By Chinedu Adonu

A nonprofit organization, Helpers Social Development Foundation, HSDF, has established a school, Lugard Citadel Nursery and Primary School for orphans and less privileged in Amagu, AkpugoEze Community, Oji River Local Government Area, Enugu State.

The school was established to provide access to quality education for less privileged and vulnerable children in the community.

HSDF said that the school was created to reduce the number of out of school children and help the beneficiaries to secure a better future.

Speaking during the official inauguration of the School, the co-founder and chairman of the foundation, Mr Okeke Chinwendu, restated his commitment to ensuring that orphans and less privileged people get access to quality education.

He said that he started nursing the desire to establish the Lugard Citadel Nursery and Primary School when a vulnerable child met him at the community during school hour and appealing to him to help her pay school fees.

Chinwendu assured the community that he would make sure the school produces best students who would compete internationally and also help others in the community get quality education for a better society.

He however, said that they sponsored Mrs Stella Beneath to open the school due to her passion to train children and make sure that orphan and less privilege people get quality education by providing school desk, different school uniforms, note books, text books, chalks, school bags and many other items.

“The organization chose to sponsor Mrs Stella to open Lugard Citadel Nursery and Primary School to help her achieve her dream, vision and mission of reaching out to less privileged and unreached orphans with aim of impacting them with knowledge for a better future and peaceful society.

“We are here to officially open the School which will help the orphans and less privileged children within this area get access to education not withstanding the effect of financial challenges lingering in the country.

“Based on the condition in the nation and need to support, we were able to establish this school to provide quality education to less privileged to help have a peaceful society and better future.

“We expect a get best students that will be leaders of this country at the end of their programme here. We noticed that our people do not have culture of giving out to others but we believe that they will see the need of giving out to others at the end of their program here,” he said.

A community leader, Chief Chukwubuike Elendu, lauded the organization for their support to bringing low cost school to AlpugoEze, assuring their maximum support to ensure it grows to become best among best.

Chief Elendu who sought the community support, appealed with well meaning individuals and organisations to support them with classrooms, chairs, textbooks, computers and other materials.

Chief Sunday who noted that education is key to success, disclosed that this is the opportunity for the less privileged children to learn and harness their potential.

“I have seen it, it has started happening. This is our own. The school has come to Amagu Akpugo-Eze Community. It worth celebrating and supporting to make sure we get the best here. This is not the first time he told me about this but this time, we have to grab the opportunity.

“Stella is intelligent and she will give our children a better education that even if you’re spending money on you child here, you will not regret because of the knowledge he/she will get. let’s join hand together and make the school a better one.

“I feel very excited for the opportunity they created for less privileged and our children in my community. The first day they came, they visited me and they told me about this and I said this opportunity will not pass us. We will put all we have to make sure the school become a great school in the next one year,” he said.

Also speaking, the proprietor of the school, Mrs Stella Beneath, commended Helper foundation for embarking on the project, assuring to inculcate good morals and best standard of education in the children.

Mrs Beneath appealed with the community, well meaning individuals, organizations and government to also support the school with with needed structures.

“I appreciate God who made it possible today. This has been my dream but there was no finance to start it. Now that Helpers Foundation has sponsored it, I assure you that I will give the children the standard knowledge that they required to acquire and become the best in the world.

“I assure you that the first students will make others to come here. I worked under Trinity School and Future Hope and within my first year in both schools, I made the school grow from five students to 200 students. The positive effect was tremendous. So, as I want to retire here, I will make sure the school becomes the best by the grace of God.

“I am appealing to the community, well meaning individuals, organizations and government to come to our aid as we need classrooms for pupils and other school materials.

Our plan was to have a better structure for students but due to the situation of the country, we couldn’t do anything. All these blocks here belong to us but we couldn’t use it to build classrooms because of financial problem,” she said.