Edo: Intriguing story of 'Home for the Needy, Uhogua
• Amidst daunting challenges, today the ashes are becoming so beautiful - Pst. Solomon Folorunsho
• Asserts Home now churns out University graduates unending
In this exclusive interview with our managing editor, Kingsley Abavo in Benin recently, the Visioner and founder, who preferred to be known as the coordinator, Home for the Needy, Uhogua in Edo State, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho talked about the numerous achievements so far recorded in the torny journey which began in 2012. It was a story of the obvious manifestation of God's enablement in turning hopelessness to hope for a very brighter future; for the inmates. So, counting the achievements of the Home one by one, Pastor Folorunsho dedicated it all to the Almighty Jehovah in particular, and everyone who has in one way or the other positively contributed all these years.
At the Home for the Needy; resides the family of those who unfortunately have been wiped out by the insurrection of Boko Haram in the NorthEast and West Nigeria and have no one to care for them; widows, and orphans from the different parts of Nigeria. Also, street children, vulnerable children and children from broken homes, Pst. Folorunsho said.
Full Text!
Amidst mountains of daunting challenges since the beginning of the Home for the Needy; we are beginning to hear that God is turning them to stories of celebration. Please I want you to narrate to us first hand!
Like you rightly said; we have several challenges; challenges of feeding, challenges of accommodation, challenges of availability of portable water, challenges of electricity, challenges of funding the education of the children in school, and the challenges of having teachers in the school here for the children due to the tasking responsibility of being able to pay salaries. But in the midst of it all; we have been determined to make use of whatever is available and the children were eager to make something out of the prevailing circumstances. And today; we are singing the songs of joy, we are producing lawyers now; five of them just graduated from the law school and between now and January they will be called to the bar; they are waiting. Then we have six of them who are medical personnel out of which five are medical doctors; they were the best in their school; Edo State University, Iyamho, then one of them graduated as a pharmacist from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. There is another one who graduated as a communication engineer, that one also has a first class degree; in-fact, the record he made, nobody has ever achieved in that department in Ahmadu Bello University. There is one who graduated as an electrical engineer from a University in Adamawa State. Also we have three who graduated from the Western Delta University a few days ago; they read business administration. And between this year and next year, we are going to have a lot more; medical doctors, in-fact from every field of human endeavour and these children were once looked at as a waste, lost, rejected, despised, and persecuted. These are children who saw blood shed, children who saw parents slaughtered, children who saw sister raped and adopted, children who saw a lot of horrible things that we cannot even imagine but today the ashes is becoming so beautiful, something good is coming out of their life. And this tells me that if we in this country give a chance and space to everybody because we were created equal by God Almighty, we need equal rights and space; Nigeria will become the best place in the world and the world will become the best place to live in.
A moment ago we saw a young man who was said to be a law student of the University of Benin and would soon graduate. So, how many of them are there?
In total, we have over 60 students in the University of Benin; in Western Delta University, we have over 40 students; and in Edo University, they are over 25; all together in different Universities, they are over 300; some of them are in 500 Level, 400 Level, 300 Level, 200, 100 Levels and some have just been admitted. This is as a result of the seed everyone sowed; everyone who has visited here; 'Home for the Needy, Uhogua, people from various professions, lawyers, medical doctors, nurses, Governors, Speaker of the State House of Assembly and even the U.S ambassador came here, they encouraged and inspired them and the children were resolved to be like these people who visited and now, they are making it come true.
The number of children in school you quoted is huge and considering how expensive living in Nigeria has become including getting education; please can you let us into the secret of the funding?
I must tell you, this is one of the most challenging parts of what we are doing here. Now; we are owing almost all the schools in millions, we even took loans with high interest rates and our indebtedness runs into over 200 millions of Naira; I am not joking! The hope we have is that when these children get settled, one day we will come out of it. Yes, some people gave us money without interest saying when we have we can pay back but the economy is hard and they are now asking us for their money. But there are other places we took loans with interest and like for every N10m you pay the interest of N1m at the end of every month and that is the least we are owing. And it was very tough during the Buhari administration and the immediate past administration in Edo State. Things were very tough for us here; it was difficult to feed, it was difficult to get books for the children but you can't see a child scoring nine As and getting admission to study the course he or she desires and you say there is no money? Oh no; I am ready to sell whatever that is available because I believe if that talent is wasted, humanity and indeed the country will be at risk. When you allow such a person to be on the street; no life will be safe. When I look at them, I imagine the boys may now have been carrying guns and terrorising society, or the girls who studied nursing or midwifery probably would now have become prostitutes transferring sexual diseases all about and you wouldn't know who will be a victim. So, it has really been challenging; these ones who just graduated from the Edo University, we are owing the school no less than N40m, it is the truth, you can go confirm. But we keep the hope that one day, we will come out of it!
Pastor, you told us that you accompanied Ishaku Amos one of the children here to Chicago University in the U.S where he is on a scholarship for his PhD. Please can you tell us his impressions, his feelings at those moments?
