Amina Dikwa Foundation is filling intervention gap to downtrodden – Dr. Abubakar
The Chairman, Board of Trustee (BOT) of Amina Dikwa Foundation (ADF), Dr Muhammed Abubakar, said the foundation had increasingly contributed to filling gaps in terms of intervention to the needy especially in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar said this at the foundation’s 5th Anniversary Celebration, Fund Raising and the Unveiling of its 5 Years Future Projects, on Saturday night in Abuja.
He said the organisation came into being in 2018 and had been supporting to alleviate the plight of the downtrodden especially in the North East.
Abubakar said the foundation had made interventions in the areas of education, water, health and hygiene as well as economic livelihood support and food distribution as well.
He said that ADF took into cognisance gaps, that existed in the North East, where either State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) or National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) were unable to fill because of the enormous challenge in the area.
According to him, the event is the celebration of five years anniversary of good work, of humanitarian activity, of charity and of helping the less privilege.
“It is to see how to rally support from stakeholders, government and politicians so they can give their support so that we could still do more as an organisation.
“For the year 2024, the organisation want to intervene in the areas of education, economic livelihood support, water, health and medical services,” he added.
Abubakar urged well-meaning individuals to rally the organisation to be able to do more and reach out to more vulnerable population in the society.
In her remarks, the President and Founder of ADF, Dr Amina Dikwa, said the her passion for giving out to the needy and care for the less privileged were the driving forces behind the establishment of the foundation.
Dr Dikwa, a medical doctor, said she grew up in a family where given was very important, adding that her parents told her and showed her that it was important to give no matter how small.
She said she was inspired by her upbringing to set up an NGO to focus on supporting out of school children, orphans in the society.
“We have empowered countless number of children in schools because we know that education is very important and there is the need for children to have access to quality education.
“I see myself in the next five years having a school and given more children opportunities to succeed in life and to be educated.
“I also I see myself having the center to train women, less privileged women, in order for them to be self reliant, to take care of their families and their children,” she said.
Dikwa called on the government at all levels and other stakeholders to step up support for organisations like ADF to help the less privileged people in the society.
“I am appealing to the government, stakeholders and other big charitable initiatives, to come together to support small NGOs like ours.
“This is to enable us to reach the grassroots areas that don’t have access to education, clean water and livelihoods.
“We are a registered nongovernmental organisation, and we are transparent and we woukd like to work with any organisation that is willing to support the less privileged,” she added.
The Senator Representing Borno North, Sen. Tahir Monguno, has promised to channel the N500 million constituency allocation for 2024 towards supporting the humanitarian and livelihood programme of Amina Dikwa Foundation (ADF).
The senator who also made personal donation to support the foundation said the vision and mission of ADF aligned with his goal of helping the displaced persons and victims of insurgency in Borno.
He said the activities of the foundation in the last five years had demonstrated its commitment to helping the needy and the poor in the area of health and sanitation as well as education and other empowerment projects.
He called in the well meaning Nigerian to support the effort of ADF and other similar organisations to support the efforts of the government at both Federal and State levels to alleviate the suffering of the masses.
Also, the Deputy Governor of Kebbi, Sen. Umar Tafida, commended the founder of ADF, Dr Amina Dikwa, for her foresight and heart for the poor in the society.
Tafida said the foundation had done a lot in other parts of the country, adding that the government would partner with organisation of this nature to deliver on its vision and achieve its goal.
According to him, educating the children on the streets and giving succor to the hungry youths could go a long way in preventing them from engaging in criminality and violent extremism among other societal ills and making sure we will have a better and safer society