The Women Wing in Shipping Branch of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) have called on the male counterparts from the national executives and the three other branches of the union to join their quest of promoting humanitarian movement initiative as part of gestures to touch lives of the needy .
The women made the call during a visit to the Centre for Happy Elderly People CHEP and Cheshire Home, Mushin both in Lagos, recently.
Speaking, at the 2022 women of shipping visit to the two homes, leader of the team, Comrade Rosemary Otikpere, advocated for the project to be extended to the entire members of shipping , saying it is a good thing to put smiles on the faces of less privileged people and elderly.
Recall that the women debut earlier in June by organising her maiden seminar which attracted stakeholders in the maritime sector; including terminal operators,shipping line agencies , maritime lawyers and the labour unions in attendance.
She said “We had held seminar which men have never done and today, we are here again, we are going to sell this idea to the president that it shouldn’t be women affairs alone but we want it to be a branch project.”
She maintained that the women group took it upon themselves to visit the centres to make the elderly happy and to give out some items that will be useful to their well being.
According to her, items including, food stuffs, detergents, toiletries, among others were given out to the less privileged both in Isolo and Mushin.
“Early this year, we decided to put smiles on people’s faces and my team decided that we should visit the elderly to make them happy and this is what we are doing today as our end of year project
“We decided that no matter how little, we should make some people happy.
“We gave tubers of yam, bags of Semolina, bathing soaps, detergents, bags of rice, spaghetti, indomie, tooth pastes, tooth brush, clothes, wrappers, head warmers, stockings, walking sticks.”
Also speaking, Funmi Fasan Vice President General MWUN quipped that the women seeing that they also are ageing, needed to visit the elderly who have served their fatherland diligently and are now old to see 5hatntheyvare appreciated by the younger people.
She informed that giving is one of the things that make people happy hence the need to give out to less privileged people.
According to her, giving to less privileged is not alien to the National body of the union , even as she said that the President General of the union, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju is a leader that supports such gestures.
Fasan noted that”It is a good thing coming from shipping and whatever shipping is doing, it is the entire maritime that is doing it.
“What informed this is that we are also growing, retirement is coming gradually and we need to appreciate the older people who have served their fatherland but are now old
“The reason behind it is to come and see to their welfare and also to appreciate them and that the younger ones can celebrate the.
“Those of us that contributed to the project will be glad in our minds that we are doing good by helping others to be happy.
“When you give out, you feel happy within you. So, we are happy that we are giving out
“Secondly it will make the people we came to see happy by mere seeing us because some of them are like grand parents to us. That is the essence of our coming here.”
While responding Geron Alex Akinremi of CHEP thanked management of MWUN, the shipping branch executives and the women wing for the gesture and care adding that the senior citizens under their watch need encourage from the government of all levels.
Geron Akinremi lamented that government has not done enough to cater for the senior citizens under their watch noting that CHEP is in the forefront towards ensuring that the elderly are happy.
He added that occasionally, philanthropists came around to drop gift items for the elderly stressing that some also stop by the centre to gist,play and crack joke with them.
While giving a vivid background about CHEP, he reiterated that “We care for the elderly people here because life is a circle and what goes around comes around.
“All over the world today there is what we called love and these are what we want to achieve for our senior citizens”,Akinremi stated.
While at Lagos Cheshire Home, Mushin, Chairman, Board of Management, Mrs.Folashade Oyeniyi commended the women for the charity for the less privileged under their care, adding that Leonard Cheshire has five homes in Nigeria.
She said the homes has-been in existence since 1963 adding that it was basically established to cater for injured soldiers under the second world war 2.
She said Government has failed to support the home saying that private individuals and good spirited individuals are solely responsible for keeping the home afloat.
According to her, the home send some of the less privileged to formal and informal education adding that the responsibilities were enormous for management of the home to manage.
Oyeniyi disclosed that the home has both board of trustees and board of management running its affairs, stressing that staff of the home are paid monthly with little or no support from government.
By Roland Ekama
