2011 ANNUAL CHARITY CONVENTION ADDRESS

An address presented by me this day, the 22ND day of July 2011 at the occasion of our 2ND convention / fundraising ceremony to enable us establish a Braille resource, skills acquisition and computer training institute for the blind as well as the establishment of an ultra modern medical facility for research, management and treatment of eye related diseases. His Excellency, Owele Roachas Okorocha, the Executive Governor of Imo State, Honourable members of the house, My Commissioner(s), Our royal fathers of the day, Gentlemen of the press, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, All other protocols duly observed: May I start by welcoming you all to this special event designed to touch the lives of a special group of people aimed at generally enhancing their academic and general well-being for a brighter and better future. I am particularly elated by your presence here, that notwithstanding your very tight schedule, you still managed to squeeze out time to be here. Thanks a million for coming. May the good Lord in His infinite mercies also find time to visit each of you in Jesus’ name. Amen. Your Excellency, Redemption International for the Blind is an international non profit-making charitable organisation that is founded with the major objectives of advancing the education of the blind and the granting of relief to those in need by reason of age, ill health, disability, financial hardship and the disadvantaged. It is in part fulfilment of these objectives that we are today gathered to give a push to our visually impaired brothers and sisters in order to help them get to the next level. We are registered in the United Kingdom as a charity with charity number SC040825. Available for distribution here today include such facilities as guide canes, talking wrist watches, Braille papers, tape recorders, CD players, typewriters and above all, desktop and laptop computers with screen readers all for free. Hopefully, we will on regular basis empower these people so as to uplift their status and general well-being in our society. Besides equipping the blind to make them move further, we intend to establish a Braille resource, skills acquisition and computer training institute for the blind in Imo State where relevant study materials used in Nigerian schools are transcribed into Braille, the blind taught on how to use the computer and those who cannot proceed further in education assisted to acquire one skill or the other that could make them self reliant and less dependent on the government and society. It is equally our intention to establish an ultra modern medical facility for research, management and control of eye related diseases. Your Excellency, To establish our dream institute fully furnished with modern gadgets and specialist facilities is expected to cost over fifty million naira. For instance, a Braille embosser which is used for Braille transcription costs over seven hundred thousand naira per unit excluding shipping cost and we will need about 4 for a start. A stand alone scanner like ScannerR costs about six hundred thousand naira and we need about 4 for a start. The truth is that most of our facilities are highly capital intensive and I do not want to bore you more than I have already done. Your Excellency, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, It is for this reason that we have invited you here today so that you can lend us your hands of fellowship to enable Redemption International for the Blind fully take off in line with our objectives. We have no office accommodation where our service users can easily locate. We have need for a piece of land where we can build our institute. Operational vehicles are needed for the movement of men and materials. Finally, we call on the State Government to come to our rescue. We will be happy if Redemption International for the Blind can be granted charitable status in Imo State and accordingly placed on an annual subvention to help us maintain our facilities and offset some overhead costs. In like manner, we call on public spirited individuals and philanthropists to partner with us either monthly or annually. Please help put a smile on the face of one blind child today! Thanks and God bless you all for coming. Prepared by me: Sunny Ezurike (Esq.) Tel: 08136740193 Email: sunny.ezurike@riftb.org W: www.riftb.org