Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has stated reasons he decided to donate the construction of a Hospital and school rather than a new church building to the Catholic Church in his Igbere home town, Bende LGA of Abia state.
According to the Abia North Senator, though the idea of a new church building initially proposed by the Church isn’t a bad one, a Hospital will however serve as a Maternity centre and also attend to diverse health needs of the members of the church and the community at large, including himself.
The former Abia Governor who spoke at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Igbere, on Sunday during a special Mass to mark the Mother’s Day said , the Parish priest had initially approached him for assistance in building the new church project, Kalu said that he opposed the idea saying that the Health and Education of the church members was more important.
His words; I decided to build a Hospital for the parish and not a new church building because when it’s completed it will serve as a maternity centre for our women and also attend to other health issues in the community.
“The benefits of having a Hospital rather than a new church building are countless, when completed it will still be owned and managed by the Catholic Church. It will serve as a place where everyone, including myself, can go when we are sick. It’s absurd for you to travel to Umuahia whenever you’re sick when we can actually have a hospital within our locality.
“The Reverend Father asked me assist them to achieve the plan of the church to erect a new church building, I told him it’s not a bad idea but a Hospital is more important, that we can I can renovate and expand the current church building but a Hospital will serve a better purpose, because it will be more useful to all of us.
Kalu who has since embarked on the construction of the new Hospital, said when completed it will be owned and managed by the Catholic Church, he added that the current church building can be expanded and renovated, stressing that a new church building can be considered when the church’s population begins to witness an increase.
“Of course I am a practicing Christian and a proud Catholic and it’s not a bad idea to have a new church building; but we can only start considering that when the church’s population starts to increase, but for now what I believe is important is to build Hospital that will be owned and managed by the Church, this will enhance the health and also provide some level of IGR for the church”, Kalu stated.
Speaking on the newly constructed Okposi primary school structure which he facilitated within the Church’s premises, Kalu said the newly constructed school will provide more access to the educational needs of the community. He also stated that he will liaise with the next state Government Dispensation for the handover of the school ownership and management to the Catholic Church. He explained that since the new school building is located within the land of the Catholic Church it will be better managed by the Church and will also empower the church to erect more facilities like the school I.e. boarding and so on.
Earlier in his homily, parish priest Rev . Father Luke Alicho, appreciated Orji Kalu for his earlier donation of Generating Set and Cash gifts to the Catholic Women Organization (CWO) and other groups in the church. He further thanked Kalu for offsetting the payment for repairs in the church. Speaking on the Mother’s day celebration , Luke congratulated the women on their day and implored them to ensure peace in their homes. Luke urged parents to desist from engaging in domestic violence, saying that the world is in dire need of peace.
