Unique Sisters Donate ₦2m to Calabar Landslide Victim
By Ekanem Asuquo
A United States based socio-cultural and non-profit organisation, Unique Sisters of Substance Incorporated, has donated ₦2 million to Mr Kingsley Edu, who lost four children, his home and personal belongings in a devastating landslide at Ikot Anwatim, Calabar Municipality, Cross River, in July.
The financial assistance is aimed at supporting the education of Edu’s surviving children and helping him rebuild his life after the disaster, which occurred following days of torrential rainfall.
Speaking during the presentation, leader of the organisation’s delegation, Obongawan Dr Evelyn Eyo Honesty, said the intervention was inspired by the organisation’s motto, “Love, Peace and Unity.”
She explained that the organisation’s President, Sister Veronica Okon, and Vice President, Sister Iniobong Ikpe, came across the tragedy on social media and immediately mobilised members to trace the family and identify ways of providing assistance.
Honesty, who is also the State Coordinator of the Civil Society Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), said the donation would help Edu return his surviving children to school and provide some support towards restoring his means of livelihood.
She expressed the hope that the gesture would inspire other non-governmental organisations and well meaning individuals to come to the family's aid.
Responding, Edu, who was accompanied by his first daughter, Blessing Kingsley Edu, expressed appreciation to the organisation for the timely intervention, noting that the financial assistance would help secure the education of his surviving children.
He, however, identified accommodation as his most urgent need, explaining that the landslide had destroyed his home and virtually all his possessions.
Community leaders, including the Village Head, His Royal Highness, Chief Patrick Offiong, Chief Clement Okon and Ntufam Francis Effiom, commended the organisation for its humanitarian gesture and urged it to sustain its support for the bereaved family.
The leaders also disclosed that Ikot Anwatim had been reinstated in the erosion control programme, with the government expected to send a technical team to assess the affected area and identify houses at risk of imminent collapse for possible relocation.
They appealed to relevant federal and state government agencies to urgently tackle the ecological challenges confronting the community to avert a recurrence of the tragedy.
The community leaders expressed gratitude to Unique Sisters of Substance Incorporated for extending financial relief to Edu and his surviving children, describing the intervention as a timely gesture that had brought renewed hope to the grieving family.
