‘RCCG spends N.5 billion on charity’

[Mirror]

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) may have pumped close to half a billion Naira on Corporate Social Responsibility services (CRS) across the country, in the past six months.

This was revealed by Pastor Johnson Odesola, Special Assistant to the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, and Provincial Pastor in charge of Lagos Province I and the Headquarters Church, in Ebute-Meta, Lagos, yesterda.

According to the clergyman, who spoke to Sunday Mirror, from December last year to date, "the RCCG, as a body of Christ, has been able to cover 255 of the 774 local government councils in the country and has spent close to N450 million in the various local governments to impact on communities around us.

"In some cases, we dug boreholes, built drainage, clinics and maternity wards and provided drugs, diagnostic and counseling centres for people. Some received eye-glasses to aid their reading. We were also involved in the procurement of books for different schools and libraries. We have what people would call 'caregivers outreach' because of the stigma people having HIV/AIDS in our society live with.

"Our Caregivers assist and give expert advice to people who are HIV/AIDS positive, the destitute and where they require special drugs, we provide for them. We have also built toilets, libraries, classroom blocks, donating them to various schools as well as give scholarship at various levels to students. He explained that because the needs in every community differ, the church go into the community to identify their needs.

"We have our foot soldiers that visit and help to identify needs in various communities. There is a community in Ajah area of Lagos Island you can only reach by boat. We gave them a full-fledge community school. We gave a borehole to our neighbouring community in Ebute- Meta, and in states like Taraba, Jigawa and Katsina in the North.

"We gave out food items, drugs and free medical checkup and counseling to people irrespective of their religion or background and without any string attached. We are doing these because the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came into the world and gave freely and people responded", said Pastor Odesola.

He stressed that because RCCG spreads across the nation and not just visible in Lagos State and Abuja alone, it has engaged in several community projects that have impacted greatly on people in Sokoto, Katsina, Borno, Plateau, Kano, Rivers and other states of the federation. "We are still doing more.

The report we have on hand on CRS goes to our father in the Lord and he expected us to do more than we are doing now. The church has spent and it's still spending large amount of money on corporate social responsibility," he said.

Meanwhile, he said there was a directive from the G.O. of the church to all the provinces in the states of the federation to pay special attention to the provision of potable water, particularly in the rural areas and that every state chapter of the church should put up at least 10 boreholes for the neighbouring community.

"Some have met the target, some are yet to. Those who are yet to meet the target are now given up till January next year to do so and we are trusting God that they will be able to do so."

He added that before the issue of corporate social responsibility, the RCCG has Christ Redeemer Welfare Services, which offers annual scholarship to all and sundry; irrespective of church denomination, from primary to tertiary levels of education.

"All that is needed is that you will sit for an examination in our church in Acme, Ogba, Lagos State, for the South-West, Federal Capital Territory, for the North and Port Harcourt for the South and when we are giving out scholarship, we take time to publish it.

To obtain the scholarship form, applicant should get to the nearest provincial headquarters of RCCG or welfare services," he advised.

National Mirror

[Folami David]

They're known for their kind gestures do no Nigerian should be surprised.
May God continue to strenghten them.