A non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Social Awareness, Advocacy, and Ethics (CSAAE), has urged the Government at all levels to prioritise the infrastructural development of rural communities.
CSAAE’s Executive Director, Rev. Fr. Godswill Agbagwa, stated this at the grand finale of the organisation’s 10th anniversary celebrations in Owerri.
Agbagwa, a Catholic priest, frowned at what he described as the “over-concentration of development in the urban areas” and said that people could decide to reside in rural areas if adequate infrastructure such as functional medical facilities, schools, potable water, and others were provided.
“The best way to open up a state is to concentrate development on rural areas, and the government should take a critical look at this because those who reside in rural areas are not less Nigerian than the folks in the developed cities, and therefore deserve a better life too”, he stated.
He said the CSAAE has contributed to building a better society over the past ten years by empowering young people, women and the vulnerable.
“What we do is work on the young people, instil ethical values in them and urge them to extend the same to others; that way, the country keeps improving.
“We have impacted the lives of students, widows and vulnerable persons while offering scholarships to less privileged students to ease the burden on parents.
“Our back-to-school pack is one of those programs deployed to offer quality education and provide a brighter future for the students, and only last week, we doled out the sum of N1.2 million to winners of our ethics quiz competition for undergraduates “, he highlighted.
He added that the Centre also advocates against gender-based violence, victimisation and intimidation of vulnerable children and widows who are being denied their rights of inheritance, with the help of its over fifteen probono lawyers who offer free legal services.
“We have equipped 8000 youths with employability support, trained 130000 young people on digital skills, offered 7300 students with educational development, provided 8500 youths with training in the social justice system among others”.
“In the next ten years, CSAAE will concentrate her energy on rural communities by building standard schools and improving primary healthcare delivery through innovative health centres and innovative schools, the best teachers and doctors can be posted to the rural areas “.
In a welcome address, the Centre’s Chief Operating Officer, Miss Francisca Okwuonu, described the event as the final lap of the anniversary celebrations, which initially began in the United States.
Okwuonu expressed joy at the CSAAE’s journey’s success so far and expressed gratitude to everyone who came to celebrate and identify with the organisation.
A beneficiary of the CSAAE’s empowerment program, Mr Russel Chikezie, thanked the organisation for its mentorship, which enabled him to start a mushroom farm “that is currently booming”.
