For Madam Comfort Linus, rain used to be a reminder of everything she had lost.
After the death of her husband, the widow in Nto Omum-Nto Edino, Obot Akara Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, was left to confront not only the hardship of raising a family without her husband but also the uncertainty of having no secure place to call home.
That uncertainty ended when she was handed the keys to a furnished two-bedroom house built for her under Governor Umo Eno’s Compassionate Homes initiative.
But the most important thing she received was not the building. It was ownership. The house, fitted with solar-powered electricity and a borehole, has been legally transferred to Linus through a deed of gift, giving her full ownership of the property and turning what could have been temporary relief into a permanent family asset.
She was also presented with a ₦500,000 starter grant to help her begin rebuilding her livelihood.
For a woman who had spent years dealing with the insecurity of homelessness, the significance was immediate: she now has a roof that belongs to her, electricity when darkness falls, water within reach and a measure of economic support with which to begin the next chapter of her life.
The intervention is part of the ongoing ARISE
Compassionate Homes delivered by Governor Eno since it came into office, according to the Special Assistant to the Governor on Humanitarian Affairs, Prince Nsikan-Abasi Umoekpo.
For Linus, the house means that a downpour no longer has to trigger the anxiety associated with inadequate shelter. It means that at the end of a difficult day, she can shut her door knowing that the property is legally hers.
It also gives her something that humanitarian assistance does not always provide: the confidence that tomorrow can be planned rather than merely survived.
Representing the governor at the handover, former Commissioner for Agriculture and Women Leader of the ARISE with Renewed Hope Initiative, Dr Glory Edet, said the administration remained committed to its pledge that vulnerable citizens would not be abandoned.
“We made a covenant with the people that no one will be left behind,” she said on behalf of the governor.
The intervention, she added, was intended to provide comfort, security and a fresh beginning for the beneficiary.
The Village Head of the community, Chief Isidore Ibritam, commended the governor for directing attention towards citizens who are easily overlooked, while the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Princess Emem Ibanga, reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to improving the welfare of vulnerable people.
The Chairman of Obot Akara Local Government Area, Mr Dominic Simon, represented by his Vice Chairman, Hon. Mercy Okure, also expressed appreciation for the intervention, describing the construction of Compassionate Homes across the wards as unprecedented.
