Oro Covid-19 Relief Project Completion Report

Oro Covid-19 Relief Project Completion Report

1. Background:

In response to the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic across the world, the members of ODU UK & Ireland decided to contribute money to buy essential commodities to alleviate the hardship and suffering of the people in Oron Nation. By a letter dated 30 April 2020 and signed by the President, Dr. Okon Edeke,  a 5-member Oro Covid-19 Appeal Committee was set up to execute the project.  A timeline of one (1) week was given for this project.

The members of the committee were:-

1. Chief Patrick Nkereuwem - Chairman
2. Mrs. Nkoyo Edeke    
3. Ken Essien
4. Atim Blossom Otuodung
5. Atim Amana-Abrams

An appeal fund was launched by the Association and before 6th May, 2020, approximately £2,000.00 (Two thousand pounds) was contributed by the members of the Association. This amount was match-funded by the Association rounding the total sum up to £4,000 (Four Thousand Pounds). This was exchanged as N1, 961,160.00 (less transfer charges) and was allocated to the committee as its budget.

 

2. Methodology:

A WhatsApp Group was set up to facilitate exchange of ideas and communication among Committee members. Also, 2 virtual meetings of the Committee were held on 2nd May, 2020 and 5th May, 2020 respectively to agree on modalities and delivery plans. The committee, therefore:

1. Identified rice, garri, beans and indomie as the relief materials that meet the basic needs of “needy” persons in Oron nation.
2. bought the identified essential commodities to share to “needy” persons defined as the most deprived and vulnerable members of the community with specific focus on the elderly, widowers/widowers, disabled adults living alone and people living in thatched houses.
3. Identified about three villages per Local Government Area out of the five Local Government Areas in Oro nation as shown in Figure 1 below: Due to the time constraint, a cross-section of selected beneficiary communities was identified.
4. Identified two or three trusted, reliable and responsible persons within the community in each of the Local Government Areas to liaise with in the delivery of this project.
5. Obtained Photo and/or video evidence of the presentation of relief packages to be submitted to the House.
6. publicized and showcased the relief effort as widely as possible. 

 

 

3. Figure 1: Beneficiary Villages per LGA:

Local Governments & Beneficiary Villages
Udung Uko LGA	Oron LGA	Mbo L.G.A	Okobo LGA	Orue Offong Oruko LGA
Edikor	Eyo Abasi	Akai Ati	Odobo	Oyobia
Ekim	Iluhe	Akai Owu	Amamong	Okuko
		Osu	Oti Oro	Oruko
			Atiabang Nduoung

 

4. Project Evaluation:

The project was executed between 11 and 12 of May 2020 with an outstanding result as evidenced by press coverage on radio, television, print media as well as social media outlets. The coordinators used their wealth of experience and knowledge of the grassroots communities and delivered a smooth and equitable distribution of the relief materials to very deserving beneficiaries far-reaching the anticipated amount. The photos and videos posted on our forum attest to this fact.

The Committee obtained written feedback from all the coordinators who concluded that the project achieved its intended objective and put ODU UK and Ireland as a charitable organization.

Other feedback received by the Committee is captured under the following heading:-

• What was the mood and general reaction of the people of Oro? Did the project achieve its intended objective?  Were the items provided the most appropriate/suitable for the target group?

• People were so thankful for the food items. They were happy with singing, dancing and praying for all of you.
• The item were also the right ones, although in the future more beans than rice would be preferred for that target audience. The quantity of garri was also too small.

 

• What should we do differently during the planning process next time?

• Next time, it would be helpful to involve the coordinators a lot sooner so that we can make input to the planning process

 

• What challenges did you encounter with identifying the right beneficiaries?

• As a community activist, I work with various groups right across Oro Nation so this was familiar territory.
• The villagers were more supportive than the village heads who were more interested in themselves and their household.
• Some of the community members were very helpful, especially in Oyubia and Oruko. A young man we met in Oyubia took us to the home of several elderly men and women, most of them living alone. One woman they took us to looked unwell and frail and so was the child with her. A person like her would have appreciated some money too.

 

• What other problems did you encounter in the execution of the project?

• The resources (Palliatives) were insufficient for the number of people who meet the target criteria. We know it will be better next time

 

• What could we do differently in the future?

• Next time, it might be better to buy the commodities from Oron if the price difference is significant enough to cut down on the cost of transportation. Also, rice is relatively cheaper in Oron because it is brought in from Cameroon.
• Increase the quantity of the items and the total number of beneficiaries even if each household will get less.
• Please remember villages like Umume in the next relief effort. Villages without prominent sons and daughters are always overlooked by many relief initiatives
• Include salt, oil and cash donations with future supplies
• The initial selection may have missed the correct food items that would appeal to the local communities.  Some people questioned the suitability of indomie in the mix.

 

• Is there anything that stands out in your mind about the experience that you would like to share?

