The Knights of St. Mulumba Nigeria has targeted N400 million for its Kaduna Metropolitan Council endowment fund to strengthen humanitarian interventions and ensure sustainable funding for its charitable activities.

The fundraising event, held in Kaduna on Friday, attracted Catholic clergy, knights, traditional rulers, government officials, politicians and other dignitaries.

The Kaduna Metropolitan Grand Knight, James Kanyip, said the initiative was designed to establish a sustainable financial foundation for the Order’s charitable activities beyond the immediate needs of its current leadership.

“Our donations and contributions to the fund are gifts that will be preserved, saved and invested. Therefore, the principal stays whole while the interest grows, generating a reliable perpetual stream of funding,” he said.

Mr Kanyip identified seven areas to benefit from the fund, including assistance to victims of violence and prostitution, hospital care and community health outreach, educational initiatives, and support for widows and orphans.

Others, he said, were prison apostolate, legal aid and social justice advocacy, as well as internal relief and welfare schemes.

Also speaking, the Deputy Supreme Knight and Chairman of the Endowment and Resource Mobilisation Committee, Dan Egwu, said the initiative was intended to strengthen the Order’s capacity to sustain its humanitarian activities beyond the tenure of the present leadership.

He recalled that the Order had undertaken several charitable interventions, including supporting prison inmates, motherless babies’ homes, seminarians and priests, as well as environmental protection and feeding programmes.

Mr Egwu disclosed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Order spent about N400 million from its internal resources to support members, adding that reliance on dues and levies was no longer sufficient to meet its growing humanitarian responsibilities.

“For 73 good years, KSM has been functioning with dues and levies. But you all know that dues and levies have their own limits,” he said.

He announced that the Abuja Metropolitan Council had raised N465 million, Calabar N325 million, Onitsha N290 million, Lagos N504 million and Benin N250 million towards the endowment initiative.

Mr Egwu also disclosed that the Order had established a partnership with the Lagos State Government to support the initiative and mobilise additional resources for its charitable programmes.

In her remarks, the Noble President of the Order, Antonia Ngozi Orbah, emphasised the importance of love, compassion, peace and collective responsibility in addressing the needs of vulnerable members of society.

She called for greater attention to the poor, widows, orphans, children, youths and other disadvantaged groups, while urging members to promote peaceful coexistence and kindness in society.

In a goodwill message, Gabriel Francis, UBA regional manager in Kaduna, described the endowment fund as a sustainable investment capable of supporting charitable activities beyond the tenure of the present leadership.

“As a finance person, I clearly understand what’s happening, and this ensures sustainability. I’ve seen investments that will stand the test of time, beyond present leadership,” he said.

Mr Francis, who described the initiative as an investment in humanity, announced a personal donation under the second category of contribution, although the amount was not captured in his remarks.

Also speaking, Jerry Adams, APC deputy governorship candidate in Kaduna State, pledged N5 million to the fund and urged Nigerians to cultivate the habit of giving, irrespective of their financial circumstances.

Quoting 1 Corinthians 13:1, Mr Adams said religious devotion must be accompanied by love and practical concern for humanity, stressing that charitable giving should not be restricted to wealthy individuals, politicians or government officials.

“If you have one thousand naira and you cannot give two hundred out of it, even if you have one billion, you will not give,” he said.

Mr Adams called for stronger collaboration among government, religious organisations, private institutions and individuals to support underserved communities, while commending Governor Uba Sani for promoting religious and ethnic inclusion in Kaduna State.

He said the governor would have loved to attend the event but was outside the country with President Bola Tinubu, adding that he expected him to support the initiative after being briefed by the Order’s leadership.

(NAN)