Abuja: Freemasons Extend Support To Over 40 Children Amid Rising Costs

Members of the Grand Lodge of Nigeria have donated food items and cash to Destined Children Home in Kado, Abuja, amid concerns over the rising cost of feeding and maintaining the facility.

The home, which caters for about 45 children aged between one month and 19 years, said inadequate funding and the rising costs of food, education, electricity and water had made it difficult to meet the children’s needs.

The Administrative Manager of the home, Sarah Chukwuemeka, disclosed this when members of the Grand Lodge visited the facility and presented the donations.

Chukwuemeka said the home required regular support to cater for the children, particularly the younger ones who depend on it for feeding, education and other basic needs.

“It is not that easy, as we have smaller children. They eat and go to school, so we need a lot of support,” she said.

She explained that the home worked with social welfare authorities and the police in receiving children, adding that welfare officials conducted inspections and investigations to establish the backgrounds of children brought to the facility.

Speaking during the visit, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Nigeria, Chief Osiobe Okotie, said the organisation’s charitable activities included supporting vulnerable groups and institutions.

He urged members of the organisation in Abuja to maintain contact with the home and consider its needs in future interventions.

Okotie also appealed to the management to ensure that the donated items were used for the benefit of the children.

Responding to questions about public perceptions of Freemasonry, he said the organisation was neither a cult nor a secret society.

“We are not a cult. We’re not a secret society,” he said.