The Founder of Gate of Praise Foundation, Mr. Akinwale Laosun, has said as a person who so much believes in building community he will always ensure that people most especially the downtrodden are well catered for.
He stated that the poor also deserve to live and sustain themselves.
He made this remark during the programme tagged “Empowerment for Widows and Widowers,” organised by the Akin and Funke Laosun Foundation, held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
He said the foundation had helped a lot of widows not only in Nigeria but in all other countries of the world.
He stated that the foundation would continue to extend its hands of love towards the poor in order to move the state forward
Laosun who was the gubernatorial candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) during the 2019 governorship election in Oyo State, maintained that everyone should be involved in assisting the poor particularly those who have benefited from the country, Oyo State and Ibadan.
He said it was better to give than to collect.
“Those who are wealthy should also contribute their own quota by always reaching out to people who don’t have and make sure that our community is developed,” he said.
The Country Manager of Gate of Praise Foundation (GOP), Mrs. Jadesola Ajibola, who is also the Oyo State Chairperson of the National Union of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, said Akin and Funke Laosun Foundation had given a lot of assistance to the people who were in need of it.
She added that the founder of the foundation was not just a politician but a philanthropist that had good gesture towards the development of the society.
“This foundation has given a lot of help to the poor and the needed through scholarships, assisting the widow and widowers with fund, and partnership with NAWOJ in marking of Zebra crossing across schools in Ibadan, among others,” she said.
Ajibola maintained that the assistance was beyond politics because Laosun had been doing it before coming into politics.
She stated that from his philanthropic gesture the target of the foundation was to get in touch with the needy and make sure they sustained themselves.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Sola Osunkolu, said if government at all levels could emulate what Lasoun had done, the suffering of the less privileged in the society would be alleviated.
She said: “Some widows and widowers don’t have money to live but with the little things given to us here, if other stakeholders and the government can do the same thing Laosun has done, it will give us access to little funds for us to start a little business that we can rely on as a means of survival.
“Government should also come to our aid and make life to be more meaningful for all the less-privileged. I really appreciate the initiator of this empowerment programme because the programme has touched the lives of my families. I didn’t know Engineer Laosun, but what I heard about him is impressive; the items given to us will go a long way in alleviating our suffering.”
