Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has unveiled a television show for the less privileged in the society especially school children, to broaden their horizon in learning. Addressing journalists at the press conference to announce the TV show, Deputy Chief Convener of Hope Alive Initiatives, one of Ooni’s initiatives aimed at bridging the gap created by poverty in the society, Miss Temitope Adesegun said the show is an advocacy programme called HAI TV show, first of its kind and solely dedicated to the underprivileged in the society.
She said: “It is going to be a TV show where any non- governmental organisation can bring any problem or solution, their activities, challenges or whatever they are doing in their NGO which can now be showcased on a laudable platform where everyone can see and embrace.”
According to her, the programme will be all- encompassing, adding that the Ooni has a dream for an average child who is just locked up in the four walls of a classroom, to take such a child to different parts of the country to know what is going on there. ”It is all-encompassing, we are not segregating – may be the adult, widow, children – it’s all-encompassing, as long as you are tagged an under-privileged; either educationally you are not able to go to school, or financially you are not able to meet your daily responsibilities or you are not able to achieve your desires on a daily basis due to lack of funds, then we are here for you,” she said.
The Hope Alive Initiatives convener explained that Nigerians have come to the realisation that non- governmental organisations are fast becoming the pillars on which the marginalised in the society rely on but regrettably, most of them are still facing difficulties in achieving the aim and fulfilling the mission on which they primarily embarked on.
She said in few months, the organisation has done a lot having visited the IDP camp in Abuja with a population of 5,470 and provided books, school bags, stationeries, drugs for their hospitals as well as erecting a borehole to provide potable water for the community.
She said: ”The simplest way to describe an underprivileged person is someone who cannot comfortably eat three square meals per day, can’t afford the minimum living standard which is equated to a dollar per day. Someone that lives below that standard on a daily basis is considered as underprivileged.” Responding, the Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi it is the wish of every dreamer to have his/her wish become a reality adding that he marvels at the immeasurable success by his pet project, Hopes Alive Initiatives within a short period of time adding that he has innate passion to give hope to the hopeless.