First of all; let me explain why I did it. This is a child who fled his village due to insurgency and came here. Before then, he was not having a good education. Now, he got to the University from here the only place he knows. So for him to be thrown into the U.S; I know he was going to have some shock, I didn't want him to be intimidated, so I decided to go with him. We took the same plane, I have to explain a lot of things to him; he was seeing how I was relating with people of all colours, so that gave him confidence; a lot of times he would look at me and just shake his head (laughter). When we arrived; some of our friends were already waiting for us at the airport, they took a video of us both as we chatted happily. And for the few days I spent with him, I let him know how things are done here, this is a country in which law breakers are not tolerated, so he must be law abiding, you have to keep to time; they don't joke with that, how to purchase things, the different shops they have, the transport system and how to purchase ticket and board a train so on and so forth! By the time he got acquainted that he went to the school and met the people there, I had to return to Nigeria. It was a very wonderful experience for him! Another reason I did that I wanted him in case when others get the same opportunity, the way I led him, he should be able to lead them.
I can tell you the way his own happened, has inspired others as we celebrated it, from that time, the children the way they read now they realised that it is doable; it is achievable one of us is now in the U.S. and I am the next in line!
I think the scholarship is for him to read up to the PhD level?
Yes!
What course did he study?
Chemical engineering!
That is a beautiful story! Now we have a new administration in Edo so how well are you liaising to draw the attention of the Government to this place particularly as you are helping to solve societal problems here.
Well, my joy is that Edo State has gotten out of eight years of oppression, eight years of dictatorship, eight years of bondage and I am happy that Edo State is again having the air of fresh breathe and the persons who are there now; I have hope that they will continue with the way they have always been.
If you look around, you will see the solar street light; it was the Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa who did it, he also supplied books to the children, and some other things he did, you see the transformer that is there, as a House of Reps member, he did all that. Then the Governor, though he has not been here physically, he heard of us, he sent foodstuffs to the children and promised he was going to come and he invited me to his inauguration, and the thanksgiving service held at the stadium the following day and I saw him; the way he was humbled like a man of the people, someone who knows the State, the way he relates to the people and with what they have started doing one should expect good things to come and I just hope and pray the corrupt politicians who always hide in the shadow to operate, will not get to them; they should allow them to work because the way I see both of them, they don't need Edo State money for anything, and I want to encourage them to serve Edo State if they can hear my voice from here, and leave a mark like we talk of Ambrose Alli; I want them to follow that example and not the recent past that was fighting everybody, and pulling down everyone perceived to be enemy.
All right, obviously seeing the manifestation of the hand of God here, from the present state of affairs, what is your projection and expectations for 'Home for the Needy' in the nearest future?
(Laughing) Everybody here, I can see them taking over not only here in Nigeria but the world all over and my joy is that what we have inculcated in them; hate for corruption, hate for oppression, and love for humanity, no malpractice; be the best in whatever sphere of life you have chosen, if you don't know it, you don't know it, try to know it and once you know it use what you have to better your life, family, your environment and the world at large. So, I see these people in business, academics, industry, banking and finance in fact virtually everywhere.
Even in politics?
Yes! A lot of them; especially those who are studying law, some want to go into the judiciary, become Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), judges, and I am really encouraging them because you cannot just be crying over what others are not doing well when you have what it takes to make the needed positive change. In their own way they are already kind of trying to join some political parties; they saw what happened, they saw what electing the wrong person can do, imagine innocent children, they have no means of hurting you, what does it take you to just give them food to eat, but you did not only block those things; you were wanting to evict them, close the place, they went to vote, you sent your aides to come shoot gun; a lot of them were injured and till today two of them remain deformed and we knew the people who did this; all of them were arrested, you went there and bailed them, try to kill the case, so these matters are there! Seeing such things; how would such a child when you have the brain to make the change desired, you would try to come up to see that such things don't happen again in the society.
Recently, you were honoured far away in Abuja for your humanitarian impacts; what drive has that reignited in you?
Actually, I have been getting several honours but most times I do avoid them but the first major one I picked up was when I won the Leadership Social Impact Person of the Year then in Abuja. The former Vice president, Governors and a lot of persons were there and when that happened; I saw the attention it gave to the children; persons who heard and didn't know began to ask questions and I saw how happy the children were and what level of confidence it gave the children to push through their career; when this one came, the Institute of Human Affairs and Social Development made me the Humanitarian and Social Developer of the Year' the most in Nigeria and gave me a doctorate degree and I just felt like; to do my job I don't need these things but for these children to see and know that when you are doing good someone somewhere will one day recognise what you are doing. When we went there, we saw former governors, senators, Vice Chancellors and all manners of V.I.Ps and the children over 15 of them who have graduated went with me and I saw that this is really for the children and I dedicated it to them, not really for me, I don't need it to do what I am doing but I needed it to create more access for these children so it is quite encouraging!
So, let us draw the curtain on this interview at this point; thank you very much for granting us an audience!
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