A non-governmental organisation (NGO) Jinkai Initiative has built and donated a two-bedroom apartment to Mrs. Rahab Zakwe, a 35-year-old widow in Ancha village, Bassa local government area of Plateau State.
Rahab, a mother of four children, was said to be among the victims of ethno-religious crisis who lost her husband to herders’ attack and since then remained vulnerable as the state government did nothing to ameliorate her suffering.
Ancha village is among the communities which had its fair share of age long attacks by Fulani marauders, leading to loss of many lives and destruction of houses and farmlands worth billions of Naira.
Speaking to newsmen in Jos, yesterday, the chief executive officer, Jinkai Aid Initiative Nigeria, Prof. Emmanuel Gye said the widow, Mrs Rahab Zakwe was selected by the entire community after identifying her as the most vulnerable.
According to Gye, “As you are all aware, Nigeria and most part of West Africa has been convulsed in ethno-religious clashes over the past several years. It is in response to this that ‘Jinkai Initiative was started by Nigerian Canadians with the sole purpose of alleviating the suffering and challenges of the communities.”
According to him, “Our vision is to build economically viable and thriving communities, and we are focused currently on building houses for those communities. Yesterday, we were able to hand over the very first home that was built in Ancha village in Miango Bassa local government area to a widow.”
He said the design was done by Nigerian architecture students who took part in a nationwide design competition that was judged by an international panel of architects.
“The beneficiary was selected by the entire community after identifying them as the most vulnerable. The widow was able to select the design she wanted, and she was delighted to receive the keys to her new home,” he said.
The CEO further revealed that, ” in our quest to relieve the challenges of these communities we are starting here on the Plateau with the ambition of extending this support and services to other parts of Nigeria that have been similarly affected and we hope the template would be copied and replicated globally.
