Rivers family launches foundation to honour late Dad

A family in Rivers state yesterday launched a Charity Foundation in honour of their late father, Justice Nnamdi Chuku.

The Foundation directly named after him, “Justice Nnamdi Elliot Chuku Health and Education Initiative”(JNEC), is meant to keep his good legacy and memories close alive.

The deceased, who was a graduate of Engineering from a Nigerian University, was described by his family members as a philanthropist, lover of education and God was said to have given several children from poor homes in schools in his name.

It was for this reason the children initiated the foundation to immortalise the good gestures of their late father and also keep hopes alive for his numerous benefactors and even increase the number in the future.

The outfit was formally launched at his funeral service held in his Rumuche community in Emohua Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking to newsmen at the event, the first Son, who is now the head of the family, Chigozile Nnamdi-Chuku, said the JNEC Health and Education Initiative is aimed at creating health awareness within and outside the state, Country especially on liver disease.

Their father having apparently suffered and died of the ailment, the family says they would leave no stone upturned in educating and sensitising the publics on the importance of the liver as one of the very critical organs in human body.

He said: “My father’s life and dream was all about helping people. His focus, everything about him was how he can be of help to one child or the other. So at his demise, it occurred to me and it’s something we have talked about, to start an Initiative.

“First an education initiative but then the other one is the liver one. We said health: we want to put in work to see how we can provide a bit of support and sensitisation on liver health.

“The Foundation is targeted at helping children who cannot fend for themselves first.

“He recalled his father was helped by his elder brother through school at the death of his father and so he decided to pay it forward and give back to society and help children. This he has done overtime and he shares in that and dream.

“I have that same dream for this foundation to be able to give indigent children the zero to hero story, so people who never thought about having an education, having a life by God’s grace we can provide help to such children so they can amount to something in life.”

To set the ball rolling, on May 27, Children’s day the Foundation will carry out its maiden public  activity in its cooperate name, JNEC by  providing and distributing school supplies such as, school bags, shoes and stationery to selected public schools for about 1000 students to enable them go back to school.

On the liver health awareness, Chuku observed that very little is known about the Liver, hence the need to create massive awareness on how the liver works and functions from the time a child was born the adulthood and equally give support to research on it.

“The scope of the JNEC Health and Education Initiative is global, though with a small beginning. The hope is to scale continents with this foundation to positively impact lives.” he explained.

On the life and times of the deceased said, “My late father was born on September 28 1961, he was an astute administrator, a certified engineer, a great philanthropist, passionate evangelist and Christian to the core, as well as a great community mobilizer and grassroots politician.”

Until he died on March 14, 2019 he was a civil servant and served as the Director of Works at the Rivers State University.