• During the project, I got to interact with some disabled people and discovered that many of them are academically sound and talented, but  have been marginalized due to their disability. I feel if we could think of a way to empower them to start up a small business or learn a trade, it will go a long way of making them self-reliant. (Check the Videos in the attachment)
• Until I went to the different villages’ delivering these items, I did not realise the level of poverty in our community. So many people looked so weak and hungry. One man who was unwell came running and he was unaware that his wrapper was unravelled and fallen. He was crying and praying. He said he had not eaten in days.
• ODU UK & Ireland has set a standard of what Palliative care looks like. When people in the society heard what you had done, they were full of praise.  As few as you are, you have done more than the government relief effort did. They gave one cup of rice per household and there was no beans

• Would you like to work with us on future projects?

• Very much. I really enjoyed the experience. I would love to assist wherever possible. It was a pleasure to be of service to ODU UK

 

• It was a pleasure and utterly satisfying to see the smiles on the faces of those who benefited from this project. The experience was awesome and I feel we should keep the fire burning because the impact was felt in Oron local government where I coordinated.

 

5. Feedback from Members of The Planning Committee.

Based on our post-event process audit and interactions with the respective coordinators, the Planning Committee surmised as follows:

i.      Did the travel logistics go smoothly?

No report of any challenges.  Although in hindsight we realized that we had not taken account of the transportation from the supplier to our storage point in Ewet Housing Estate.

We also did not plan for the miscellaneous costs, including loaders and off-roaders, bags for sharing, the PPE, etc

ii.      Were there any issues with the venue or accommodation?

No issues were recorded. All coordinators were able to manage the logistics of distributing and sharing the items. Those who were unable to share on Sunday were able to store the items safely to distribute the following day. For example, the Okobo Development Union secretariat was used for secure storage of the items overnight.

iii.      Was the supply of essential commodities delivered as planned?

All went well. No one reported in the negative.

4. Were the nominated Individuals prepared and well supported

Elder Ewa, current National President of Okobo Development Union used the existing structure to assist with the distribution.  The project was executed within a week.  It would have been helpful if we had more time to prepare, especially with the identification of the beneficiaries, and local lead persons in each village.  I also got the feedback that our letter identifying widows, widowers and the disabled may have restricted the nominated individuals. 

Some of the widows/widowers/disabled may not have been the neediest in the communities.  I suggest a ‘walk through’ of the process, next time, to ensure better planning for execution

v. How well did we stay on schedule?

Everything went as planned although delivery was done in some locations on Monday. This is because the schedule did not favour everyone's area. Receiving the items, transporting them to Oro, distributing them into individual bags and delivering them to beneficiaries on the same day was way too tight for some of our coordinators.

vi.      What feedback have we received so far

The feedback indicates immense gratitude and appreciation from the beneficiaries.  The few adverse feedback was regarding the total number of beneficiaries and the quantity of items distributed.

In looking at the pictures from the various locations, one could also question the eligibility of some of the beneficiaries. For example, not all widows or disabled persons fell in the deprived category.

vii.      What was missing from the event

It was suggested that some beneficiaries could have also benefited from some cash donation

viii.      What lessons should we learn from our planning for this event

• Early planning to cover all aspects of the project. The cost of transportation of the commodities from the wholesaler and the initial storage of the items were overlooked and therefore automatically fell on the Edekes.
• Effective communication amongst the committee and with the nominated individuals. Some committee members had difficulty reaching their coordinators.

• correct identification of the neediest individuals in each beneficiary village
• employing any existing support structures in the beneficiary locations
• It was fedback that our letter may have restricted some eligible beneficiaries from accessing the commodities.

 

6. Recommendations

The next project we embark on should focus on people empowerment…how we can support our people to be self-sustainable through trade, farming and fishing. It is time we divorce the ‘victim’s mentality’ from our psyche! The old proverb about giving a person fish versus teaching them how to fish still holds true.  One of the committee members expressed “my excitement was eroded with the picture of desperation and abject poverty in Oro nation.  We could feed them for one week and then back to square one.  I grew up listening to the lamentations of Oro Nation as regards how we have been marginalized!  Decades later the lamentations have not ceased”.

There is a call on Oro Nation to reflect and look inwards. We need to look at other communities and learn from their success stories.  For example, the women in Amammong Okobo coming together to form a Cooperative Society to support each other in their various crafts. Another notable example is what St. Peter’s Church in Itam (by Itam junction) is doing where the members have formed an active care ministry, resolved to revisit the farms in order to provide basic food for their communities and sell the surplus.  Oro Nation need to plan for self-sustenance beyond the handouts!

ii. We should establish a Vocational Training project for our communities; hair dressing, dress making, carpentry, machining/welding. 

iii. We should Partner with a micro finance bank to fund micro-businesses for people with worthy business ideas

iv. The Association should reimburse members of the Committee the sum of N71,980.00 as a result of the deficit incurred on the budget.

v. The pictures, videos and publicity materials on this event should be archived and preserved for future use and references

7. Conclusion:

It was a privilege to serve on this Committee and to witness the impact of this initiative on our people back home. We commend this Report to the House for record purposes.