The impending recession in the land is something that one would instinctively recognize deep down, but the government kind of nature may put blinkers to prevent one from acknowledging it. Most families are short of resources, food and cash as they now lurch from one domestic crisis to another while struggling to keep afloat or survive.


In situations as the above that is rightly stated, we still have persons who are kind-hearted, not because they have it, but they have managed to share grains of rice from their reserve, which can’t be counted in bags, but leanly from their feeding spoon. However, this act of generosity is carried out only to instill confidence in the lives of the downtrodden. These persons are strong-willed, confident without being cocky, and determined to make a change in the lives of others through philanthropy, whilst the odds that may pose overwhelming.


From the constantly asserted ‘they’ above, one very name that comes to mind is Lady Ijeoma Faridah Wada’s Care Beyond Borders. It’s a platform known for its charitable efforts with zero pretence to what our present day politicians did to the demeaning of what a Foundation represents. Like they say, an idea cannot be saved when the wrong mind steers or captures it. To balance this dogged streak with a sense of realism, Care Beyond Borders insists on not allowing the interests of the people to be sacrificed on the altar of politics or business as usual.


Putting words into action, it is on record that this noble platform or Foundation had over the years made itself the darling of women, widows and entire constituents of Ikwuano/Umuahia North/South Federal Constituency. To drive points home, more than 1000 indigent women could sing glory to what God is using Care Beyond Borders to do in their lives - from the area of skill acquisition to financial empowerment. Financial empowerment? Yes, because the financier, Lady Ijeoma Faridah Wada ardently believes that nothing makes money like money.


This level of understanding connects to how she handled recession amongst her constituents when it ravaged the land. Instead of being disrupted by the avalanche recession that crumbled the economy of our nation, Lady Wada through her Foundation became a disruptor when she introduced Food Security Initiative. Today, the programmes under it pose as a threat to hunger and starvation, as the people of Ikwuano/Umuahia North/South Federal Constituency now draw strength from it.


As we all know, food insecurity is defined as “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” Food insecure households are not always sure where their next meal is coming from. In the majority of cases, even though they do not know how they will pay for their next meal, family members are able to avoid actually going hungry.


Hunger is the most severe form of food insecurity. It is the “uneasy or painful sensation caused by a lack of food; the recurrent and involuntary lack of access to food.” We no longer use the term “hunger,” employing instead the term “very low food security.” A household is considered as having very low food security if “the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources for food.”In other words, someone in the house may be forced to go hungry because of inadequate access to food.


The situation appeared worse when the economic recession in the country had its lead. Nigeria's economy slipped into recession and inflation was at an eleven-year high of 16.5 per cent. Nigerians were bearing the brunt. Hunger ravaged the land. But one woman didn’t turn her back against her people, as she used all available resources within her strength to empower and feed them. Lady Wada took laudable steps from when she introduced the Open Kitchen Initiative, where her constituents during the festive season had breakfasts and dinners to the choice of their meal to the very Food Security Initiative that we have now.


Indeed, Care Beyond Borders Foundation is fulfilling purpose based on what it is designed for. Designed with the aim of contributing to sustainable environmental management to improve livelihoods, increase economic security and income opportunities for the poor through a participatory process that involves domestic stakeholders and external development partners. CBB as it is fondly called is consolidating its innate passion for investing in the lives of others.



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