FIRST initiative to rebuild broken families

Think morals, values and leadership. It all comes down to the family unit – and keeping that building block of society strong is getting difficult these days. A couple seeking to change that has launched a family FIRST initiative called Family Integration Relief and Society Transformation, a non-profit organisation to help build “vibrant, morally strong […]

Think morals, values and leadership. It all comes down to the family unit – and keeping that building block of society strong is getting difficult these days.

A couple seeking to change that has launched a family FIRST initiative called Family Integration Relief and Society Transformation, a non-profit organisation to help build “vibrant, morally strong and functional family ties”.

Emmanuel and Gloria Oricha’s FIRST initiative also hopes to return the family unit to its place-a “sphere of influence and building block of the society.”

“Unfortunately the family roles in grooming morally sound individuals, inculcating values and societal transformation have been derailed,” they said.

It calls for mobilizing efforts and galvanizing support to return “to those good old days, when values were sacred and families would do whatever it took to protect these values.”

“God’s purpose is to use the families as a channel to unite the world and bring mankind back to himself,” said Bishop Akpami, who chairs FIRST’s board of trustees.

A morally strong family is a precursor to having a morally strong society, said Shola Kolawale, on FIRST trustees’ board and a professor of medicine at University of Abuja.

An increased rate of divorce is leading to broken homes; societal pressure, peer pressure, modern technology-and social media in particular-are creating crisis between children and their families, said Kolawale.

“The children now become independent and adults overnight as parents are encumbered by the economic pressures and the children are left without proper guidance and mentorship,” he said.