Posted by By EBELE CHUDE, Enugu on
For most members of the National Youth Service Corps, deployment to cities for thier primary assignment, especially in blue chip companies is a prayer on thier lips once the orientation camp is about to close.
For most members of the National Youth Service Corps, deployment to cities for thier primary assignment, especially in blue chip companies is a prayer on thier lips once the orientation camp is about to close.
But there are also quite a few who wouldnt mind going to the hinterlands or states where the chances of getting a good job are remote.
One of those corpers who wouldn't mind where they are posted to is Barrister (Mrs) Patience Ohaeresaba, who will be completing her service year next month.
Though she is serving with the Enugu State Ministry of Justice in line with her profession, she has carved a niche for herself in her community development project, which she is pursuing through her Inner Policeman Initiative.
According to her, she came up with the Inner Policeman Initiative with the aim of using the conscience to control crime, train and condition the mind in a positive way.
'Conscience has a positive impact in the mind of the people," she said, adding that good conscience would help to fight corruption and other vices in the society.
In a bid to achieve her objectives, she is targeting the children whom she believes with relevant training and conditioning from the cradle, would acquire the inner conscience which would help control their actions and to a large extent prevent crime.
She has held seminars and orientation courses with parents where issues on child training and development were discussed.
She believes that parents have powerful impact on the lives of their children, thus, she had used the seminars to urge parents to be good role models for their children as children learn a lot from what they see.
According to her, 'you need to catch the children while they are still young and train them in the right way so that they will not depart from it when they are old."
To crown her efforts during the service year, Ohaeresaba on December 18, 2007 unveiled a bill board erected by the Inner Policeman Initiative which has pictures of children with an inscription, Discipline While We Can.
The bill board was funded by Saanik Nigeria Limited which gave the Inner Policeman Initiative group the sum of N60,000. Ohaeresaba was able to use part of the money to also buy a wheel chair for a cripple at St Paul's Catholic Church, Awkunanaw, Enugu .
The bill board was unveiled by a High Court Judge in Enugu State, Hon. Justice Kingsley Udeh.
Speaking at the unveiling of the billboard, Justice Ude promised that the judiciary in the state would contribute to the growth of the Inner Policeman Initiative.
The Assistant Zonal Co-ordinator of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Mr. J.O Nnaji, who was also at the unveiling of the billboard was impressed with what the group has done.
He said that what the group is doing would go along way in fighting corruption and juvenile delinquencies in the society, promising that ICPC would help in any way it could to support the initiative.
Donating the wheel chair to the cripple , Mr Michael Uwabunkeonye, Ohaeresaba said it was in an effort to help humanity and make people live better lifes.
Uwabunkeonye expressed gratitude to God and to Ohaeresaba, saying that the wheelchair would enhance his mobility and consequently boost his ability to take care of his wife and six children.
Aside from the cripple, Ohaeresaba had also visited and assisted orphanages, prisons and other bodies where the less privileged are kept.
Determined to sustain what she is doing after the service year which comes to an end in February, Ohaeresaba has formally registered the Inner Policeman Initiative as a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
She would, however, want the government to build rehabilitation centres and to acquire facilities necessary for child training and development, especially in the education sector even as she advised parents to strike a balance between discipline and love so that their children would have a happy and normal life, which would in turn help to create a peaceful and crime free society.