The Exceptional Child Care Initiative (ECCI) made its first visit to the Lifetime Caring Foundation, an Orphanage Home located at Woji, Port Harcourt on Saturday the 16th of May 2015 and the impact was overwhelming!
From the ECCI centre, the take off point, the ECCI children’s excitement was palpable. Highly looking forward to meeting with children from the Orphanage Home, they eagerly responded to questions from ECCI Director, Onyema Abazie (Dr). Their responses showed that they understood the purpose of their visit. Some said it was to make the children feel happy, better and not alone. When asked why they thought the children would feel that way, Tule, a member of ECCI said “Because if I was an orphan, that is how I would feel…”. The children were also expected to understand the emotions ‘pity’, ‘empathy’ and ’compassion’ and after explaining to them the difference in those emotions, it was apparent that they could grasp the ultimate emotion to feel was compassion towards the orphans.
On getting to the Home, after formal introductions were made, ECCI children mingled freely with the children. Each ECCI child made at least one friend who was invited, via a personalized invitation card, for an ECCI children’s day party tagged “Fun Day with Friends” which will take place on May 27 at the NAFOWA children’s park. The children were also taken on a tour of the Home by their new found friends.
The atmosphere was so thick with the feeling of oneness and camaraderie that one could not tell the visitors from the hosts; after all, they are indeed all children.
The ECCI children spoke with our media personnel on their experience and their emotions ranged from happiness to gratitude to wanting to do more to alleviate the plight of the orphans. An ECCI child was so overwhelmed by his emotion he broke down in tears.
After donating food items to the home and taking group pictures, it was time to say farewell to the hosts…not for long though, there is “Fun Day with Friends” they all eagerly look forward to.
