In a bid to cushion the current economic hardships faced by vulnerable families in Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation popularly known as Together for Needs Initiative has provided 100 boxes of Love containing household, food and relief items to 100 vulnerable families.
The Christmas programme tagged “Love in a Box” which took place on December 26, 2020 targeted families mostly represented by widows, single parents, persons living with disabilities and elderly persons located in Sawmill Area of Gbagada local government, Lagos state.
“As we interacted with some of our beneficiaries in the course of the year, we realized that the economic and social impact of the COVID – 19 crisis had pushed many more families into extreme poverty- there was increased hunger, lack and deprivation resulting in palpable fear and anxiety,”
“They had concerns around survival and wondered if Christmas and the New Year would truly be merry. Consequently, we decided to provide boxes of love especially for families who are worst hit – widows, the elderly, persons living with disabilities, single mothers and low-income individuals ahead of 2021,” Oluwatosin Ishola, the Founder and Program director of the initiative said at the programme.
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Ishola further said that the families were excited as they opened their boxes. “You can see that these items can make a difference to them,” she says
Since it was founded in December 2017, the NGO with a vision to reduce poverty & bridge inequality gaps has reached over 4,500 people through its combined intervention programs.
“Our mission is to promote social protection for vulnerable groups particularly widows, orphans, persons with disabilities and the elderly. This year, with support from our amazing sponsors and partners, we have reached over 3,000 beneficiaries providing education grants, skills training, seed capital support, food & relief aid and medical support,” Ishola said.
Around 82.9 million Nigerians are extremely poor, constituting 40.1 percent of the total population with real per capita expenditures below N137, 430 in 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics’s Poverty and Inequality report in May 2020.
Also, the World Bank predicted that there would be 95.7 million Nigerians living below the poverty line by 2022.