by By Elijah Ugani
The Chief of Staff to the Cross River State Governor, Hon Martins Orim has contributed in no small measures to alleviate the plight of the down trodden in the state.
Hon. Martins Orim decided to immortalize the virtues and legacies of his late dad, launched the GFO Foundation in 201….. Since the official launch of the GFO Orim’s Foundation, it has been a harvest of consolidated interventions, ranging from human capacity development (life skill), infrastructure, health and other humanitarian interventions.
It is a known fact that this act of generosity is bequeathed to the Chief of Staff by his late dad for those who knew him.
When contacted, Hon Martin Orim averred that “One of the ways to make my late father happy to ensure that I put a smile on the faces of the destitute, especially when I have the opportunity and resources to do so. It my desire to reach a good number of those who really are deserving of our assistance, but you see, we are constraint by the lean resources within our reach.
“For those who knew my father, he was the pioneer catechist who brought the Catholic Church to Ubang, his home used to be a beehive of those who needed his mentorship, he could gather together to share with them what he has. He encouraged a lots of people, and I cannot forget his goodwill.
“For me, the only way to say thank you to my late dad who is not here to see me become what I am, is to immortalize him through the GFO Orim Foundation.
“It is my earnest desire to ensure that as a foundation, we target especially those who needs our support, to reduce the burdens on our vulnerable brothers and sisters”
Hon. Martins Orim is a silent achiever who does not want most of the things his foundation is doing public, believes that he owes a duty to put a smile on the faces of the less privileged.
Some of his silent achievements are as follows:
1) a. Training of several people on Skills Acquisition, capacity building at Obudu. The first phase of this training in various skills has been ongoing since last year, some have graduated while others are still undergoing the training based on their different skills, they will be provided with start up kits as soon as they complete their trainings.
b. Currently, he has partnered with the Industrial Training Fund ITF and training 50 youths in Obudu on Poultry, Catering, Decoration and plumbing. This is to provide the youths with certified certification that will guarantee their job security wherever they find themselves.
2) Construction of a Mini Bridge at Okweriseng, Obudu.
3) Construction of communal roads linking other communities at Okweriseng, Obudu.
4) Empowered several people across the State with finances to set up Small and Medium scale businesses.
5) Payment of hospital bills, including paying full charges for the incubation of twins that were prematurely delivered by a teenager at the University Teaching Hospital, Abakiliki, as well as payment of school fees for the less privileged across the state.
6) Provision of Solar powered street lights for his ward, Alege/Ubang, Obudu.
7) Donation of 25kva Diesel powered Mikano Generator and financial support to St. Charles Catholic church, Obudu.
8) Financial Assistance and support to Orphanage Homes in Calabar and Ogoja on Monthly basis.
9) Distribution of 23 Cars ( Yala – 1, Ogoja – 1, Bekwarra – 2, Obanliku – 4, Akpabuyo – 1 and Obudu – 14) and over 80 Motor cycles s to individuals in Cross River North Senatorial District.
10) Donation of wheel chairs to the physically challenged persons across the state.
11) Gifts of wrappers, food items, medical and financial support to Widows in the State.
12) Building of a State of the Art Skills Acquisition Center for his community, Ubang, Obudu.
13) Building of a Civic Center for his community Ubang, Obudu to aid Revenue generation.
14) Award of scholarships to several indigenes of Cross River State from primary, post primary and tertiary institutions in the State.
15) Facilitated employment of Cross Riverians into the Nigeria Police Force, the Military, Nigeria Civil Defense and Security Corps, NCDSC etc. etc.
16) Equipped Primary and Secondary Schools with Computers and Science Laboratory equipments at Okweriseng, Ubang – Obudu
17) Facilitated the building of a Telecommunications mast to aid his community and environs gain quality access to GSM Network in the 21st century.
18) Provision of electricity supply to Ubang in Alege/Ubang Ward in Obudu LGA.
19) Renovated a house for a widow at Anyikang, Bekwarra LGA.
20. Provided a source of livelihood by setting a small medium enterprise for the widow at Anyikang
All the interventions as enumerated above were captured under the various thematic areas of GFO Orim Foundation, which include: Access to equitable good health, Access to affordable education, Livelihood, Rights and Justice as well as other cross cutting issues.
The Board and management of GFO Orim Foundation is opened to partnership from other organizations, group of individuals, philanthropists and even government at all levels to bridge the gap of the challenges of the populace.
