Disadvantaged Families Receive Love From Save Our Needy's Santa

Our annual initiative "Santa Comes To Visit" has come and gone but it left indelible marks in the hearts of families.

Disadvantaged families (widows and single-mothers and their children) got surprise visits from Save Our Needy as we played to them, providing them with food items, clothing, and toys to enable them to celebrate the yuletide season.

We were very glad to make several children's dreams come true and put smiles on the faces of families who had lost all hope of ever celebrating the yuletide season.

Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the Shoprite Community Network for their unwavering support of this impactful initiative.

Happy New Year!

"Santa Comes To Visit" Initiative Puts Smiles On Families Faces This Yuletide Season

Christmas is a time to share goodwill and spread love. Save Our Needy reached out to widows, single mothers and struggling mothers this Christmas through our annual Christmas initiative entitled "Santa Comes To Visit." This is the 3rd year of the initiative and the theme was "Fill A Goodie Bag Campaign."

Verdant Zeal Marketing and Communications Company organized an Xmas party for some past beneficiaries of SON projects as well as the SON team

The Save Our Needy team visited the homes of lucky beneficiaries armed with goodie bags filled with food items, clothing, toys and toiletries. The initiative aims at restoring hope and smiles in the homes of the downtrodden during the yuletide season.

Some of the gifts SON donated to disadvantaged families

Marvella Odili (CEO, Save Our Needy) playing Santa to the Nwabueze family

Time to dig into the goodie bag

This year, more than 30 families were visited due to the long list of requests for assistance received. The beneficiaries were selected after careful investigation to ascertain their claims of being needy people. The women who benefitted from the program are going through a lot of hardship. Two of the women visited presently live in their shops because they cannot afford to pay house rent.

Mrs. Adeola and her daughters were very happy to get a surprise visit from the SON team

They exuded so much excitement as they admired their gifts

Mrs. Esther Bassey and her children were happy to see Santa

Lots of goodies for every member of the family

Mrs. Bassey excitedly checking out the goodies in her goodie bag

Meet some of the families visited:

Mrs Adeola, who has single-handedly been taking care of her 5 children ever since her husband abandoned them with no means of survival. Most times they all end up sleeping in her shop. They barely have food to eat and worse still, they were sent packing recently due to her inability to pay the rent.

Ms Esifa opening gifts for herself and her son

Mrs Opeyemi presently lives with her aged parents. She has been responsible for the upkeep of her 3 children for the past 3 years since she left her marriage due to constant domestic violence.

Ifeoluwa's mom ( a widow) was very happy to show off her new dress

Jerry Odili, Save Our Needy Program Manager, with Ifeoluwa's family

Lots of smiles as Ifeoluwa surprised her mom with our visit

Mrs. Nwabueze is a widow who lost her husband last year after a long-standing illness. The illness rendered her family penniless and now they live from hand to mouth in a shoddy one-room apartment.

Mrs. Ubah admiring a lovely dress for her daughter, little Nicole

Mrs. Ubah and her little ones were overjoyed

Mrs Ayeyemi was a beneficiary last year. She is a young widow who lost her husband to cancer. We reached out to her again this year because her situation has gotten worse. She has relocated with her 3 children from Ikotun to a very remote part of Lagos because of her inability to pay the high rent.

So much joy in the Ayeyemi household as Santa came to visit

Little Simi admiring one of the dresses given to her

Little Simi shows off another beautiful outfit

The Ayeyemi children with their gift of toys and food items

Mrs. Bassey, a seamstress, is a widow who practically lives in her shop with her 3 children because she can't afford to pay for an apartment.

Rachael expressed so much happiness as she got gifts for herself and her daughter

Opening presents

Rachael was so happy to see another beautiful dress for her daughter, Emmanuella

After a week long of activities, the SON team rounded up visits on December 27th. Special thanks to Verdant Zeal Marketing and Communications (International) company, who went all out to get donations for this initiative under their ''Good Cheer Initiative''. We also thank the Shoprite Community Network, Keystone Bank and PEP Stores for their wonderful support.

Read below some of the appreciative messages from beneficiaries of the "Santa Comes To Visit" initiative. These beneficiaries are blog visitors (BVs) from Stella Dimoko Korkus blog: www.stelladimokokorkus.com

Nne nwa28 December 2016 at 14:26

a big shoutout to Save Our Needy, these people put a smile on a face in spite of hardship and recession.

they came over to my home and gifted me a lot of gifts for Christmas celebration(that was on 24).

now today they called me over to come get a box of clothes for i and my kids. they even foresaw my forth coming job next year and gave me corporate wears.

just as you have put smiles on my face this season, turned my sorrow to happiness, may God locate your every need. thank you, thank you, thank you. may you never know lack throughout your life.

