The natives of Ozalla in USA had in 2004 formed an association known as Ozalla Union USA (OUUSA) primarily to contribute their quota towards knowledge acquisition back home.
Members of the union were resolute in their determination to wipe out the tears of their people whose children had lagged behind due to absence of decent schools in the community. They contributed their resources and set out to effect a positive change in the lives of the pupils who were hitherto learning under very harsh conditions in poor environments.
Most of the OOUSA members had passed through such harsh learning environment during their primary schools days particularly due to lack of decent classrooms and learning materials like books and writing materials hence they decided to support the pupils and the schools with a view to improving the learning environment and improving the quality of education in the area. This they did as a way of giving back to the community from where they began their educational career many years back.
However, ten years down the line, OUUSA has not only contributed meaningfully to the upliftment of education in the area through a project known as Education Assistance Project (EAP) but has brought a great relief to the parents through regular donation of books and other learning materials to their children,
The programmer has already began to yield the desired results as a pupil from the community emerged as the best in a computer examination organized within the local government recently, a feat which the people say was made possible by the OOUSA education support programme.
Since inception, the tentacles of the project have been widened; from mere donation of learning materials to public primary schools in Ozalla annually to the presentation of awards to the best performing students in each school, as well as the renovation of a primary school block which gulped over N5 million.
At the 10th anniversary of the programme held at premises of Central School, Ozalla on Thursday, education materials and cash prizes worth millions of naira were presented to pupils from six primary schools who performed excellently in their past examinations as part of activities lined up for the anniversary celebration.
The event was witnessed by sons and daughters of Ozalla from far and near including traditional and religious leaders, students, teachers and other community stakeholders. The pupils from the six public schools covered by the project had converged with their wards for another round of the programme. Like in past years, various items were presented to the pupils and the teachers from the various schools.
Chairman of EAP Ambassadors, the local representatives of OUUSA, Mr. Dan Nwomeh, addressing the participants, said that it is a thing of great joy that the union has continued to carter for the welfare of their children through the provision of the materials and the award presentation.
He recalled that the project had begun as a meagre one with just four schools but now, it has been extended to six schools, adding that the value of the items/awards has also improved a great deal. He noted that besides helping to alleviate some parents’ burden of sponsoring their wards in school, the project has also been a source of motivation to the children.
The project, he said, has enhanced the academic performance of the pupils in various ways, even as it has aided competition among the students.
According to him, the members of the union are out to make landmark achievements in education sector of the community, pointing out that a lot has already been done in that regard. His words: “We are here to commemorate the ten years of existence of this Education Assistance Project which was launched in 2004. Since then, it has been held consistently over the last ten years and has continued to improve from mere donation of learning materials to giving merit awards to the best performing pupils and even to renovation of a classroom block.
“Every year, the members of OUUSA task themselves to fund this project and this same union carried out the renovation of the worst primary school building in Ozalla and made it the best in the local government, a project that gulped about five million naira”.
According to Nwomeh, the union has since its inception spent over N10 million for the project, adding that by the grace of God, expressing the hope that the union would do more in the years ahead. “Some of us don’t understand the level of poverty in some places where some children cannot afford to go to school because they cannot afford to buy ordinary exercise books. These are the type of things we see here. So the programme has indeed helped a lot of students in that regard. And from the records, the various winners of the award have continued to excel”, he said.
He further revealed that what had motivated the members of the union to embark on the project is the desire to ensure that the children are given the opportunities which some of them did not have during their time. “It is the ‘think-home’ belief, bringing the benefits of their education back home. Some of them passed through this same school, so they want to provide a better opportunity for the pupils”, he noted.
Nwoneh , however, regretted that some members of the community living overseas have turned blind eye to such a project, urging them to join hands in making the community better.
While thanking the union for its good works, a school headmaster who spoke on behalf of other school heads, Mr. Paulinus Onah, thanked the union for its good works in alleviating the sufferings of the community members.
He further acknowledged the effect of the project in the community, promising that the teachers will not relent in their efforts in imparting knowledge on the pupils.
“Our prayer is that you shall remain united for ever so that your good works will continue to be of very good example which others shall not cease to emulate. We promise you that the pupils of Ozalla community shall not disappoint you”, he said. Moreover, as a sign of appreciation, the pupils, on their own part, took to the centre stage to thrill the gathering with presentations ranging from drama to recitations.
Earlier in his address, the chairman of the occasion, Chief Bernard Igwe, also thanked the union for their kind gestures toward the schools in the community.
He further called on other members of the community living abroad to emulate the union by carrying out similar kind gestures in a special way for making this day possible for us in this community.
“It is not an easy thing at all because we all know that they are not the only people of Ozalla living oversees but because of their kind nature, they have decided to show us the way by empowering our children yearly. Through this programme, they have made our schools and education stable. So we thank God for them and pray that God will keep on strengthening them to do more”, Igwe said.
A dilapidated Classroom block renovated by OUUSA at the Central Primary School, Ozalla
Post a Comment