
Reaching out for change
The Province of Nigeria have launched a foundation called Marist Solidarity Foundation (MaSoF), Nigeria. The foundation was launched on June 30 by the provincial, Brother Vincent Abadom, and members of his Council.
A committee to work out the Mechanism of Operation of the foundation was inaugurated by the Provincial during the ninth Provincial Chapter Strategic Planning session. The committee has worked out the first phase of the Mechanism of Operations. The members of the committee are Brothers Henry Uzor (Coordinator), Christian Onu (Secretary) and Ekene Osuji (Member).
The Province of Nigeria had been involved in solidarity ventures since its inception. There is need to harmonise these solidarity ventures under a more structured solidarity foundation for efficiency and better service delivery.
In addition, the global Marist body under the auspices of the Marist Solidarity International Network (MSIN), felt the Province of Nigeria is capable of operating a full solidarity foundation owing to the magnitude of the solidarity ventures and initiatives on-going in the province.
The numbers of the poor, marginalised, indigent children enjoying scholarships in Marist Schools and non-Marist Schools, the Hopeville Rehabilitation Centre, the Nike Centre for the Disabled, among others, are on-going solidarity ventures in the province. There is a strong need to bring all these solidarity initiatives under a solidarity foundation for better and efficient management.
The objectives of the Foundation are:
- To promote education, solidarity justice and peace
- To identify with the poor and oppressed in the society
- To support the spiritual and cultural empowerment of the youth and act in solidarity with the oppressed
- To promote human right and self determination
- To develop and coordinate fund raising strategies that will respond to the solidarity needs of the province
- To cooperate and partner with other solidarity groups and organisations towards the development of solidarity culture that respond to the people on the margins.