Mrs Olukemi Koleowo is the Oyo state zonal coordinator of the Unique Grandmas Sisters Forum. The forum is a non-profit organisation, made up of grandmothers who have the vision and the mind to help build a world without hunger and social problems. It has 11 zones all over the countries of the world, including the United states and the United Kingdom. In this interview by YUSUF ABDULKADIR, Mrs Koleowo speaks about the organisation, its activities and future goals.
What influenced the Unique Grandmas Sisters Forum? And what do you intend to achieve?
The Unique Grandmas Sisters Forum (UGSF) was founded by Mrs Yemisi Oguntimehin, a retired civil servant from the Lagos State Ministry of Education. Mrs Oguntimehin saw the need to bring together grandmothers from different parts of the world, especially retired ones and fill in the gap created by their retirement or reduced activities as they age gracefully. However, the organisation aims to create activities that will engage members in different areas of life in terms of social interactions and serving humanity.
How has your organisation impacted the lives of the underprivileged in the society since birth?
Our group has over the years developed various activities and programmes to impact the lives of the underprivileged in the society. We have eleven zones all over the world including in the US and UK and we have visited different homes to make donations of items that will make life easier for the children in the homes. Also, we have donated washing machines, water pumping machines, beds, mattresses, water tanks and other items including foodstuffs to the needy homes.
The number of street children has increased significantly. What do you think caused that and what are the possible solutions to this menace?
As caring grandmothers, we are aware of the menace caused by out-of-school children in various communities of the world. All these are in one way or the other caused by the nonchalant attitude of the government and the failure of some parents to give proper upbringing and education to their wards. However, as an organisation that provides humanitarian services. We have supplied educational materials to various schools for example, giving out our customized exercise books to school children free of charge and many other functions and we hope to do more in the nearest future.
How do you select beneficiaries for your support programs?
We select our beneficiaries by paying visits to needy homes in different locations and ask for the list of items they need to make life better and enjoyable for the children there.
What were the major challenges The Unique Grandmas Sisters Forum faced and how were they handled?
We haven’t had challenges per say except that we are restricted by traveling around because of our age and the security issues in our country. So, we stay within our area of living and work towards achieving our goal of impacting lives.
What are the expectations from government on complementing your non-profit organisation’s effort?
I will say we are the one that is actually complementing the government through our charity programs and make life bearable for all.
Will you say you have attained your vision of reaching the unreached?
We definitely haven’t reached our vision to reach the unreached but we are determined to create programs that will impact the communities around us and the society at large.
Going by the name of your organisation, “The Unique Grandmas Sisters Forum”. Is it restricted to the grandmas only or open to all?
Yes, our organisation is restricted to grandmas alone and the only criteria to join is that you must be a grandmother irrespective of your age.
What does the organisation plan to do differently in the forthcoming annual charity exercise and mid-year thanksgiving programme?
In the forthcoming Oyo Zone annual charity exercise, coming up ending of this month, July 2023, we intend to donate the following items to three different homes in Ibadan and Oyo town; two water pumping machines to two different homes; one 2,000 liters plastic water tank; one four burner gas cooker with oven; 2,000 copies of our customized exercise books; various foods items and daily needs.
What are the future goals of your organisation? And how do you think the problems affecting Nigerian communities like thuggery, poverty, hunger and insecurity be wholly solved?
Our future goal is to continue to impact the lives of other people around us as we have always done and to keep on aging gracefully by engaging in different social activities that will make us fit and healthy. Also,we hope to tackle the challenges of thuggery, poverty, hunger, insecurity and others affecting the growth and development of our communities by bringing out different initiatives and programs that would have positive impact on our communities and most especially on our children and grandchildren.
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