A Good Woman, Dele George!

[I Love Nigeria]

I applaud her volunteer work... providing succor and harbor for our society's most under privileged and hapless --- ILN

culled from Sun Newspapers of Nigeria



Nigerians have imbibed spirit of adoption and fostering …Rev George
By KATE HALIM
Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Rev. Dele George
Photo: Sun News Publishing

*
Woman of the Sun Index

Her calm and motherly disposition endears you to her. The eldest child of her parents, Reverend (Mrs.) Dele George has special love for the less privileged in our society, especially abandoned children. Speaking with Daily Sun recently, she reveals what motivated them as a couple to reach out to the needy.

“I have always loved children, I sympathize with them a lot because they are very vulnerable,trusting and innocent. I love to help and defend them and God has maximized this gift in me by giving me the vision of Little Saints Orphanage.”

Married to a retired pilot,she pointed out that setting up the orphanage is a calling as well as a humanitarian service. “I am a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. My mission is an expression of the spiritual gift of mercy so I say it is a calling but it is also a humanitarian service because you do not have to be a minister of God to express kindness or love to your fellow human beings. One does not need a spiritual title to help humanity.”

On starting out, the Accountancy graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria revealed that the orphanage was set up in June 1994. According to her, “We are the first private indigenous home to be registered by the Lagos State Government and have continued to blaze the trail.” The home was initially set up in a small dormitory in Akowonjo, Lagos with a pair of twin girls and has rehabilitated over 1000 children. 80% of these children have been adopted and fostered.

Stating her achievement with the orphanage, this amiable woman recounts “It was not part of our vision to institutionalize the children permanently, so we are delighted that Nigerians have finally imbibed the spirit of adoption and fostering. In the past 15 years, we have embarked on programmes to sensitize the public on the plight of orphans and it has generated more sensitivity for these orphans.” The greatest thing about the Little Saints Orphanage is its emphasis on education and the reintegration programmes.

Speaking on the challenges of running the home, she revealed that “we face challenges everyday. There are numerous bottlenecks we face trying to restore the health of these abandoned babies as they come with different ailments and moving in and out of hospital could be frustrating at times especially when there are no standard medical equipments in most hospitals.” In addition, sourcing for funds poses challenges to her.

Again she said that some of the older children could be rebellious and disobedient especially in the first few months of their arrival but with love and discipline, they adapt. When a young baby who is breast feeding is abandoned, they can cry for days before they settle down. It is heart breaking to see what they are going through. We lack manpower and only a few people are willing to volunteer to work in an orphanage”.

According to her, the orphanage doesn’t have any major project presently as we focus on the education of our Little Saints especially now that some are beyond the age of adoption and are proceeding to the University. Once the number of children reduce because of the reintegration programmes, then we can start on another dream project we have tagged ‘Safe Haven’ for children.We got a donation of two acres of land from Chief Asije – the chairman of Ogudu GRA association in 2007. The home plans to rehabilitate and reform street children there and it is a dream we intend to keep alive.”

On how she gets children into the home,she tells you that they come into the orphanage through the Police and Good samaritans, although few of them came in through the courts. The home has adopted a veritable means of raising fund by placing branded boxes in various business organizations for people to drop their donations in them, the home also engages in musical concerts to raise funds and her husband, Capt Jide George put Compassion Band together for this purpose.

Revealing her high moments, she tells you they are too numerous to mention. “I am always excited when a child is rescued and brought into the orphanage in whatever condition because that marks the beginning of a great new life for that child. In my heart I say the devil has lost another one and I love it when the Little Saints top their classes in school”. A very high moment for the Reverend is when adopters come in to collect their babies because we have been able to give joy to families.
Low moments for her include getting weary from too much work and thoughts on how to manage the resources to avoid distress. I feel really low sometimes when I hear some of the lies people tell about our mission but my high moments always overshadow my low moments”.

She lets you know that when it comes to combining her home and the orphanage, “God is good. He planned everything for me in such a way that I have no conflict with managing home and ministry. My husband is wonderful, he has deep empathy for me and does not stress me about domestic duties. My children are all adults and are very considerate.God called great missionaries that have vision, because they make it easy for me to continue with the call”,she points out.

The former Senior Accounting Officer with First Bank Nigeria Plc, advises individuals who want to set up an orphanage to have the resources to cope or have a good network of friends and patrons. She revealed that “The orphanage started off with my family resources and with the help of close friends who believed in the vision, till today we all continue to donate.Over the years, our network of patrons and supporters has made the burden easier to carry”. According to her,intending orphanage owners also have to be strong willed, determined and focused because they will face things that will discourage them. If it is not a calling from God, they are likely to throw in the towel.