp at Abuja.

The Chief Operating Officer of Cockerel, Area1, Mr Kingsley Obokhare, while handling over the packaged cooked rice and chicken to the leader of the IDP Camp in Durumi on Monday, said the gesture would be for two weeks lockdown period.

Obokhare said it was part of the corporate body’s contributions as palliative measures to alleviate the effects of Coronavirus lockdown on the IDP residents.

Obokhare pledged that they would, on daily basis bring not less than 200 packs of the packaged cooked meals to children in the camp for the next two weeks.

He said the plan was to on daily basis provide 500 packs which cost N500 each, but due to fund challenge they could only offer 200 to 300 packs daily.

“Hopefully with collaboration with other well-meaning Nigerians and corporate entities, more packs could be offered to the IDP residents.

“We want a situation where well-meaning Nigerians will collaborate with us or come individually to help them. We should be our brothers’ keepers. This is a time that they need our help,” he said.

The Captain of Corporate Kickers Sports Club, Mr Nosa Ihaza, said the gesture was to provide for children in the IDP camps, who might be faced with challenge of feeding during the lockdown period.

Ihaza, represented by Mr Ono Akpe, said the two corporate bodies hoped to offer their assistance in the next two to three weeks and urged Nigerians to come to their aid.

“Fellow Nigerians, we appeal to you to join us to provide for the less privileged who have nothing or not enough to eat at this moment,” Ihaza said.

The woman leader of the IDP, Mrs Liatu Ayuba, appreciated the gesture saying it is God that touched their hearts to remember them at the critical time when COVID-19 had caused lockdown everywhere.

Ayuba said hunger was a critical challenge in the camp, especially now they were directed not to go out of the camp because of the outbreak of corona virus.

“It was God that sends you to bring food for us. We will continue to pray for you. You can see plenty women and children here. Some of us eat just once in a day, because we cannot go to the market or do anything again but stay in the camp.

Ayuba urged Nigerians and government to look into their helpless situation by providing them with hand sanitisers and materials to protect themselves from COVID-19.

“They say we should stay in the camp. There is no food and hand sanitiser to protect ourselves.

“Yesterday, someone try to sell us the nose masks and hand sanitiser. One packet of nose mask was N15,000 and a five litre of hand sanitiser was 5,000.

“We want the voice of the voiceless to help us in this helpless situation because even in our houses there is no light and no ventilation,” she said.

The Camp Chairman, Ibrahim Amodu, said they could not afford their daily living anymore because they were not allowed to go out to work.

Amodu said that they needed help of Nigerians as the camp residents could not afford hand sanitizers and nose masks but they needed help urgently. (NAN)

OBE/OIF/KAY

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Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo/Kayode Olaitan