The director of the Social Organisation Society (SOS) Herminer Gmeiner, Olatungie Woode, on Friday at the Goderich Resource Centre doled out food items to children at the Goderich, Shebro Town, Gbendembu and Funkia communities.
Bags of rice, vegetable oil, black eye beans, powered milk, sugar, assorted clothes and cash for medical expense were given to 50 children.
Explaining the project the project, director of the social resource centre, Theodora Wilkinson, said the project aimed to preventing child abandonment in the communities.
She added that, “the social centre provides adult education, vocational training, catering, tailoring and computer studies for the community at affordable prices”.
Ms. Wilkinson added that the distribution of the food items was the second phase of the project.
Addressing beneficiaries the SOS director, Olatungie Woode, noted that “child abandonment is incorrect for parents and guardians”.
He maintained that, “to stop this we need to have moral courage, love and respect for the rights of other citizens”.
The director stated that child abandonment was a bad mentality and to eradicate this “we should change our mentality and behaviour”.
To the beneficiaries, he informed them that they should not depend on the programme because it would not last forever.
To the parents, he disclosed that he would be doing a house to house check to see if they were using the supplies for their right purposes.
Mr Woode disclosed that soon he would also supply mattresses, pillows and bed-spreads for the children to sleep in clean and decent places.
He also assured parents and wards that his organisation would soon engage in an Income Generating Activity (IGA) project in order for them to provide for themselves in the long run. The assistant SOS director, David Yambassu, said children’s issues needed quality support, adding that “the project aims at preventing abandoned children and make families stand independently on their own”.
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