Giving Back to Community Corp. charity distributes food in Nigeria

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Emilian Emeagwali, founder of the Elmont based charity, Giving Back to Community Corp., organized a food distribution at Ogboli Primary School in Onitsha, Anambra in Nigeria on Dec. 21. Emeagwali said over 3,000 people lined up in front of the school to receive 10 kg bags of rice and some tomatoes. In addition, she said, over 300 elementary school children in attendance also received a pair of socks.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the greater Onitsha area is home to over 8 million people, 1.6 million of whom live in the city proper. However, a study published by The World Bank on poverty and equity, that was released last October, estimated that about 30 percent of Onitsha residents live in poverty.

Emeagwali said those living in economic hardship are able-bodied individuals who are willing to work. But, she explained, there are not enough resources for them to farm and grow their own food. As a result of famine and lack of resources, she continued, residents who used to be considered middle income are now low income or live in poverty. “These people don’t have anything,” Emeagwali said.

It took Emeagwali’s team about two months to prepare over 3,000 bags of rice, she said. She first buys the rice from farms in Nigeria, and then separates the rice into 10 kg bags with her team of volunteers. Then, she enlists the help of about 50 more volunteers to distribute the bags. The funds she uses to purchase the rice are raised through charity events, which often take place on Long Island.

Emeagwali has hosted several charity galas since the charity was founded in 2009, which generate funds she then uses for her Thanksgiving distribution in Valley Stream, and subsequent Christmas distribution in Nigeria. Her most recent gala was held on Oct. 5 at the Golden Terrace Banquet Hall in Richmond Hill, which raised $16,000.

However, Emeagwali said many people who attended this year’s food distribution in Nigeria went home empty-handed. She recalled people fighting over bags of rice during the 2023 distribution, which still brings up difficult memories for her. At other organizations’ distributions, she said, conditions were deadly. “People, women, were dying to get a bag of rice,” she said. This is why she decided to take additional precautions this year.

Emeagwali said she reached out to the king of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, and the chairman of Onitsha security, Ojiabu Ugala, to request security personnel to help curb safety concerns at this year’s distribution. She explained that she feared for peoples’ lives as a result of previous food distribution experiences, and the king provided her with 15 security officers to help maintain order during the event. On top of that, Emeagwali asked the crowd to remain civil. “I begged the crowd,” she said. “I begged the crowd to be orderly this year.”

Luckily, Emeagwali said, she was successful in deterring violence at the distribution, and she was pleased with the entire event. “I was thankful to God that it went well,” she said. “I could not have asked for better.”

However, she reiterated the importance of fundraising to help finance her food distributions. Of all the things that keep her charity running, financial support is what she needs the most. She said her goal is to make the event even bigger in 2025, because food insecurity is only increasing on Long Island and in Nigeria.

In addition, she said, she’d like to provide supplementary food items, such as beans, along with the rice and tomatoes she currently hands out. More funding would help her achieve this goal in the upcoming year. She added that the value of money is depreciating in Nigeria, and it is difficult for people who live there to afford anything.

Donations to Giving Back to Community Corp. can be made online at GivingBackToCommunity.org. Those who wish to donate can also call their office at (516) 612-4399, or send a message to them directly in the “Contact” section of the website.