2015 Int'l Day of Charity

ENDING THE ONGOING UNKIND ATTITUDES OF MANKIND

        

It is widely noted that ‘God loves a cheerful giver’, which simply implies that one who gives freely and cheerfully will definitely receive his/her reward from God, in abundance.

Charity, in a concise term, is a kind or generous attitude towards other people. In the same vein, it can be defined as money, gift, or time given to poor or less-privileged people. Some typical examples of charity include:

v Raising funds for the benefit of a certain person or cause.

v Contributing manual labour to help build a house for a low-income family.

v Setting aside half of your coffee money per month and granting that money to an organization that helps the needy.

v Donating food, clothes, and other basic requirements to the motherless-babies homes, from time to time.

v Asking friends and family to donate money to a specific charity organization rather than getting you gifts for birthdays and other anniversaries.

No doubt, charity contributes to the promotion of dialogue, solidarity and mutual understanding among people. Thus, it is the duty of everyone to live toward its uplift since it helps to foster a society filled with peace and harmony. And, it is worth noting that no meaningful development can take place in a society that lacks peace.

Saturday September 5, the world over commemorated the 2015 International Day of Charity. In recognition of charity’s key role in alleviating humanitarian crises and human suffering, in 2012, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated September 5 of every year as the International Day of Charity.

The date was chosen in respect to the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa whose life and good works for some of the poorest of the poor and the downtrodden while on earth inspired several people across the world. In other words, the adoption of the day for the commemoration of the International Day of Charity was in honour of the Late Mother Teresa, because the deceased Amazon dedicated her life to the poor and other disadvantaged people around the globe.

The idea of the International Day of Charity was proposed by Hungary with the aim of creating a universal platform to raise awareness on the importance of benevolent giving. Upon the initiative of Hungary, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus to designate 5^th of September - the anniversary of the passing away of Mother Teresa, as the International Day of Charity.

The resolution was co-sponsored by the forty-four (44) Member states representing all the five regions of the United Nations. The cross-regional support of the initiative reflects the universal recognition of charity and the apparent relevance of selfless giving or services in today’s world.

In his introductory speech, the Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN – Mr. Csaba Korosi, highlighted that charity as a way of thinking, provides real social bonding and contributes immensely to the creation of inclusive and more resilient societies. According to him, ‘Charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crises, supplement public services in health care delivery, education, housing, and child protection. It assists the advancement of culture, science, sports, and natural heritage. It also promotes the rights of the marginalized and the underprivileged, as well as spreads the message of humanity in conflict situations.’

The first commemoration of the Day was held in the year 2013 at the UN Headquarters in New York, U.S.A; the event featured various panel discussions on the role of charity in poverty alleviation and in promoting access to clean water and sanitation in general, with distinguished guest speakers from the philanthropic community including the United Nations Foundation.  

Therefore, the International Day of Charity is a day to remember those who are less advantaged, and to take appropriate actions to help them. The UN set aside September 5 of every year as that day, so that, we all would act collectively in order to alleviate the suffering and pains of the less-privileged around us.

However, bear in mind that many people are doing charitable work every day, either individually or collectively. Needless to state unequivocally that, everyday is a golden opportunity to assist those in need; devoting our time coupled with money, would help to end these lingering unkind attitudes found among mankind.

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the third commemoration of the annual International Day of Charity as well as the anniversary of Late Mother Teresa, I candidly urge every individual and organization worldwide to use this opportunity to promote their own projects and encourage charitable activities in their respective communities or societies. Obviously, this is the only way we can boast of a meaningful development in our various societies. Think about it!

 

COMR FRED DOC NWAOZOR

(The Media Ambassador)
Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056

 

Checking Youth Restiveness

CHECKING THE UNCALLED QUEST FOR MATERIALISM AMONG THE YOUTH AS WE UNDERGO ANOTHER ERA OF EMBER MONTHS

The three basic needs of man remain food, clothing and textile. It is also worthy to note that the three major desires of any sane being are wealth, fame and power. It is pathetic that presently mankind has derailed profoundly as regards the avenue being embraced towards obtaining any of these three desires.

Quest is a long search for what one desires; it can also be described as an extreme passion attached to what someone wants or whatever he/she wishes to possess. In the same vein, materialism is an act in which one thinks that money and other material possessions are the most important things on earth.

On the other hand, those months that mark the end of any annual calendar, which invariably start from September and end with December, are referred to as ‘Ember months.’ The term ‘Ember’ is not unconnected to the suffix that accompanies virtually all the months in question.

Unequivocally, the manner in which most people, Nigerians in particular, parade themselves during the Ember months has become worrying and devastating to all concerned that if proper and drastic measure is not taken by the appropriate authorities or institutions, it might degenerate into an unimaginable state of doom.

The uncalled and irrational quest for materialism among mankind, particularly the youth, especially toward the Ember months, is one of the major causes of the various lingering social vices taking place in all nooks and crannies across the globe. No doubt, the current astonishing increase of death rate is attributed to some of these vices, to include cultism, armed robbery, thuggery, prostitution, kidnapping, drug trafficking, assassination, and what have you.

The ongoing alarming quest for materialism or youth restiveness, which is quite appalling and disgusting, is mainly attributable to inconsequential rivalry, greed and/or lack of contentment. This implies that the anomaly is a product of man’s inability to face reality in any circumstance he finds himself.

Inconsequential rivalries are those competitions that are not called-for or that might seem unreasonable and barbaric. On the average, politicians or established business men often indulge in this practice. It is usually observed among the aforementioned set of people during electioneering era or when battling over supremacy as the case may be. Some youths also indulge in this act in order to showcase to the world that they belong to the ruling or most powerful class in order to prove that they are ahead of their contemporaries.

