More than 300 Single Parents on weekend, received
free medical treatment during the unveiling of a non-governmental organisation
called, Poverty Aid Uplifting Lives (PAUL).
The event tagged, ‘Journey of Single Parents
across the Nation,’ held at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR)
Lagos, women who gathered from all parts of the busy commercial city got
medical attention ranging from free malaria and hypertension tests to treatment
as well as weight check.
Apart from the free medical treatment, 50 single
parents were selected for free economic empowerment. Similarly, 100 people
qualified for a raffle draw which attracted different prizes. Another 20 people
went home with 50kg bag rice respectively, while each participant went home
with souvenirs and free foodstuffs.
Addressing journalists on the focus on single
parents, the National Coordinator of PAUL, Unoma Ebun said a lot of NGOs have
done one thing or the other on women or children, but none has ever targeted
single parents.
“I am a single mother, so I really know how it is.
Though I had a fantastic support system; my family, my child father, friends
were all by my side, yet I didn’t find it easy.
So when the international body said they wanted to
start a foundation and wanted me to be part of it, I therefore suggested that
we should target single parents, especially single mothers,” she explained.
According to Ebun, PAUL foundation is committed to
implementing social and economic empowerment to see a society where the
disadvantaged persons have equal opportunity to fulfill their economic
potential.
Also speaking to journalists, Paul Nesbitt, the
President of the foundation said the focus is to alleviate poverty in the
society, especially among single mothers and unemployed.
“I noticed that the pains on the faces of people.
In Ireland where I come from, the government looks after pregnant women, they
provide money weekly to support the mother and her child. But, that doesn’t
happen in Nigeria so that’s why I found the NGO in Nigeria.
One of the trustee members, Femi Adetunji, a
lawyer, Justicequest Partners, also said the programme is basically about
creating a balance; a level playing field for all the people who are bereaved
who lost their husbands, people whose wives absconded, or people who got
pregnant at young age and had to go through the burden of parenting their
children alone.
“This is all about single parenting; balancing the
odds, ensuring that we give them a level playing field, an opportunity for them
to succeed with their children. As a lawyer, we provide the legal backings to
ensure that they work within the confines of law.
