Delta gov’s wife appoints Okonjor as first Ambassador for YMCF

As part of activities marking her 54th birthday anniversary, wife of Delta State governor, Deaconess Tobore Oborevwori, has appointed Mrs Joy Okonjor as the first Ambassador of her pet project, You Matter Charity Foundation (YMCF).

Mrs Okonjor, who is the founder of Joy in Africa Foundation for Special Needs, Asaba, was chosen as Ambassador due to her remarkable contributions to providing a safe space for special needs for children suffering from health conditions in the past 15 years.

The conditions include autism, mental retardation, speech and language impairment, physical disability, vision problem, cerebral palsy, among other learning and emotional disabilities.

Announcing the appointment, Deaconess Oborevwori expressed concern for children living with such conditions and renewed her commitment to reaching out to them, representing a significant part of her vision for setting up the YMCF.

She encouraged the people of the state to support vulnerable groups of persons rather than excluding or avoiding them.

Mrs Oborevwori was impressed by what Mrs Okonjor had achieved in 15 years and announced that she would be the first Ambassador of the You Matter Charity Foundation.

She commended the founder for staying with the noble vision.

In her address, Mrs Okonjor expressed heartfelt gratitude to Mrs Oborevwori for remembering them and she narrated how, as a child, she had an abnormal growth that almost made her lose her speech ability and left her disfigured.

She said it was an Irish priest that flew her abroad and paid for her surgery, and that one-third of her tongue was removed. The doctors said she would never be able to speak again, but miraculously, she was able to speak fluently again.

Okonjor added that as she grew old, she realised that what was done for her needed to be done for others, hence the foundation’s birth, which started with four children in 2009 and currently has 73 children with special needs.