News Release

2019 All Africa Service Project Impacts Across Nigeria

Government Environmental Agency presents materials and souvenirs to Church leaders.

The annual All Africa Service Project (AASP), a programme of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has continued to improve lives  in Nigeria as thousands of members of The Church contributed more than 96,000 hours of community service across the country for the 13th time since inception on August 17, 2019.

 

The just-concluded Africa-wide humanitarian projects featured members of the Church, government and non-members partnering to render community service by clearing blocked drains, rehabilitating roads, planting trees, weeding, painting structures, cleaning and beautifying communities, along with many other projects across different hosting towns and communities in Nigeria. 

Rehabilitation of School and Cleaning in Lagos.

Over 500 Festac and Yaba Stakes(diocese) members  in partnership with Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and Motor Park officials, held the Service Project by cleaning a stretch of road and surroundings of Boundary Round-about and Motor Park at Ajegunle, Olodi Apapa Lagos.

Adediji Victor, Assistant Director, Central District LAWMA in the advocacy, monitoring and evaluation department appreciated the Church for carrying out the exercise. In his words; "Religion or no religion, any good is worthy of emulation. The church coming out to help government or to partner with government is a good gesture".

Ikechi Nwuzu, a LAWMA task force personnel expressed surprise; “we usually come out as early as 4 :00 a.m. everyday to make sure that people don't dump their waste on the road. Today, to our pleasant surprise, at about 7:00 a. m., we met a group of people cleaning the road. In fact, this is a laudable project and it is refershing and worthy of emulation”

The Secretary to Nigerian Road Transport Association Apapa, Marina and CMS unit, Wasiru Mushiru Fattai also felt elated that a church has taken up the cleaning exercise of their market. “I'm a Muslim but I'm happy to associate with you people this day because what you are doing is impressive and surprising. 

Lagos State Waste Management Authority, through its representatives contributed, shovels, rakes, brooms, hand gloves and waste disposal bags to the exercise. They also shared souvenirs and advocacy materials on cleanliness to members of the Church in appreciation of the humanitarian projects carried out.

Also in Lagos, State Primary School, Mafoluku, Ewutuntun Oshodi Local Government,  hosted over 800 members from Ojodu and Ikeja Stakes (diocese) of the Church as early as 7:00 a.m., as they worked for over 3 hours to renovate the school toilet and water system. Projects carried out include roofing, plastering of wall, replacement of borehole water pump and toilet's water system, weeding of the school environment, tiling of toilet wall, channeling of water drainage and filling of potholes on the deplorable roads around the school.

Bushes removed from Aba environs 

About 1,500 members of the Church from different meeting houses also got involved in a coordinated manner in 6 different locations in Aba. At Nigerian Television Authority (NTA, Channel 6 Aba), volunteers cleared and reactivated abandoned access road measuring about 0.3KM. Also, the project volunteers cut down bush covering a very wide area of the entire school, mowed grass, parted the lawns, swept and carted away dirt at: 1. Abia State School of Management and Technology Aba, 2. Ugba Health Centre, Umuvo, Isiala Ngwa South LGA, 3. Customary court, Awor, Osisioma Ngwa LGA, 4. The Palace of The King of Usalla, Osisioma Ngwa LGA, and 5. the road leading to the Palace of the King Olewengwa of Osisioma LGA all in Abia State.

Children Smiled in Ondo State

Ondo State Children Correctional Centre was the Location of 2019 All  Africa Service Project for Akure Nigeria district (diocese). Members of the Church and Non-members worked together to beautify the centre by painting its walls, gate and fence, sign boards and clearing the surrounding bushes. The children in the correctional home showed great appreciation to the members for remembering them and having beautified their environment. 

The members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sang I am a child of God to the children, from the Church's hymn book. This was inspired by the inscription on a shirt worn by one of the children.

Odungbe Community Motorists get good road

Motorists from Odungbe Community in Ijebu Ode can now drive on their once erosion-ruined Odungbe road due to the efforts of the members of The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ijebu Ode District. The road, which was in a deplorable state with dangerous potholes, has been the major issue faced by the members of the community economically. The major potholes on the road were filled with stones and sand. Mr. Sina Depoju, Chairman Odungbe Community Development Area expressed his excitement at lthe project; "let me once again thank you (The Church). This is meeting our needs because the road is the major need of the community and this will stop the suffering of the people".

Rehabilitation of deplorable road in Enugu.

The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in partnership with some community stakeholders and tricycle riders in Akwuke, carried out the All Africa Service Project by filling potholes along Akwuke, Lomalinda estate and Magistrate Court road in Enugu.

The leader of the church, in the state, President Lawrence Anunta noted; “We are here trying to fix the road. It is a program we are having at about this time every year all over Africa. We partner with neighbours, friends, government, groups and owners of the project to better the lives of the people. Today we have chosen to work on Akwuke road, Lomalina estate junction and Agbani Magistrate Court. As you can see, members of the community with town Union and Tricycle operators with their chairman are here with us fixing the road”.

The town union president of Akwuke 1, Engr. Chibuzo Ngene expressed his gratitude to the church, “I am grateful for the work the church is doing. I was impressed when they visited and told me about it. As you can see, I contributed my own by bringing out my people to work together with them''.

Nigeria Chronicle, FRSC and VON gets Facelifts

Over six hundred members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Calabar Nigeria Stake have given the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation -the Publishers of the Nigeria Chronicle, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Voice of Nigeria (VON) facelifts. The Church members arrived at the three locations with several twenty litre buckets of assorted paints, working tools including wheel barrows, shovels, rakes and other working tools. Projects carried out at the locations include cutting of overgrown weeds, chanelling of drainages,evacuattion of refuse and painting.

At the Nigeria Chronicle, the General Manager of the Corporation, Mr Emmanuel Akpong said; “It was absolutely a pleasant surprise, when I got a letter from them requesting to do community service within the premises. In fact, the magnitude of what I have seen here is beyond what I actually expected. It is very gratifying that we still have organizations that could on their own intervene in government establishments. I must say that I am very impressed” he stated.

The All Africa Service Project underscores the desire of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to follow the example of Jesus Christ by doing good and serving others. It fosters cooperation and service to the community.. Throughout the world, where the Church has a presence, these volunteers often partner with government, religious and non-profit organizations to support and improve the communities where they live.

Kindly find more details in the links below: 

https://dailynewsng.com/church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-gives-face-lifts-to-nigeria-chronicle-frsc-and-von/

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/08/jubilation-in-enugu-community-as-church-rehabilitates-deplorable-roads/

https://punchng.com/church-rallies-1000-members-to-clean-up-police-college/

Style Guide Note:When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to our online Style Guide.