Patience Umo Eno, wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, has ordered for the rehabilitation of widow Grace Udeme Emmanuel, 22, who fed her kids with poultry feed.
Grace fed her four children with chicken and fish feed from the farm she works at Eket Local Council of the State.
One Queen Praise Uzoma, daughter of the farm owner, had posted the incident on Instagram, which generated sympathy and support from the public, including the Akwa Ibom State First Lady who initially gave the young widow N500,000 for upkeep.
Uduak Ekong, Chief Press Secretary to the wife of the Governor, while fielding questions from newsmen in Uyo, the State capital, noted that Grace has been provided with a furnished accommodation with kitchen utensils, food stuffs for three months.
According to her, plans were underway to train her on skills and business management as well as enroll her back to school to complete her secondary education.
She disclosed that Grace’s monthly salary has been increased from N15,000 to N35,000, explaining that her employer will still be paying her the agreed amount of N15,000 while N20,000 will be added to her monthly salary to make it N35,000.
“We are mindful that this is a girl that is still a child, doesn’t have a bank account, no phone.
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“You don’t raise money and give it to her in bulk. She is already vulnerable. So anything you give her that could make her live flamboyant, she is going to fall prey. People will come under the guise of love and deceive her,” she said.
Ekong also stated that apart from the physical gifts and donations to Grace, the Governor’s wife has ordered there should be counselling and mental examination of the lady.
Her words, “So we are not just giving money and going away. We are going to provide a lot of support. The next thing before empowering her will be mental evaluation.
“What caught Her Excellency’s attention, first, was what would propel any human being to consider feeding her children chicken feeds?
“Meeting her, we got to know she was pregnant at the age of 16 and dropped out when she was in SS1. She speaks impeccable English and comes across as an intelligent person.
“After the mental evaluation, if Grace is okay, next is to go for skills acquisition and then set her up in her skill and an alternative business.
“The mentorship also includes tutoring her on how to manage her finances and income she will be generating, so she doesn’t waste her capital and she can sustain her life.
“There are plans to take her back to school and for her children’s school too.”
