964 Students Get Rotary Toilet Facility in Abuja
Paul Obi About 964 students of LEA Primary School, Gwarimpa, are to benefit from four units of toilet facility constructed and donated to the school by the Rotary Club of Abuja, Gwarimpa, recently.
The project, according to Rotary, seeks to address three of its areas of focus: water and sanitation, disease prevention and treatment, and basic education and literacy.
The District Governor, Rotary District 9125, Nigeria, Mr. Tolu Omatsola, who unveiled the project, stressed that it would add value to the school. He said the toilets have water facilities and would enable the students to ease themselves properly, wash their hands and avoid diseases.
“What we are doing today is in tandem with the goal of Rotary Club International. In executing the project, the Club was particularly concerned that a school with a population of 964 pupils, founded in 2002 did not have a modern toilet. Pupils and staff alike use a very old and ancient overflowing pit latrine with the attendant infection risks among others,” Omatsola said.
Chairman of the Service Project Committee of the Club, Mrs. Angella Agbayekhai, recounted that the Club had been involved in carrying out projects in the school in previous years; chief among which were scholarships given to 105 pupils of the school in 2009.
“The club, with the help of a District Grant, also executed a water borehole project in same school some three years ago. Rotary is still in the business of adding value to the society by carrying out projects such as this. The project consists of four units in all. Two of the units would be for male students and the other two for female students.”
Head Teacher of the school, Malam Shuaibu Usman, stressed how the school had longed for a modern toilet facility like the one constructed by the Club.
He noted: “If all NGOs perform like the Rotary Club, primary schools will not lack in facilities. Look round the compound and you will see that there are no toilet facilities aside the one built by the club. Rotary Club is the first to build modern toilet in LEA Gwarimpa. We say thank you very much and pray that this partnership will continue to thrive even we expect through the help of the Director General that you add another toilet for us.”
A Primary Six pupil of the school, Master Nwachukwu Wisdom, said: “We thank Rotary for this facility. We now have a place where we can ease ourselves properly and protect ourselves from germs. We receive this with great pleasure.”
Omotosho stressed that Rotary is development-oriented, humanitarian services, and providing services beyond self.
“That is what we represent in Rotary Club: the urge to give back to society, the urge to make sure that life is more comfortable to the other person. The call is for every well-meaning Nigeria to come in and join Rotary. There is true fulfilment in being able to give back to society. It is not about what you have. It is about the sacrifice you are willing to make to make life better for somebody else.
“Usually, we do not get funding from government; we augment what government is doing. In the provision of this toilet facility for instance, if government had the resources, it would have provided this facility; but we seek out gaps on what government is meant to do but was unable to do and we make sure it is available. We get the support of government otherwise we will not be able to put this here. You will notice that this land belongs to the government,” he added.