Nine women, including Chief Lady Ngozi Ogba, were on Sunday, March 30, 2014 honoured with the “Nne Okwukwe” (Mother of Faith) Award for their contributions to the growth of St. Helen’ Catholic Parish Irete, in  Owerri West LGA of Imo State.

The awardee displays her certificate

The award ceremony was the high point of this year’s Mothers’ Day celebration organized by the Catholic Women Organization (CWO) of the parish.

Other recipients of the award include: Mrs. Juliana Eke, Mrs. C.O. Asoluka, Mrs. Monica Okolie and Lady Angela Opara.  The rest are Lady Nwebo Esther, Lolo Justina Iwundu, Mrs. Beatrice Eziohuru, Mrs. Rhoda Ohanyirinwa.

According to the CWO President, Lady Duru Chioma who introduced each of the awardees, both the recipients from the parish and those who were not, merit to the honour because they “have helped in one way or another” in developing the parish.  She described the award as a unique one and prayed God to continue to direct and protect the recipients to support the parish.

Preaching the homily at the Eucharistic celebration, the Parish Priest, Very Rev. Fr. Anthony Eke charged women to find joy in their sufferings because motherhood is the greatest gift to them from God.  According to him they should not be sad but rejoice always at the sacrifice associated with their status as mothers which is saddled with so many responsibilities.

He urged them to pray without ceasing, learn from the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ, who joyfully endured the pains in her son’s life from birth to the cross as well as from other holy women in the Bible.

Fr. Eke advised men to appreciate their wives and not maltreat them while couples should remain patient till death, should never take the laws into their hands but seek the guidance of the church through the Marriage Tribunal, should things get too bad.

The homilist said that the church wants the faithful to rejoice on the Third Sunday of Lent despite the fact that the period is that of penance and mortification, to show that joy is not opposed to suffering.

.  He urged them to shun everything associated with sin and darkness and to stand their ground even in the face of danger as the man born blind did when the Pharisees attacked him for acknowledging Christ as the servant of God.

Fr. Eke lent his weight to the condemnation of co-habitation among male and female students in Nigerian universities and other forms of immorality, warning that parents and the society at large should rise up against such immorality including gay marriage.

Who spoke on behalf of the others, thanked the Parish Priest, CWO and the parish for selecting them and promised to do more.  She advised mothers to correct their children through persuasion and conviction and not by force or coercion.

Eze-elect, Sir Felix Ogba (Omeudo 1) Egberemiri Eziudo, husband to Chief Mrs. Ogba who made a generous donation to the parish, expressed gratitude to the parish for the award given to his wife.  According to him, the honour is not only for his family but for his entire Egbemiri community.

Sir Ogba, who is a retired principal and educator, described co-habitation by male and female students as ungodly.   It is for this reason that adults should monitor the activities of youths. On the role of educators in moulding of the characters of the youths; the Eze-elect maintained that they should not give up in the face of challenges.

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