Over 600 Nigeria poor households have received food items distributed in the month of December under the Food Aid Programme (FAP) of the China Africa Initiative (CAI), being implemented by Peace Advocacy and Sustainable Development Outreach (PASDO).
Speaking during the food distribution exercise at PASDO secretariat in Awka, Anambra state over a three-day period, a senior official of PASDO, Amaka Iheanaetu, said the goodwill gesture was made possible as a result of donations from Chinese individuals, mostly Diaspora Chinese students in countries like France, the United States and the United Kingdom who desired to help poor Africans navigate the difficult times.
Mrs Iheanaetu revealed that among the key organisational donors to the programme were Guoji Dui Resources, a pro-China company focused on language, tourism, ecommerce, ICT and business services, and PASDO, Africa’s foremost non-governmental organisation for promoting peace and sustainable development.
Amaka said the food distribution exercise would happen from time to time, just as she highlighted the need for Africans to key into the opportunities that will be created by the China-Africa initiative in order to enhance their standard of living and make them less dependent on aid.
In his address, the Director of the China-Africa Initiative, Elochukwu Ezenekwe, who has championed China-related issues for about a decade, encouraged the audience to have a more positive view of the people of China and harness their friendly disposition for beneficial cooperation.
He said, “Some people want us to believe that the Chinese are terrible, but as we can see today, that is not true. They actually care about Africans and that is why we have these food items being distributed. We just have to understand that there are good and bad people everywhere, including in our beloved country.
“Instead of getting distracted with the malicious propaganda against China, let us channel our energy into seeking how to forge stronger cooperation with them.”
Mrs Joyce Nnamani, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, prayed God to bless the Chinese and the organisations involved in the programme, and also prayed for several-folds replenishment of whatever has been spent in putting smiles on their faces at an economically hard time like this.
