The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department and Near  Foundation have distributed meat to 300 internally displaced persons in Abuja to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir.

Shuaibu Usman, an assistant director in the department, said at the event in Abuja on Wednesday that the intervention aimed at providing succour to the displaced persons.

Mr Usman explained that the gesture became necessary as most IDPs lack the means to celebrate during festive seasons.

He added that the gesture was also designed to reach out to the less privileged in society as part of measures to leave no one behind.

“This will make the IDPs to have a sense of belonging and celebrate Eid-el-Kabir like normal families. This intervention forms part of the ongoing strategic collaborations to mitigate the hardships faced by displaced populations within the nation capital,” he said.

The director of Qurban Programme in Near Foundation, Salaudeen Abdulhakeem, explained that 300 packages of cow meat were distributed during the exercise, in line with the foundation’s commitment to humanitarian service.

Mr Abdulhakeem explained that the partnership with FEMD since 2021, was to strengthen humanitarian support for distressed people, extending similar gestures to vulnerable communities during both Muslim and Christian festivities.

He called on other non-government organisations, civil society organisations and corporate bodies to step up their humanitarian efforts and reach out to communities in need.

“Humanitarian aid is one of the intervention areas of our foundation – to reach out to poor and vulnerable people in communities, particularly with the current economic hardship in the country. Our strategic partnership with FEMD on the other hand, is to help us in identifying the vulnerable people in FCT, particularly IDPs,” he said.

Halita Joseph, the women leader of Yimi IDP Camp, Apo, who spoke on behalf of other IDPs expressed profound gratitude to FEMD and Near Foundation for the kind gesture.

Ms Joseph commended the organisations for remembering them during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. She described the gesture as a “true reflection of humanity” and urged other well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the kind act.

(NAN)