A’Ibom First Lady Pastor Patience Eno : Enhancing Family lives through GIFA!
From her quick response to derogatory comments about her husband when she called him her “Golden Boy” on her birthday, February 20, 2022, to that rainy Monday afternoon of May 29, 2023, standing beside her husband of 37 years, the fifth democratically elected Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, as he took his oath of office, Pastor Patience Umo Eno’s holistic support for her husband’s ARISE Agenda, is palpable.
As a First Lady who understands her role as greatest cheerleader and number one fan, the Governor’s Wife since she assumed office on Wednesday June 14, 2023, has taken on several intervention programmes for vulnerable families in support of her husband’s aspirations and vision of a greater future for the women, children and families in Akwa Ibom State.
As a First Lady who understands her role as greatest cheerleader and number one fan, the Governor’s Wife since she assumed office on Wednesday June 14, 2023, has taken on several intervention programmes for vulnerable families in support of her husband’s aspirations and vision of a greater future for the women, children and families in Akwa Ibom State.
Early Interventions and Support for Vulnerable Groups
The early days of the Umo Eno Administration, fondly christened the Golden Era by the people who are enthralled by the simple and people-centered leadership style of the present occupiers of the Hilltop Mansion, saw Pastor Patience Eno pay unscheduled visits to the postnatal ward of St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua, where she reached out to nursing mothers and their babies with gifts and financial support. In addition, she assisted in clearing the accumulated bills of indigent patients who were having difficulties raising funds to offset their medical expenses.
Another visit to the Pope John Paul Family Life Centre/VVF Hospital, Mbribit Itam, brought her in contact with some young girls suffering from obstetric injuries. Their stories of multiple reconstructive surgical operations with no relief moved her to offer financial support for further surgical procedures.
Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurial Development
Driven by her commitment to harnessing the potential of Akwa Ibom youths in contributing to the state's economy, the First Lady hosted hundreds of young aspiring entrepreneurs in a programme focused on empowering them with entrepreneurial skills on pricing, bookkeeping, and branding, as well as creating networking opportunities.
Support for Families with Multiple Births
Families with multiple birth children in the state have also felt the warmth of the First Lady's kindness. Not only has Pastor Patience Eno gathered them in different locations across the three Senatorial Districts to share gifts and cash, but she has also committed to supporting them with monthly stipends to help lighten the burden of caring for multiple birth children. This has coincided with a recent surge in the delivery of twins, triplets, quadruplets, and quintuplets whose parents have benefited greatly from her benevolence.
Partnership with the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI)
As the State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope initiative of the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Pastor Patience has accessed several RHI programmes for beneficiaries in Akwa Ibom. 250 elderly have benefited from the RHIESS, 100 persons living with disabilities have been paid N100,000 each, disbursement of five hundred thousand naira each to 20 female farmers selected across the three Senatorial Districts of the State, for the RHI Women Agricultural Support Programme set up to encourage women’s involvement in Agriculture. Other RHI programmes include bursaries to female students studying education and other courses in federal and state public tertiary institutions as well as grants of N50,000 to 1000 petty traders in the state.
Maternal and Childcare Initiatives
Breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women have been hosted severally to programmes at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Uyo, with practical sessions on how to properly breastfeed their babies and ensure the continuous well-being of both mother and child. Thousands of pupils in select public primary schools in rural communities have also received basic educational materials, including school uniforms, bags, shoes, and books, to encourage grassroots education.
The Launch of the Golden Initiative For All (GIFA)
All these interventions, including those not captured, have been taken several steps higher with the official launch of the Akwa Ibom First Lady’s Non-Governmental Organisation and Pet Project—the Golden Initiative For All (GIFA)—on February 20, 2024. With eight thematic areas, GIFA has initiated numerous interventions to restore hope to families, in line with her slogan: Enhancing Family Lives.
Care for the Elderly under GIFA
One of GIFA’s thematic areas is Care for the Elderly. Pastor Patience Eno has received support from the Governor to leverage the Renewed Hope Initiative for Elderly Support Scheme of Senator Oluremi Tinubu in Akwa Ibom State. Under this initiative, 250 beneficiaries received N100,000 each. Additionally, she established the ARISE Initiative for the Elderly, a social welfare scheme designed to provide financial support of N50,000 each and cater to the medical needs of 600 senior citizens monthly. So far, the programme has benefitted 6,000 elderly persons.
The First Lady has paid regular visits to public secondary schools in rural communities with packs of sanitary items for girls to encourage them to stay in school and learn. Thousands of girls in public Secondary schools have received Sanitary Hygiene kits, at various times with the support of several organizations in the state.
With the outbreak of cholera in neighbouring states, GIFA has collaborated with health based organizations to hold massive sensitisations in markets across the state on the need to observe and maintain hygiene in order to prevent infection and diseases.
The First Lady, as Chairperson of the State Drug Control Committee has hosted Townhall meetings and sensitisations for critical stakeholders in rural communities on the need to curb the abuse of harmful substances.
Pastor Patience Eno is the Chairperson of the Akwa Ibom State Gender Based Violence Management Committee and has been in the frontline of advocacies against the traumatic spate of rape and other SGBV cases in the state with the declaration of June of every year as the GBV awareness month. This has led to a successful month of heightened media campaigns and sensitisations in markets, churches and communities, as well as heightened community engagements in June 2024.
Empowerment of women in rural communities with grants for their small scale businesses to encourage expansion and ensure that they thrive, is regularly carried out by the Governor’s wife, a gesture she has extended to
widows by empowering them with grants to engage in petty trading for the purpose of providing for them and their dependants.
Pastor Patience Eno has provided water in strategic locations under the GIFA water of life project of the improving environmental health thematic area, to ensure that individuals and communities have access to potable water that is safe for drinking. She has also invested in people at a time where the prevailing economic crisis in the nation has crippled many families financially. One of such beneficiaries of the Governors Wife’s benevolence is a middle-aged father of six, Mr. Benjamin Asuquo Umoren from Mbiabong Ikot Udo, Ini Local Government Area, whose only souce of income, (a cassava and oil palm processing facility), had packed up. His story caught the attention of the Governor’s wife who directed her team at GIFA to immediately intervene with the provision of brand new building equipped with cassava/oil processing facilities.
Addressing Child Poverty and Hunger
At the center of all that is credited to the Governor’s wife, is her genuine love for people, irrespective of their status. This is evident in her quick response to the viral news of children of a 22 year old in Eket who were said to be eating chicken and fish feed on the premises of the farm that their mother works. Aside from dispatching her Aides and Stakeholders in Eket including the wife of the Paramount Ruler to visit, Pastor Patience Eno made an initial donation for the upkeep of the family while exploring other ways of rehabilitating the young mother.
Building Strategic Partnerships
Knowing the importance of collaborations with Individuals and Organizations, the First Lady has met with critical stakeholders and organizations, including Development Partners to share her GIFA vision and get everyone to buy in to her lofty goals through the 8 thematic areas of Maternal and Child healthcare, Enhancing literacy and learning, Improving environmental health and women empowerment. Other areas are Fight against diseases, care for the Elderly, Care for people living with disabilities and Gender Based Violence Prevention and Response. These core areas align with the ARISE Agenda and the SDG’s.
Pastor Patience Umo Eno, fondly called Eka Iberedem, is truly the pillar of all facets of the family, in the Golden Era!