During a visit to our benefactor at his Glass House office in Owerri on Feb. 13, 2018, Chief (Dr.) E. C. Iwuanyanwu presented the women of UWA with a cheque for 500,000 naira, a gift for Children’s Centre development and services. The gift has enabled revitalization of the small children’s section of the library and refurbishing of the playground pavilion. At the same time he offered his support toward further development plans for the Centre. We are ever grateful for Chief Iwuanyanwu’s continuing generosity and good will.
Students and staff of the Parkside School in the United Kingdom raised 931 pounds sterling for the Children’s Centre in response to the Silver Jubilee appeal. The mover behind the fundraising drive was art teacher Sue Ubagu, who conducted vacation art activities for the Children’s Centre in the 1980s, when she was resident in Nsukka. The money is being used to initiate computerization of the Centre, providing computer equipment for library use and a desktop publishing unit for producing reading and learning materials with local content.
As their contribution to the Children’s Centre Silver Jubilee, the children of the late Prof. (Mrs.) Edith Ihekweazu have donated an alcove for the African Children’s Literature Research Collection. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Ada Ozoemena and Edozie Ihekweazu presented this in memory of their mother, who was an active contributor to the Children’s Centre and strong proponent of African literature during her lifetime. The donation includes bookshelves, table and chairs, and Hausa leatherwork pouffes. The family has also undertaken to build up the collection with an annual gift for book purchases, beginning with N20,000 received from Ada Ozoemena in June 2006.
Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu made the presentation at a reception held during his visit to Nigeria in May 2005. During the occasion Chikwe spoke on the positive role the Children’s Centre played in his generation’s growing up, and members shared memories of Edith and her contributions to the project.
Edith Ihekweazu was part of the Children’s Centre from the very beginning, attending the library opening in October 1978. She was foundation member of the Children’s Centre Committee and Playground Committee, as well as Treasurer of UWA during the project’s formative years. Edith also contributed to the academic life of the University as a scholar in languages and literature and her first Nigerian female professor.
The African Children’s Literature Research Collection developed from the committee’s practice of acquiring a second copy of every African children’s book they could find. As a result, the library houses a valuable collection of Nigerian and other African children’s books, consulted by numerous scholars and students over the years.
The former secretary of the library committee, Ada Udechukwu, gave the sum of N30,000 for furniture during a visit to Nsukka in January 2006. The money was used to build three tables and a printer stand for the computer laboratory and a custom-built cabinet to house the office files. The Centre is very grateful for Ada’s continuing support of the Children’s Centre.
On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary celebrated in May 2004, former Children’s Centre members at home and abroad, now grown, donated 800,000 naira toward Children’s Centre development. Many expressed their appreciation for the role Children’s Centre Library played in their childhood and wished in this way to help such opportunities continue for future generations.
In the first half of 2008 the Children’s Centre distributed 2,000 books donated by People United for Libraries in Africa (PULA) to 8 primary schools in the Nsukka area. These included books shipped from the United States and those purchased locally from publishers in Nigeria. A team from Children’s Centre held on-the-spot cataloguing sessions to help the schools organize their collections. Recipients included Central School I, Township II, Model School 2 (pictured here) and Agu Achara in Nsukka and schools in the rural communities of Obimo, Nguru, and Nru. This was the 1st of continuing donations by PULA, to schools and the prison library.
Children of the Merrileas Nursery of Parkside School, England recently raised funds for Children’s Centre by designing and making their own Christmas cards. Proceeds of the sales came to 317 pounds sterling. The Children’s Centre is very grateful to the children for this laudable effort, and to our good friend Sue Ubagu for continuing to connect us.
September 2008 saw the arrival of a new bus for the Children’s Centre. It was purchased from the 2 million naira donated by Chief (Dr.) E. C. Iwuanyanwu following the Children’s Centre 25 th Anniversary. Already the bus has been put to good use for long vacation excursions, school visits, and trips to Enugu for the 2008 book fair and other purposes. We are very grateful to our ever-generous donor for this most valuable gift!
The Children’s Centre pavilion, originally built at the old playground in 1980 and decorated with sculptures by the students of El Anatsui, has been re-constructed at the permanent playground site. It is named in loving memory of Uju Ubagu (1983-2006), whose memorial fund supplied 630 pounds sterling for the re-construction. The sculptures were rescued from the old site just as bulldozers moved in to start construction for the NUGA games. The new pavilion, which features a thatched roof and brightly-painted dwarf wall, is fast becoming a favorite spot for relaxation and story hour activities.
The Children’s Centre recently opened a memorial collection on Women and Development in honour of our late member, Prof. Judith D. C. Osuala. Judy suggested the idea of the collection and offered her materials as a beginning shortly before her death. A professor of adult education and community development, Judy left an extensive collection of journals, reports and conference papers on women’s studies, education, health, and sustainable development. The Children’s Centre thanks her family for this valuable addition to our collection.
Children’s Day Celebration
Total 120,400.00
Sandor Peri Memorial Art Prize of 500 Pounds
The Children’s Centre has received the 2010 Sandor Peri Memorial Art Prize of 500 pounds sterling (N119,750.00) for creation of art work in the playground. Sandor Peri, the University architect from 1975-1987, graciously donated the design for the Children’s Centre Madam Hulder Iwuanyanwu Building in 1980. The prize was instituted by his wife Liz and friends in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts following his death in 2007 as a way of continuing his legacy to the arts. We are very grateful to Liz Peri for this generous donation.
Donations during Children’s Centre Silver Jubilee Celebration
Obong Rita Akpan,Hon.Min.of Women Affairs N50,000
Dr. (Mrs.) Uche Azikiwe Developing football field for N50,000
Chief (Dr.) F. Odimegwu N50,000+ 20 cartons of drinks
Chief (Dr.) E.C.Iwuanyanwu N50,000 (for cutting of cake)
Dr. & Dr.(Mrs.) Uwakwem N20,000
Additional Donations
Nancy Street 2 M-bags of books
Traverse Area District Library 2 M-bags of books
Indianapolis Public Library 2 M-bags of books
Peris Maduka $50
Una Okonkwo Osili $25
Barbara Nowinsky $30
Keith Acker & Julie Bradley $40
Earlene Young $25
Christian Endeavours $200
Johnetta and Sandra Young $100
Bibiana Ukaegbu $100 For the library
Elisabeth Odenigbo (CCL) $400 For library books
Ike Anya 100 pounds