Goroh family gives back to community

• By Rosalia David

WITH Covid-19 fuelling the unemployment rate in the country, Pastor Haruna Goroh of Greater Love Ministries and his family have introduced various charity organisations catering for the underprivileged.

Speaking to Confidente this week on one of the projects, public relations officer and gospel artist Maranatha Goroh said the ‘Feeding the men that stand at traffic lights’ project is an initiative under the umbrella of We Care Foundation which was established in 2020.

She said the idea of feeding the men on the side of the road was founded by Dr Titilayo Goroh, vice president of Greater Love Ministries.

Every Friday, the team donates food parcels to those standing at traffic lights struggling to find temporary employment.

“We give 500g sugar, 1 kg maize meal and 400g canned fish. This initiative is to also alleviate the number of men standing at traffic lights.

To have zero percent of men standing at traffic lights seeking for employment in the near future,” Maranatha said.

Although the Goroh family tries to purchase some of the food items themselves when donations are slowly coming in, Maranatha said the initiative is further made possible through collaborative efforts of compassionate partners that seek to make a difference in the lives of others.

“Most men are retrenched from work due to Covid-19 and they come from different locations in search of jobs. One of the beneficiaries attested to the fact that weeks even months can pass by without any job opportunity, and most of them are breadwinners in their respective homes.

“The livelihood of these men is affected drastically and things are now difficult, according to their testimonies. Potential employers are skeptical to pick up these men due to the fear of Covid-19,” she explained.

Last year, the initiative donated food parcels to more than 2 000 men on the side of the road.

Maranatha went on to say that on June 11 2021 the number of food parcels distributed were 101 given to 100 men and one woman making it the largest number of people fed in a day so far.

“The number keeps on increasing which is equivalent to more food parcels needed. On the 4th of June 2021, chief human resources and corporate affairs officer at MTC, Tim Ekandjo honoured the outreach team with his presence in Olympia. He was ecstatic and has shown interest in supporting the Skills Development Centre that is yet to be established,” she said.

According to Maranatha the Skills Development Centre will create vast opportunities including employment opportunities and financial stability.

Speaking on how she joined her family in pushing the initiative, the artist said she has always been passionate about charity work from a young age.

“I decided to jump on board with my mom and seeing how the men stand there for months without any job it really touched my heart.

Many of them walk from far and have families to feed,” she added.

In the past three weeks, the initiative fed up to 150 people while the objective is to feed a minimum of 60 people every week.