Agha Ibiam
22 October 2004
Lagos — Ozanam House, which is a home for the displaced and the needy in Lagos, penultimate week hosted the Ikeja Pearl Lions Club as part of the International Lions Day celebration. Agha Ibiam was there
The Ozanam House in Lagos and Okpanam in Asaba, Delta State may sound alike yet, there is still something in common between them. The latter is the village where the Madonna School for the disabled, the under privileged, the abandoned and the marginalised in the society is located for academic and vocational training.
Interestingly, both Ozanam House and Madonna School, are owned and managed by Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, a Christian non-profit organisation. It is an organisation of women in the Catholic church founded in 1633 by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac to provide help to the needy.
Unlike the Madonna school that focuses on the education and training of physically handicapped children, mentally retarded and hearing impaired people, the services rendered at Ozanam House are slightly different. The sole aim of establishing the House which serves as a transitory place is to give shelter and solace to the needy, and re-direct their lives especially those that must have erred in various ways and thought that life is not worth living.
Other functions of the 'haven for all' is to link them up with their families after about six months of stay and pending when investigation about them and their families must have been completed, get some of them homes to start life again; give those who are willing formal education, skill acquisition and to make them self-reliant. This is designed for the inmates to be useful to themselves and the society.
Admission to Ozanam House is not automatic neither is it an all-comers' affair. There must be a reference letter from a recognised and reputable individual or organisation within or outside the Catholic Church. Express consideration is often granted on rare ocassions to families and adults who are temporarily displaced by their landlords either as a result of non-payment of rents due to loss of jobs or non-payment of salaries, abandoned and rejected children and homeless persons.
The only price inmates pay at Ozanam House, especially the non-Catholics is that they are automatically converted as one and made to pass through the teaching of St. Vincent de Paul.
As part of its activities to mark the World International Pearl Lions day, and perhaps as a charity club that caters for the needy, the club recently drew a programme of event aimed at transforming people's lives. The lot for October fell on Ozanam House that has a good number of displaced families and children.
Since Ozanam House was already known to some of the club leaders, there was no problem identifing and organising their needs. The President of the Ikeja Pearl Lions Club, Mrs. Rose Nzenwa told THISDAY that celebrating the World Lions day, set aside by Lions international, is like celebrating Christmas. Therefore, the onus was on them to observe it with the less privileged.
"Since Lions clubs are for charity, we normally go out and look for homeless places, hospitals, handicapped homes, amongst others. So today, we decided to come to Ozanam House for homeless people. Some of them are with children, husbands and wives and they stay here for a while, to either learn a trade and then become rehabilitated", she said.
The club's visit at times is not usually based on giving out arms. The club's programme is also designed to provide some of them who have acquired one vocation or the other employment. The club has been doing so in most of the places they have visited.
"What we usually do is to give some of them employment. Because this place is known to us, and because we have seen the magnitude of work the sisters do here, a lot of help is required in the place. So when I paid a visit here three months ago, I discovered much of their needs. And when I told my members about it, they did not hesitate in accepting my proposal", Nzenwa said.
Before the presentation of the gifts the inmates present, numbering about 20, some with their families took time to explain to the club members reasons behind their stay at Ozanam House. All their testimonies were pathetic. Mr. Charles Akpautuk, a father of three and whose business ran into troubled, waters, explained to THISDAY that he had no option than to send his family home after about three months of quit notice from his landlord expired. Today, he is temporarily staying at Ozanam House, pending when money would be raised to either go into a business of his choice or rent a place of abode. Being a new club with a lean purse, the cost of gifts showered on Ozanam House inmates was not that enormous. But one unique thing that surprised keen watchers was the manner at which it was presented and received. The jubilation of the inmates knew no bounds. They sang many choruses in different dialects, thanking God for His wonderful blessings. "Our club is a new one, and we just have to task ourselves to raise the money. NGOs, charity clubs are really trying because government cannot do it alone. Sometimes government does not even know that these people exist. That is why the Lions club, Rotary club and others go out helping people that are in need. We are interested in them because as mothers we know what it is to be in need", the president said. The club according to her, has been doing quite a lot for the society. Last month the club organised cancer and eye screening services for patients. As the club will be presenting its charter in November to the public, it will be followed with a vintage programme for the aged people scheduled to hold in December. Apart from that, the club will also embark on HIV/AIDS and youth programmes. Some of the youth will go into academic work and trades like computer, tailoring, hairdressing, amongst others. At the moment, what is paramount on the club's agenda is to rehabilitate some people and put them through training to enable them become gainfully employed. The Vice President of the club, Mrs. Carol Enuha, who had earlier interviewed the inmates to ascertain their needs, was optimistic that the purpose of their visit was not defeated by enormous needs of the inmates. With the club's widows mite, she believed it would alleviate the sufferings of the people. She maintained that as the country's educational system is tilting towards academic, the club's main priority which must be strictly adopted is to teach as many as it could some vocational skills, improve the well-being of the people, which in turn would translate to helping the country in general. "I will therefore strongly advise that other corporate bodies, charitable organisations and governmental bodies that want to help the society pay more emphasis on setting up vocational institutes where younger ones should be encouraged into skill acquisition rather than everybody going into academics and wanting to be doctors", Enuha said. To back up words with action, the club has asked the director of Ozanam House to compile the names of children who are not in school. This is to enable the club work out modalities for their possible enrollment in school this year. She, however, reassured that the club was also ready to pick up some of the ladies who have vocational training to give them employment. The director of the Ozanam House, since February this year, Sister Franca Oparah told THISDAY that the place was founded in 1994. She revealed that at present Ozanam House has 37 inmates who are fed and clothed. The primary purpose is to give them a home for about six months, after which the centre can find a place for them or provide them with jobs if possible. Mode of selecting inmates, Sister Oparah noted, is done with utmost care. Most of them come through Vincent de Paul Society in different parishes of Lagos, while others walk into Ozanam House by themselves. Accepting any inmate is based on the ground that his or her case is genuine, after thorough investigation. The fact that the Ikeja Pearl Lions club visited the House, spent the day with them, chat with them and asked the residents some questions that could lead to better their lives, she said was worth commending. "They have given us some hope, promising to look out for jobs for some of them. So, we really appreciate the gesture", the director said. She said apart from the Lions club, other organisations and individuals who are touched by their plight also visit Ozanam House, which has been the only way income is sourced to feed the people. "They also need to be rehabilitated. Because of the problem that brought them here, they get depressed. Some of the young ladies who are abused and are with unwanted pregnancy are also kept here. So, we need money to take care of them and also train them in some vocations and give them jobs. We do that so that when they are leaving here, they go out with something that would make them better than they were before", she said.
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