Master Prosper Chibunna and Sam Ogbonna |
The Ifeanyi Uke Foundation in furtherance of its mission, including empowerment programmes and promoting academic excellence, amongst others on Wednesday honoured Master Prosper Chibunna who displayed spectacular intellectual talent during the first ever Ikwuano Inter-Secondary School Quiz Competition with monetary reward.
Dailyledger.com.ng reports that Ifeanyi Uke Foundation, one of the sponsors of the Ikwuano Inter-Secondary School Quiz Competition played a key role to enable Master Prosper appear for the Competition.
Mr Sam Ogbonna visiting Mr Chibunna in the hospital |
It will be recalled that Master Prosper Chibunna, a one-man riot squad who represented Awomukwu High School at the Competition displayed stellar performance and superlative intellectual prowess that moved the Mayor of Ikwuano LG, Hon Osinachi Nwaka to award him a scholarship on the spot besides showering him with cash gifts..
Dailyledger.com.ng reports that Ifeanyi Uke Foundation was responsible for Master Prosper's wardrobe that enabled him to appear at the Competition in a presentable manner.
The Director-General of Ifeanyi Uke Foundation, Mr. Sam Ogbonna who led other officers of the Foundation to present a ₦100,000 cash award to Master Prosper and to also visit Prosper's hospitalised father in a statement after the visit explained why the Foundation decided to honour Prosper for his academic excellence:
"...14 years old Prosper had at the competition held at the Ikwuano council headquarters stunned organizers and participants with his exceptional knowledge and skills, ultimately emerging as one of the top performers, despite Awomukwu High School the school he represented coming 5th in the competition
"Prosper, an indigent JSS 3 student who drew much attention and sympathy from almost everyone at the competition as the sole representative of his school, demonstrated a remarkable boldness in the manner he approached questions thrown to him by the moderators for clarifications of his stance"
Ogbonna observed that Prosper's path may have been charted by destiny as he explained that "Ifeanyi Uke Foundation gathered that Prosper hadn't been in school in the last two years - having dropped out of school after his JSS 2 class for not being able to meet up with education demands - a pointer to the high level of poverty ravaging the student and his siblings whose mother was said to abandoned and ran away.
"Prosper was said to have re-appeared in the school compound one morning after his long stay at home, to check whether the school could grant him access back to the classroom after being tired of wasting at home (A sudden appearance that seemed to have been triggered by a supernatural force- coincidentally happening two days ahead of the Inter-Secondary School Quiz Competitions)
"While in school, discussions by the school management were centered around the Inter-School Quiz Competition and the inability of the school to find a candidate for representation as at the time of their discussion. Hearing the discussion, Prosper indicated interest to represent the school alone when no one else showed interest (A one-man-squad that later took the center stage at the competition)
"However, in a competition where public worthiness counts, Prosper seemed not to meet up in his looks and dressing (Having only a torn and worn-out uniform of the school he used before dropping out two years back). Nonetheless, a call from one of the teachers to Ifeanyi Uke Foundation was what it took to re-package him ahead of the competition the following day where destiny finally smiled on him at the event"
Presenting the N100,000 cash award from the Foundation to him at Awomukwu High School on Wednesday, Ogbonna thanked God for the role the school and the Foundation played in bringing light to the path of the very promising student.
The DG added that the story of Prosper serves as a beacon of hope for intelligent underprivileged students; adding that the Foundation is proud to support his educational journey and and to inspire others to pursue excellence despite adversity.
Ogbonna said that the gesture from Ifeanyi Uke Foundation is in addition to the full scholarship award earlier given to Prosper by the Mayor of Ikwuano LGA, Hon. Osinachi Nwaka, who in addition to the scholarship award also donated ₦100,000 for the treatment of the indigent boy's father who has been hospitalized for over three weeks.
"The double rewards from the Council and the Foundation is a testament to the importance of nurturing young talents" the DG said while encouraging other students to work hard in order to make their families and the society proud.
Responding to the magnanimous acts of Charity, the Awomukwu-born Prosper Chibunna expressed gratitude to Ifeanyi Uke Foundation and Mayor Osinachi Nwaka, saying, "This recognition will motivate me to continue striving for academic excellence. I'm thankful for the support, which will greatly alleviate my family's financial burden."
Lending his voice, the student's teacher and the school quiz coordinator, Emmanuel Obioma, while thanking the Foundation and Hon. Nwaka for the recognition, expressed joy for the outcome of the event which turned in favour of his student and the school. According to Obioma, "Nothing makes one happy than when you see the little effort you put in the lives of others yielding such a big fruit, honestly speaking, I'm proud to have him as my student. Though we left hopeless for the quiz competition, but we returned home victorious"
The grandmother of Prosper, Mama Nwaobiara Ikwizuru further extolled the activities of the Foundation, Mama said she has heard about the activities of Ifeanyi Uke Foundation but didn't know that her own day of visitation would soon come. She also thanked Hon. Nwaka for his philanthropic disposition. She took time to pray for the duo as they continue in their paths of beaming lights.
Speaking earlier and shortly after the presentation, the two Principals of Awomukwu High School, DC Maduabuchi and Florence Eke, representing the senior and junior sections of the school respectively, thanked Ifeanyi Uke Foundation and Osinachi Nwaka for the cash awards and the scholarship given to one of their students, describing the gesture as a mark of honour.
The school leaders promised to continue to do their best in bringing up more talents for the betterment of the society. They described the gesture as a moral booster for both the students and the teachers.
They further appealed to the Foundation and Hon. Nwaka to look into the many plights of the school, which ranges from insufficient teachers to dilapidated infrastructure.
Responding, the Foundation's DG promised to convey their requests to the appropriate authorities, and later visited Mr Chibunna (Prosper's father) who, upon receiving the N100,000 donated for his medication, joined in thanking Ifeanyi Uke Foundation and Mayor Nwaka for their acts of charity towards his son and himself.
The high point of the joint section was the expression of solidarity by Prosper's classmates and friends, who did a line in appreciation to God, Ifeanyi Uke Foundation and Hon. Nwaka for the recognition of one of their own
... additional report from Media unit of Ifeanyi Uke Foundation
0 Comments