Following a report on Opoo Anu, a remote community located in Okaka town, Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State, where it was stated that humans and cattle shared the same source of water, the Senior Pastor of Harvest House Christian Centre, Reverend Gbeminiyi Eboda, has said that hearing about the plight was to him a ‘Macedonian call’ that he was compelled from within to respond to.
Subsequently, he led the church on an outreach to the community in 2015 when it was further discovered that the pupils of Opoo Anu received lessons under a tree, because the only school building in the community was in ruins.
The church, during that outreach, which included distribution of free clothing, food and other relief materials, as well as medical care for the people and cattle owned by nomads, proceeded to lay the foundation of a new school building.
On April 30, 2017, Harvest House Christian Centre, headquartered in Ibadan, held another outreach in Opoo Anu, similar to the first. This time around, it was an epoch-making event that would mark a new learning experience for residents of Opoo Anu, with the commissioning of the school building whose foundation was laid in the previous outreach.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony during the outreach, Reverend Eboda said: “On June 28, 2014, we came to know about the community in a national daily report. It became a Macedonian Call to us. It is God Who empowered us to pursue what we were passionate about, and we say ‘Thank You, Lord.’ Christianity is loudest when it is seen.
“Today, we are presenting a block of classrooms, furnished, with an office and toilets. We are also presenting clothes, medical support to Opoo Anu community and its environs,” noting that “this is only the beginning of a new chapter” for Opoo Anu.
The Olokaka of Okakaland, Chief Azeez Olatunji Ayoola, who attended the event with a retinue of other traditional rulers in his domain, said: “I will not be ungrateful to the church and the missionaries who have worked for the progress of this community. We have created time out of no time to show how grateful we are.”
He also urged Christian and Muslim bodies alike to emulate the initiative Harvest House had taken to assist the government to provide infrastructure for development.
Indeed, there were countless smiles on the faces of the young and old and there were free eye tests and eye glasses for distribution, dental tests and cattle vaccination and treatment during the outreach.
Julius Ayandele, who works at the makeshift maternity post in the community, was delighted at the relief food materials he had received from the outreach.
Headmistress of the school, who identified herself as Mrs Adeyemo, received a set of whiteboard markers for use in the school, and said she was glad her pupils would no longer have a stressful experience and being exposed to the elements, while learning under a tree.
Head of School Services, Itesiwaju LGA, Mr Lawrence Ayanfemi, said the school building had been identified for proper care and administration under the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
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