Sunday Nwakanma
The government at all levels has been advised to improve upon their provisions for children in Abia State and Nigeria in general.
This was as governments’ provision for issues affecting children have not been visible in their yearly budgets and has continued to dwindle.
The charge was handed down in Umuahia at the end of the maiden edition of Connak Foundation Children’s Fun Paradise, by the founder of the foundation, Ken Nnamdi Ukeagu.
Ukeagu said, “Government at all levels should improve on where they have been providing for kids, recognizing that the children are leaders of tomorrow. Once we get them right, the society is secured.”
He added, “I feel highly elated, great, fulfilled and thank God for using us to touch lives and to bless the children to make them happy.”
“Generally we, as parents, want our kids to behave well, dedicated and committed to their studies and to obey their parents and to be good citizens and work hard when they eventually grow up.”
Also advising governments, the Chief Executive Officer of Connak Foundation. Mrs. Emeka Sunday Carol, urged “government to also look in into opening up recreational parks and borrow a leaf from Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt, that have well-structured play areas.
She said, “Play is part of learning and a situation where there is no recreational park for children to go and unwind in Umuahia in particular, and Abia State in general is very sad. Apart from that, it is a huge avenue of raising money into the coffers of the system in places or states where there is well-structured amusement parks.
“With over three thousand kids paying as little as N100.00 or N200.00 each, one could imagine how much the place could have made.
“The parents also had a great time and families can come and unwind, and not just go to school, come back and stay around and all that. When their brain is busy playing, swimming and doing other things, they will not be thinking about stealing at home. It also help brain development, as research has shown that play also help in brain development.
“So, I really encourage the government to look into creating avenues for fun for children and also make a lot of money.”
Informing that “this is actually the first edition of the Children’s Funfare,” she added that the foundation has never had it before and it is phenomenal to say the least.
She averred, “On the first day, many children came, but on the second day, it was something else. We planned for a thousand children, but today, it was more than that.”
Also speaking on the two-day children fun fiesta, the General Manager, Connak Foundation, Rosemary Etsiame, said that the Fun Paradise is an initiative towards child development, adding, “We want children to feel belonged, we want to give to the children social inclusiveness.”
She regretted that Umuahia is devoid of amusement parks for children, hence the need to make them to also feel the sense of belonging and to feel physically, what they see in films, adding that the event that is now an annual one and has no class interference in terms of sex, age or any social conditions.
She used the occasion to advise children that they can achieve whatever the focus their mind on and therefore should be obedient to their parents and guardians wherever they found themselves.
Over 3,000 kids were treated to several fun games found in most advanced cities and counties in the world, including swimming, bubble balloon fights, balloon house games, and mascots, including spiderman, mickey mouse, and batman, among others, making them for the first time in Umuahia to feel the 2023 Christmas mood.
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