By Grace Alegba
Touch of Love and Lifting Hands Foundation has fed and presented Christmas gifts to 500 elderly citizens and vulnerable persons in Lagos, marking the close of its 8th annual humanitarian week.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the weeklong programme featured praise and fellowship, health talks, free medical screenings and medications, capacity-building training for widows, and a Christmas party.
Founder of the foundation, Dr Atinuke Owolabi, on Wednesday, said the humanitarian week was organised to ensure that senior citizens and vulnerable persons experienced the joy and care of the Christmas season.
“It has been a week filled with compassion, celebration, care and meaningful connection, dedicated to enriching communities and empowering our senior citizens, widows and vulnerable members of society,” Owolabi said.
She explained that the initiative was driven by love and compassion, adding that it was designed not only to meet needs but also to restore dignity, joy and a sense of belonging.
“Our activities are not just about meeting needs. They are about restoring dignity, joy and hope, and reminding our beneficiaries that they are valued and not forgotten,” she said.
Owolabi announced that winners of various games during the celebration would receive free one-year health insurance enrolment to ensure continued access to healthcare.
She also disclosed that 20 empowerment enrolment forms would be issued to active widows to enable them to register at the Women Development Centre in Agege.
“This is a commitment we uphold every year, and to the glory of God, we continue to receive testimonies of transformed lives, restored hope and renewed purpose,” she added.
Addressing the elderly beneficiaries, Owolabi described them as the foundation of families and communities.
“Your lives, sacrifices, wisdom and resilience have laid the foundation for our society. You deserve to be celebrated, honoured and cared for, and seeing your smiles today is one of the greatest rewards of this humanitarian journey,” she said.
She thanked volunteers, medical professionals, partners, donors and community leaders whose support made the humanitarian week successful.
Owolabi, who is the South-West Representative on the Board of the North Central Development Commission, also thanked President Bola Tinubu for her appointment and pledged to extend the foundation’s humanitarian interventions to South-West communities across the seven states of the North-Central region.
“This is my calling, and by God’s grace, we will ensure that development reaches every corner it is meant to touch,” she said.
She explained that the Tinubu Cares Initiative, which she convenes, is a structured humanitarian and empowerment platform focused on senior citizens, widows, vulnerable and displaced persons.
According to her, the initiative supports beneficiaries through welfare assistance, health interventions, skills development and economic reintegration.
“Tinubu Cares reflects the belief that leadership compassion should inspire responsible citizen action and meaningful community impact,” Owolabi said.
She added that caring for the elderly and vulnerable was essential to building a stronger society.
“A society that honours its elderly strengthens its future. When we care for the most vulnerable among us, we preserve our values, promote unity and build stronger communities,” she noted. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa
