COVID-19 Lockdown: TREM distributes food items to members, others

The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, Festac branch, Lagos has distributed food items to no fewer than 100 of its members and others families in the community.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the food distribution took place over a period of two weeks to ensure that the public adheres to government’s stay-at-home directive to  combat the spread of COVID-19.
The food items distributed by the Church included rice, beans, garri, noodles, spaghetti, sardines, tomato paste, vegetable oil and seasoning.
The Parish Pastor, Rev. Iyke Osuji, said the gesture was to ensure that its members had food to eat while staying indoors during the lockdown.
Osuji said: “As a church, we deal with a whole lot of issues; we understand what people are feeling, we know where they’re coming from and the challenges they have.
“Everyone is not equal.
“There are many people who cannot afford to be under any form of lockdown without assistance.
“It is very important to have something to eat when you are in your home.
“So we decided to help the most vulnerable among us who don’t have enough to eat.
“I believe that is one of the cardinal reasons we exist as a church, that is one of the things our Lord Jesus Christ ordered that we should fulfill.”
Osuji commended the members who assisted the church to make the project possible.
Helen Ebodiwe, a church member and a beneficiary, said some food items were received before the lockdown, but got some more recently since she wasn’t sure if the restriction of movement would be extended.
Ebodiwe said: “What the church has done is very encouraging and it helps me believe that I have a family that cares about its members.
“With this, I believe I have enough that will keep us at home for two weeks by God’s grace.”
Also, Benjamin Imonah, who repairs generators for a living, said he wasn’t finding things easy because he was  no longer getting patronage since the lockdown.
“People who would usually bring work to me are all indoors, they’re also keeping money to take care of their families,” he said.
Another resident in the area, Munachimso Umudu, a businessman, commended the Church for helping to reduce the burden of the lockdown on its members.
He said the lockdown had affected him because he no longer got daily income from his lubricants and car accessories business.
“This is okay for me for now, at least I will manage it until next week,” Umudu said.