British women group, Mouka take love to orphanage, leprosy centre

It was a true celebration of love at Valentine for the children of St. Pio Boys Hostel and residents of St. Joseph Leper Rehabilitation Centre in Ijebu Igbo on Valentine’s Day, when the British Women Group, Lagos and Mouka Limited visited them with several much-needed gift items.

St. Pio Boys’ Hostel, an orphanage run by The Catholic Ijebu Igbo Diocese is an orphanage for boys aged 4 to 17, which takes care of the boys’ needs as well as their education. The hostel was, before the visit, filled with worn-out mattresses, which the boys have been managing for years. On sighting the 20 new mattresses, the boys burst into tears of joy.

The tale was no different with the inmates at the St. Joseph Leper Rehabilitation Centre. These residents were previously victims of leprosy who have been cured but are undergoing rehabilitation before being released to the society. Kept in different apartments within the centre, the residents could not hide their joy when the team arrived their centre in trucks to deliver brand new Mouka mattresses alongside food items.

Explaining the rationale behind the donation, Chairperson of the British Women Group, Julian McKnight, said the group’s focus is network and charity. According to her, they observed that the boys’ mattresses were worn out and they decided to make life easier for the boys by approaching Mouka foams to donate mattresses for their use.

She said the same was decided for the leprosy centre after an earlier visit to the place.

The Mouka Foams representative at the donation, Femi Yussuf, said in the firm’s bid to add comfort to life, reaching out to the less privileged remains very vital to the organisation. According to him, the boys and the leprosy residents are only victims of circumstances and this does not mean they do not deserve some of life’s comfort. He went on to commend the Catholic Diocese for their charity in taking care of the less privileged.

Coordinator of St Pio Boys’ Hostel, Rev. Fr. Gabriel Maria Udogu expressed gratitude to the duo for their generosity towards the orphanage and the Rehab Centre. He said they run on charitable donations and the goodwill of Nigerians to survive and this gesture by the women’s group and Mouka was not only very timely, but also highly appreciated. He called on other well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the gesture and show love to the less privileged around them as that was a sure way of showing God’s love, especially during this season of Lent.