Nigeria Joins Africa-wide Humanitarian Service Project

Thousands of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nigeria contributed more than 50,000 hours of community service across the country, as the All Africa Service Project enters its 12^th year on August 18, 2018.

The project is an annual event where children, youth, and adults of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, across countries in Africa, render community service by clearing blocked drains, rehabilitating roads, planting trees, weeding, donating blood, painting structures, cleaning and beautifying their communities, along with many other projects.

Owerri Nigeria Stake

The Nigeria Prisons Service, Owerri in Imo State Nigeria, was the recipient of the humanitarian service project for 2018. For over 6 hours, volunteers from the Church’s congregations from different areas of Owerri worked painstakingly using rakes, rollers, paint brushes, brooms, cutlasses, and other implements, to give the prison a facelift. A wide variety of services, including weeding, trimming of flowers, painting of the prison wall, the interior and the muster point, were carried out.

  
“I want to register my deepest appreciation and absolute gratitude to the Church for this wonderful intervention towards beautifying our prison facility. My heart is overwhelmed- It is a feeling of exhilaration. My prayer is that God will bless the Church”. Reverend Freedman Ben-Rabbi, the Deputy Controller of Prisons said. “Others should emulate the Church”, he concluded.

Port Harcourt West Stake- State Primary School Rehabilitated

 The Elioparanwo Community Development Committee (CDC) stakeholders and volunteers were present as over 500 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from different congregations in Port Harcourt West Stake (diocese), rehabilitated the State Primary School, Elioparanwo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The successful service project has been described as one of the biggest the stake has ever embarked on since the inception of the All Africa Service Project in 2006.

Work began in earnest at 7:30 am after praying and taking instructions from church leaders. Members of the church worked alongside members of the community, led by the CDC chairman - Hon. Tony Ovunda, in painting the entire fence of the school, the school gatehouse,  as well as the playground, thoroughly cleaning the classrooms, offices and toilets, raising a section of the fence fallen by a rainstorm with cement, blocks and sand provided by the community through the CDC chairman and of course, weeding and cutting of grasses in and out of the premises of the school. 

"This is truly what Christ taught that is being practised here," said Emmanuel, a passerby.

Mrs. Nonye Omozinwho, a teacher in the State Primary School Elioparanwo said: "This is marvelous".

Mamode Jeoffrey of African Independent Television noted that the humanitarian service carried out by the Church in the State Primary School Elioparanwo was wonderful and worthy of emulation.

A total number of 567 members of the PH West Stake of the Church and 27 residents of Elioparanwo Community participated in the project which lasted for more than 4hrs.

Akure District- Ondo State Children’s home gets a new look

The 80 members of the Church who were involved in the upgrading of the Ondo State Special Children Home felt happiness as the children expressed gratitude with words of prayer at the completion of the community service project. Led by their leader, President Tinubi Emmanuel Kayode, the Church’s members, from different branches across Akure, gave the children 6 cartons of biscuits, painted the boys' and girls' hostels and the kerbs, cut the grass, trimmed the flowers and swept the surroundings over a period of 6 hours.

 Mary Agidi from the Hope Newspaper and Dayo Johnson from the Vanguard Newspaper both emphasized that it was a great project.

Ile Ife District- High Court of Justice, Ile-Ife, cleaned.

All branches of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ile-Ife also came together to carry out the 2018 All Africa Service Project at the premises of the Osun State High Court of Justice, in Ile-Ife. The Judiciary workers who were present could not hide their excitement when they saw the large number of volunteers who turned out for a non-profit community project.

Comrade Areola Adedeji, an OSU Community High Chief in Osun State, Observed; “you can not say you love God and be living in a dirty environment. In fact, you are not likely to get Justice in a dirty house. The Church is doing what the Lord asked us to do”. Comrade Areola is also the Treasurer of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Nigerian University,  Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife.

With their distinctive yellow Mormon helping hands vests, the Church volunteers weeded, cleaned and cleared the High Court of Justice Ile-Ife for more than 3 hours.

Uwani Ward- Community market gets healthy environment

In Enugu, Uwani Community stakeholders were full of appreciation as the All Africa Service Project focused on keeping the community market in a good sanitary state and making way for water to flow in the drainages especially during the rainy season. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ  of Latter-day Saints who championed this laudable non-profit project also used the time to correct wrong impressions about the church and the project.

 The Mormon Helping Hands program reflects the desire of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to follow the example of Jesus Christ by serving others. It brings together members of the Church and their neighbors to provide community service. Throughout the world, where the Church has a presence, these volunteers – some in their trademark yellow shirts – often partner with government, religious and nonprofit organizations to support and improve the communities where they live.