On its part, greed or lack of contentment has also contributed negatively to man’s intolerable quest for materialism, which often sets the period that leads to any festive season such as the Ember months, ablaze. Greed has indeed brought humanity to a state of mockery, and has succeeded in tearing several unions or societies apart. Considering this fact, it is needless to say that, for decades now, greed or lack of contentment has remained a menace to the world in its entirety.

As we undergo another era of Ember months, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that the commemoration of the forthcoming festive seasons, Christmas and New-Year precisely, takes place in a peaceful atmosphere so that every one of us would be filled with unquantifiable ecstasy.

Thus, I call on various governments, the civil society organizations, religious institutions, the media, and all well-meaning individuals to do everything humanly possible towards ensuring that the awaited Ember months will bring nothing but a blessing to all Nigerians and the world in general.

On their part, the various law enforcement agencies should not hesitate to arrest any individual/group caught in the act or that happens to be a suspect irrespective of his/her status, and must ensure that the suspect in question is brought to book at all cost. In view of this, the judicial custodians should endeavour to maintain speedy hearing of any case relating to youth restiveness, which is expected to serve as a deterrent to all prospective criminals. 

Above all, those who are already part of any of these uncivilized and blasphemous acts as well as those who intend joining the chorus, ought to exonerate themselves from the ungodly behaviour and seek for the face of the Almighty, because it is only the fear of God that can guarantee a remarkable wealth, power or fame. Think about it!

 

COMR FRED DOC NWAOZOR

(The Media Ambassador)
Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career Development - Owerri
_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056    

Role of Women in a Society

PROMOTING THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN A SOCIETY

The BBC English Dictionary defines a woman as ‘an adult female human being’. On the other hand, a society is an organization of people who have the same or similar interest/aim. The overall people in a particular area or locality can also be referred to as a society. Thus, a society is simply a union of people in a given area.

Undoubtedly, no society in existence can be said to be complete if a woman is yet to be found in it, regardless of its nature or size. We can testify to this fact by considering how a woman came into the world. Of course it is no longer news that having created man, God the creator thought it wise to form a woman from the rib of a man; this was so because God realized of what benefit a woman would be to a man in any society/arena he finds himself.

A family for instance – a nuclear family precisely, which remains the smallest society on earth, can never strive successfully or attain to its anticipated height if a woman is missing. Realistically, a family cannot be formed in the first place if a woman is nowhere to be found.

And along the line having created or formed a family with the help of a woman, if she eventually dies, the affected family will live to suffer the vacuum her eternal demise has created. This implies that, psychologically, no widower can boast of being a happy man, especially a situation where the late wife left some kids behind.

Sometimes even when the widower has gotten married to another woman, provided the late wife left some indelible footprints behind such as the kids or that she was made up of some irreplaceable features, he shall remain in an unending emotional trauma until he is being compensated with one thing or the other by the Almighty.

Ab initio, the womenfolk has been considered to constitute the integral part of the wider society. It is obvious that a social gathering or union cannot achieve an effective and efficient goal if the women are not carried along.

It might sound a bit controversial but the truth remains that nature had ordained woman to be the most attractive being in any society she happens to be a member or a part of; this is the reason whenever a social group of people intends to pay a courtesy visit to a certain office holder, if they fail to include at least a woman among the delegate, the said outing might end up being fruitless. Why? Simply because the presence of a woman has a natural tendency of arresting the heart of any man irrespective of what the man in question is made up of.

The political terrain is not left out. Surely, any man occupying a political position can boldly testify to the fact that his beloved wife is the reason he is striving assiduously and successfully. Suffice it to say that, a woman is indeed in charge of any leadership position even when her impact seems invisible.

The   advisory role, both morally and otherwise, a woman plays in the life of a political office holder who happens to be her spouse supersedes whatever advice or counsel he receives from his employees/appointees, or friends and well-wishers, as the case may be.

Considering the church, which is an institution as well as one of the oldest societies across the globe, there is no need reiterating the fact that its sustainability from the onset has been possible owing to the effort of the womenfolk. A woman has been proven to be more religious than a man; this is why she remains the engine room towards the uplift of our children’s spiritual lives. And we are all aware that someone or a family whose spiritual life is porous is apparently living like a tree without a single root.

Due to the fact that a woman is closer to the church than a man, the easiest way to conscientize a married man toward the uplift of a church is by winning the heart of his wife, since it is obvious that a woman has the key to a man’s heart.

Frankly, the role of a woman both in her immediate and wider society cannot be overemphasized. From the aforementioned facts, it can be pinpointed that without a woman, the children cannot be properly raised, be it morally, academically, religiously and what have you. Similarly, without a woman, a man’s social, political and emotional life shall remain incapacitated and in shambles.

But it is noteworthy that, it is only a virtuous woman that can impact positively on her family or any society she belongs. Needless to say; it takes a virtuous woman to bring the desired change in any society. A virtuous woman, in a nutshell, is that woman who is morally correct; that woman who possesses an acceptable lifestyle; that woman whose interior idiosyncrasies are welcoming or near-perfect.

Thus, at this juncture, I challenge the womenfolk to endeavour to possess welcoming attributes. To say the least, a woman’s lifestyle can be said to be acceptable if she is homely, humble, sensitive, sensible, and above all, god-fearing.

And, it is only the church that has all it takes to inculcate such qualities in a woman; this is why there’s a compelling need for us to support the church in its relentless stride toward uplifting humanity in its entirety.

In view of the aforementioned facts, we are convinced that the role of women in any society, regardless of the circumstance, is invariably inevitable. To this end, we are required at all times to contribute our individual efforts toward the promotion of the womenfolk in its entirety in our respective communities or societies as well as preach against any form of violence against women. Think about it!

 

COMR FRED DOC NWAOZOR

(The Media Ambassador)
Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056