New Telegraph

Okorocha: Our foundation has empowered 22,000 less privileged children across Nigeria

A philanthropist and former Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has said that his Foundation has empowered at least 22, 000 Nigerian youths in the last twenty-five years of its existence, through skill acquisition/training programmes as well as formal education.
Okorocha, who is the Senator representing Imo West District at the National Assembly, made the disclosure at the graduation ceremony for a set of 45 participants trained in information and communication technology (ICT), tailoring and other vocational skills, held over the weekend at Karmajiji, one of the many slums in Abuja.
The ceremony witnessed the presentation of certificates, empowerment items such as tailoring machines, grinding engines among others to graduands, as well as dedication of the Rochas Care Skill Acquisition Centre dedicated to a young man who, before his death, was passionate about the work of the foundation.
Speaking after commissioning the centre, Okorocha said the need to touch the lives of indigent children in the country, necessitated the establishment of his Foundation, which targets youths in rural areas.
According to him, the collection of the aged, physically-challenged, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable children, was a demonstration of the passion the foundation has for the less-privileged in society.
“This (Rochas Care) is an arm of the Rochas Foundation. It is a reachout and touch programme to rural areas, to uplift the lives of the poor people such as the Karmajiji youths you are seeing here which you see here.
“We are about commissioning the skill acquisition center built in their honour for skills like computer, tailoring etc.
“We have realised that majority of our people live in the rural areas. And somehow we are not (un)aware of the fact that we have lots of people suffering in rural areas. So, Rochas Okorocha foundation is reaching out and touching the lives of poor people,” the former governor said.
On whether the commissioning had anything to do with the 2023 presidential election, he answered in the negative, insisting that the Foundation has been existing for over two decades now.
“It has nothing to do with politics. Rochas Foundation has been in existence before any presidential aspiration or whatever. We have been here for more than 25 years and we have raised about 22,000 children.
“So, it has nothing to do with politics. If politics is about helping the poor then let everybody play it: it will help us. It’s nothing about 2023. These people here might likely not vote.”
Earlier, the Director General of the Foundation, Amen Okorocha had underscored the commitment to touching lives across rural areas.
“Whatever we do,we must remember our brothers and sisters beside us. COVID-19 came as a shock to all of us. It affected the richest person, the poorest person.
“And most importantly, we must remember the lives of the poor. Today is a special day for us to reconnect with our brothers and sisters. We at the Rochas Foundation are committed to ensuring that every single child has access to education.
“As we dedicate the building today, I want to say this is a very passionate event, as we dedicate it to a very young man, who was passionate about the things we do at the Rochas Foundation, about touching the lives of the poor and vulnerable youths,” she said.

Read Previous

APC govs’ visit to Jonathan endorsement of our achievements – PDP

Read Next

JUST IN: Kidnapped Nasarawa APC Chairman found dead

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *