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BENEVOLENCE
A strong pivot under the Disaster relief is the provision of clothing materials to those in need. Many of these materials could be new or used ones and they include dresses (both for Children and Adults), shoes, ties, suits etc. Fairly used but decent clothing materials can be donated to the organization to distribute to the less privileged. There are several children that walk the street naked even during harmattan while some others go to school bare-footed. There is a need to reach out to these people in the society.
Apart from meeting the needs of people in this category, contingency plans are also made natural disasters like flood and fire where we assist victims of these disasters. Hence, it is imperative that a large chunk of clothing is in stock to meet these exigencies.
Lifeline Africa also assists in providing temporary shelters for victims at such periods of emergency.
WIDOWS WELFARE PROGRAMME
Widowhood can be such an excruciating experience, particularly if the widow is left with several number of children and she is without viable means of livelihood. She has to shoulder the family responsibilities such as school fees, house rent, feeding etc. It is therefore necessary to meet the psychological and material needs of these widows. Under this program, weekly counseling sessions are organized for them while they also receive priority attention at the Food Bank. In addition to this, they are given monthly stipends for their upkeep. Presently we cater for more than a hundred of them.
ORPHANAGE
Lifeline Africa Orphanage is set up to nurture and give hope to as many of those children that are abandoned on the streets by frustrated under aged mothers. We give full attention covering providing paternal and maternal hands, full medical attention and our children are given the environment and support to excel in any chosen field of endeavor.
Adoption: Couples who for inability to bear children who desire to adopt any of our children must go through government laid down regulation for approval.
EDUCATIONAL TRUST FUND
As part of the efforts to meet the needs of the less privileged, our Educational Trust Fund gives scholarships to children of the less privileged. The scholarship scheme, which is administered annually, gives priority attention to orphans.
PRISON OUTREACH
Perhaps, one area that deserves special attention for which hitherto had received tepid attention is the prison. Societal perception that categorizes inmates of prisons as outcasts has cast a pall of pariahs on these people.
Rather than being despised, this set of people need love attention, affection and care. In Nigeria, our prisons hardly meet the minimum international standard for panel reforms. Rather than being reformative, our prison system is punitive and dehumanizing with highly congested cells and their attendant health hazards.
In most Nigerian prisons, there are no beds and mattresses. Most inmates sleep on bare floors in overcrowded cells.
Diseases, particularly tuberculosis, diarrhea, scabies and common features, a situation that makes average inmate to look scraggy; emaciated and disheveled.
More alarming is the presence of children in our prisons. These children fall under two categories. The first category are those who are not convicts but who were born in prison by pregnant inmates and those taken along to prison by their mothers who are awaiting trial or who are convicted. It is a common sight in female prisons to see urchins running around without the benefit of mixing with their peers and no opportunity of going to school. The attendant psychological effect and societal consequences are better imagined.
The second category are young children, who ordinarily should have been kept in borstal Homes but were sent to prisons inadvertently where they mingle with hardened criminals. Some of these children under this category are aged between 11 and 15 years.
The Nigerian Prison Service Annual Report (1984) stated that 28 children were born in "Kirikiri" women Prison in 1984.
The medical condition of these children are affected with such diseases like scabies, ringworm, diarrhea and rashes.
Within its limited resources, the government is doing its best and we think the government needs to be assisted in this big task, hence the initiative of the Lifeline Africa Prison Out-reach.
To this end, their medical needs would be addressed whereby they would benefit under our Medical package. A periodic medical service would be undertaken with the co-operation of the Prison authorities.
Clothing would also be given to children in prisons while food and fruits like oranges to get them vitamin support would also be given out to the inmates from time to time. These no doubt, would act as a psychological boost for the inmates and would prepare them for a more useful life after their sentences.
INFORMATION SERVICE.
In a move to sensitize the public, seminars/workshops are undertaken. This is to assist in publicizing the various programs of the organization.
For more information on Lifeline Africa and how you can partner with us, contact:
projects@powerline.faithweb.com
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