Anonymous28 December 2016 at 15:26

This is to say a big thank you to SAVE OUR NEEDY....am too siprised to say anything, I wasnt even qualified for the giveaway becoz am not based in lag....but the took the pain of going to do waybill just for me and my unborn....may God bless and reward you all....Stella words just can't describe your person...all I can say is God will bless and reward you...my husband was shocked to see the gifts....hahahahah at last my everyday browsing paid off... According to him...
God bless you all

....from BV joy A...Stella you should know who.

Anonymous28 December 2016 at 14:02

I wanna say a very big thank you to save our needy for making this Christmas celebration a memorable one for my son. It's not been easy as a single mum. I benefitted from them last year. So this year, I was contacted again even without applying for the giveaway and i was blown away by the massive love shown to my son and I. Mere words can't express how grateful I am. I got clothes, shoes, rice, vegetable oil, toy, noodles even frozen chicken and some other things. Thank you save our needy, may God continue to bless and uplift you. Thank you Stella for the medium being used to touch people's lives. May God bless you too. Attached are pictures. I'm sorry they are not clear.

Bv Blessing

SON Women Entrepreneurship Program

Save Our Needy reached out to several disadvantaged women yesterday, October 31st, by empowering them with donated items to enable them start their own small businesses.

CEO, Save Our Needy, Marvella Odili (middle) with beneficiaries of the program

Through the SON Women Entrepreneurship Program , Save Our Needy hopes to end extreme poverty by empowering women particularly widows and single-mothers with material and/or financial donations to encourage and motivate them to become entrepreneurs thereby becoming self-reliant.
We hope to give disadvantaged women a voice because #PovertyIsSexist.

A happy beneficiary

The women all had very sad stories to tell about how they have coped so far without any form of help. Some of the women we reached out to include: a single mother of 7 children who left her marriage due to domestic abuse, a single mother of 3 children aged below 5 years who was abandoned by her husband, a pregnant woman whose husband has been out of work for several years and a young single-mother of one abandoned to her fate for more than 3 years by her husband.

One of the beneficiaries, Kate, tells the audience about her struggles as a single mother

Through this initiative, Save Our Needy hopes to lift women up, help them take the lead and contribute to the development of the nation.
"Empower A Woman, Empower A Nation."

Save Our Needy Partners With PEP Stores To Support Vulnerable Women and Children

Multinational retail store, PEP Stores has joined hands with Save Our Needy to reach out to vulnerable women and children as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The retail giant has always made huge efforts to improve the lives of host communities over the years.

Since 2011, Save Our Needy has been committed to positively impacting the lives of disadvantaged women, children and young people through education, empowerment, enlightenment and community outreach programs.

L-R: PEP Stores team (Dynamos) with the Save Our Needy team

A generous donation of items including clothing, toys and baby nappies worth over a million naira was presented to the Save Our Needy team represented by the CEO, Ms Marvella Odili and the Program Manager, Mr. Jerry Odili, on September 30th 2016 by the PEP Stores team (Dynamos).

Widows, single mothers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) will be the main beneficiaries of this partnership.

Ms Marvella Odili expressed great joy and appreciation to the PEP Stores team as she received the donated items.

Marvella Odili, CEO, Save Our Needy expressing joy as she received the donated  items

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Santa Comes To Visit

"Santa Comes To Visit", initiated by Save Our Needy is an annual project aimed at providing relief to the
disadvantaged during the Christmas season and to usher in the New Year celebrations.

We are aware that some people have never had the privilege of enjoying Xmas and the New Year celebrations due to harsh economic conditions.

Disadvantaged children look forlorn and wear long faces looking up to their breadwinner who struggles to make ends meet with little or nothing.  They wish to celebrate like everyone else.

The season, instead of being a season of joy, happiness and beautiful memories becomes a season of tears, sorrow and hopelessness for these unfortunate people.

This is therefore, our little way of positively impacting the lives of such people.

 In 2014, Save Our Needy paid surprise visits to 7 disadvantaged families who did not have the financial capacity to celebrate the Yuletide holidays.

This Christmas, we'll be playing Santa to 15 families. Disadvantaged single mothers and widows as well as their children will be getting surprise visits, and gifts of food items, clothing, shoes, toys and toiletries will be donated to them.

We hope to restore joy to their homes  and bring smiles  into their lives this season of giving and sharing.

You can be a part of this either by making material contributions or financial donations.

Save Our Needy Organisation
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank)
0168556004

Please call 09025600734, 08151546111

You can also send us an email: saveourneedy@gmail.com

Follow us on Twitter to get updates: @SaveOurNeedy

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SaveOurNeedy

Visit www.saveourneedy.org to know more about our activities.

Save Our Needy Featured On The Intellectual Magazine

Our work has been recognized by The Intellectual Magazine, a highly-rated, all glossy magazine that focuses on education in Africa.

The September /October issue of the magazine profiles Save Our Needy and its founder as well as gives insight into all the organization's past and future projects.

To know more about The Intellectual Magazine, please visit: www.theintellectualmag.com