As part of efforts to uplift the living standards of areas where it operates, the Rotary Club of Abuja Lugbe FHA on Friday flagged off a series of projects, and also commissioned others at the local education authority in Lugbe, in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, Rotary Club District Governor-elect, D 9127 Engineer Sikiru Adetona Owonikoko, said the school has been adopted for infrastructural provision and renovation as well as for manpower and skill acquisition by the pupils.

He explained that the move followed the Club’s humanitarian philosophy, as he listed education and literacy as target areas in the ongoing interventions.

Owonikoko, while commending efforts of the Lugbe FHA president, Rotarian Engr. Tunmise Adepoju for lining up ten projects to be executed in the school, said the school was lucky to have been adopted for the interventions.

He added that the choice of LEA Lugbe was in line with the vision of the club.

“I want to thank you for adopting this school and one of our core services is healthcare, education and literacy among several others and for Abuja Lugbe District Rotary Club to adopt this school is a welcome development.

I can see that this school needs a lot of support which I can say the school is lucky because a lot of things are going to happen here in terms of touching lives by the Rotary Club International,” he stressed.

Fielding questions from journalists, Engr. Owonikoko said contrary to popular beliefs, Rotary club does not concentrate its activities in urban areas only.

He explained that the Club is a global community of people who are committed to the welfare of humanity, even as it spreads across rural areas.

On his part, the Club’s president in Lugbe-FHA, Engr. Adepoju disclosed that LEA will benefit from ten projects following a needs assessment done by his team.

He classified the projects as urgently needed in the school.

While lamenting the decay of some infrastructure within the school, he assured school management that resources have been sourced to address the situation.

He said the commissioning of one of the lined up of projects, incinerator for waste bins, road signs at the Police Signboard, are milestones in the ten years of the establishment of Rotary Club of Lugbe – FHA estate.

This is as he promised that other flagged off projects would be completed in good time.

“Rotary is an international and global community of persons who have come together to do better for others. In Nigeria, there are four districts and in the whole of northern Nigeria, it’s one district minus three states.

“Ten years ago, the Rotary Club of Abuja, Lugbe was established. We started with a meagre number. And we started by adopting the Tudun Wada community and after Tudun Wada, we moved to Sauka Kauta and we have done a lot of projects in Sauka to Car Wash Lugbe to GSS Lugbe and finally we have adopted LEA Primary School, Lugbe.

“Having existed for ten years, we have touched many lives. We now want to do something fresh in Lugbe community. So, the information got to us about the LEA Primary School and when we came here, we were shocked because of the level of dilapidation of facilities.

“Yes, government has done well. We believe strongly that there are some interventions where the government needs help.

Responding, the Headmaster of the school, Musa Chanchangi recounted how he almost took officials of the club for granted when they came to the school on a fact-finding mission.

He said: “Some of the officers of Rotary Club came to the school and asked me; Sir, are you the Headmaster of the School and I said yes. They said we want to come and undertake a project in your school here and I asked as a Rotary club and they said yes that is what they do.

“What they said is that they touch lives in different forms across communities. I couldn’t believe it and honestly, I didn’t know about Rotary Club International before until later they came back again and I felt these guys are disturbing me. It looked like a disturbance initially because some Rotary officials were coming one after another.

“One day a fine woman from the Rotary came, and I had forgotten her position to find out what we wanted. I replied structure because there is so much pressure on the government and if you people can do it, I will be happy. One day they called and asked me to write a letter which I did.

Finally, some people came and said we have come for that thing we have been discussing with you since last year and we are going to build a block of classroom, and we know your borehole is running, but we are going to rehabilitate it to pump water to toilets and other places within the school premises.”