On Thursday, members of the College of Arts and Remedial Studies (CAS) Kano, Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) Class 2002 donated N1,631,000 to 31 orphans in Kano to help them cope with economic difficulties.
The donation was made through the Institution’s Provost, Dr Sunusi Yakubu Ahmad, who distributed the funds to the beneficiaries.
The forum decided to help the families of their 14 deceased members during the Holy Month of Ramadan, bringing a smile to their cheeks during the Sallah festivities.
However, during the dispersal session, when the orphans were called to collect their shares, the scene became emotional, with practically everyone present, including the orphans and widows, crying tears of joy. Practically all of the organisers and officials from CAS, where the ceremony took place, were in tears.
Giving a breakdown of the donation, Isma’il Galadima, Chairman of the disbursement committee, stated that the forum donated N1,631,000 through crowdfunding.
According to him, 31 children of the 14 deceased colleagues received N50,000 each. He explained that 16 offspring of seven deceased members who were outside Kano had received their money via transfer.
He added that 15 children of seven deceased members living In Kano were the one who received their shares at CAS Kano on Thursday.
In his welcome remarks earlier, the President of the association, Dr Muhammad Shamsuddin said the forum decided to organize the support program after considering the fact that there is need to support the families of the deceased members.
“This program could be late because we have this in mind for long but the delay was caused by formalization of the association.
“We worked assiduously to make sure this association is registered as we are on the verge of getting CAC certificate.
“That is why we decided to use the opportunity to contribute money among ourselves to support these orphans,” he said.
He said the support is a tip of the iceberg, assuring that; “next time, we will conduct investigation on the needs of the orphans. We are giving them this to put a smile on their faces during this Sallah festivities.”
He thanked the provost for his support to the forum. In his remarks, the Provost, Dr Ahmad described the support scheme as one of the biggest achievements in his tenure as Provost.
“I wanted to cry but because of leadership, i summoned courage not to weep, because if i cry, the meeting would have collapsed.
“This is a kind gesture is worth emulating. It tells you that death is real and shall come to everybody,” he said.
While comforting the widows and the orphans, the provost assured them that they would smile more in future.
He urged the widows to take a good care of the orphans in order to become productive to the society. He also promised to support them at the CAS level, and vowed to call on other Class chapters to emulate the forum