By Amos Aar
GLOTBAL Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP) in collaboration with Eunice Spring of Life Foundation (ESLF) on Tuesday donated solar panels, bulbs, batteries and inverters to 50 residents of Iniongun community in Makurdi LGA.
The GIFSEP Executive Director, Mr Terungwa David, disclosed that the items were to be given to only those who were affected by flood and who had no source of light in their houses.
David said that the aim was to address their light challenge, lamenting that the major source of light for some of them in the night was Torchlight.
He advised them to take very good care of the items, emphasizing that if they maintain them, GIFSEP would supply more of the items to them.
The Executive Director admonished them to vote for only credible candidates during the governorship and state assembly elections.
“Vote candidates that know your plights and who will be willing to address them head on,” David said.
He further encouraged them to be cleaning their drainages rather than use them as dumping sites because blocked drainages were one of the causes of flooding.
The Program Manager, ESLF, Mr Tine Agernor, disclosed that the organization usually joined hands with donors to assist Benue communities in tackling some of their challenges.
Agernor said that it was the desire of ESLF to always put smiles on the faces of Benue people by reducing their challenges hence the need to collaborate with other nongovernmental organizations to achieve the goal.
Also speaking, the Executive Director, Gender and Environmental Risk Reduction Initiative (GERRI), assured the people that their plight was their concern and would always work towards alleviating their challenges.
A resident of the community, Mr Matthew Ochai, called on the Federal Government to ensure that river Benue was dredged to tackle perennial flooding in the area.
“Sand has taken over the river. So, the only solution to the perennial flooding is the dredging of the river Benue,” Ochai said.
Some beneficiaries, Mrs Martha Terhemba and Mrs Helen Odeh, thanked GIFSEP and ESLF for providing the items to them, assuring that they would put them to good use.
