Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called on citizens to support and participate in humanitarian services to actualise developmental aspirations.
Jonathan, who spoke at the 10th anniversary of the Goldcoast Developmental Foundation (GDF) held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, posited that humanitarian services would make the people contribute meaningfully to the growth of the society.
Jonathan who was represented by a former military governor and Amayanabo of Twon-Brass Kingdom, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, lauded the Goldcoast Developmental Foundation initiated by Mr Moses Oruaze Dickson, younger brother to immediate past Governor of Bayelsa state Sen. Henry Seriake Dickson.
Describing the achievements of the foundation in 10 years as remarkable, Jonathan commended the founders, partners and management of GDF for their selfless service to humanity.
He said the foundation’s interventions in health, education and strategic youth development were worthy of recommendations and emulation.
“Your impact in your focus areas of health, education and strategic youth development are worthy of recommendation. I encouraged you to continue in this worthy venture of service to humanity.
“Initiatives like the Goldcoast Developmental Foundation, which plays a contributory role to the government in providing various services are needed more than ever to meet our developmental aspirations.
In his remarks, the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, who was represented by the Commissioner for Information, Ayibana Duba, called on people to emulate the virtues of the foundation’s founder, Moses Dickson.
Diri said: “He has kept this vision alive for a decade, if you cannot encourage him, don’t kill it. We are calling on the young ones to emulate Barr. Moses Oruaze Dickson. This is not the only family where we have mothers but the thought of doing what he has done is a wonderful thing.
Also speaking Senator Dickson disclosed that the Goldcoast foundation was purely the brain child of his younger brother.
He commended the humanitarian and selfless services of the foundation during the recent flood and thanked Moses Dickson for sustaining the initiative in the past 10 years.
Dickson said: “This is my younger brother’s baby and I received the invitation for this programme just the same way most of you did. I remember seeing clips of what this foundation has been doing over the years and this foundation remains dear to my heart and the hearts of my family because it bears the golden name of our late mother whose memory will continue to remain evergreen in our minds and in our hearts.
“I have seen my younger brother and some members of his team embarking on acts of charity, sometimes in my community, sometimes in Yenagoa, other times in Delta especially in Angiama; my late mother’s home where she is laid to rest.
“Recently, when this major, terrible flood came and destroyed our homes and our businesses and our livelihoods and sacked communities and families, I saw clips of what my younger brother and his people have been doing in the name of this foundation.
Earlier, Moses Dickson, in his remarks said that the foundation is celebrating the 10th anniversary of impacting lives with the theme, “Service to Humanity, Touching One Life at a Time”.
He explained that the initiative was designed to meet the needs of the people in key areas such as health, education and strategic youth development.
Oruaze said the foundation had been able to touch the lives of about 8000 persons across various age groups within the Niger Delta.
He said: “About 3,798 were women, 1,974 were men and the rest of them were children. And by the grace of God within that same period, we carried out a total of 31 projects and the last one we did was that of setting up a temporary shelter to cater for nursing mothers that formed the bulk of the most vulnerable group of persons that was affected by the flood. Most of these people do not have anywhere to go to.
“In the coming years, we are going to focus on health programmes especially cancer awareness and management, kidney and other primary health care projects to support the existing government programme. In education, we will focus on building the Trust we already established with FCMB Trustees Ltd to support the beneficiaries up to first degree in the university”.
