COFP Newsletter (July – December 2023)
Our Deep Gratitude As We Round-Up the Year
Dear Friends and Partners,
As we contemplate the achievements of this year, 2023, we can’t help but extend our heartfelt thanks to the Divine and You for collaborating with us in reaching these significant milestones. This year posed distinct challenges to humanity, yet it profoundly enhanced the significance of our efforts in promoting peace by illuminating the intricate connections binding us together. Through your generous support and collaboration, we effectively tackled the unique hurdles presented by 2023. Your contributions enabled us to touch numerous lives amidst despair, fostering bonds and resilience. We are profoundly grateful for your trust and the opportunity to continue serving humanity. As we gradually conclude this year, we gaze ahead with optimism toward a brighter future in 2024, recognizing the need for increased support, collaboration, and collective responsibility for the greater good.
Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year
Agatha Chikelue Sr., DMMM
Executive Director
COFP Fall Newsletter (July – December, 2023)
Catholic Sisters Engages in Grassroots Development
Through funding support from the Conrad Hilton Foundation and COFP Foundation, some COFP Fellows (Catholic Sisters) embarked on the second phase of their community development peace project in August 2023 following huge successes recorded during the first phase of their project in January, 2023. Their projects targeted destitute women and youth in their community with confidence that if empowered, they would together contribute towards peace and development of the community in… Read more
COFP Welcomes the 6th Set of COFP Fellows
After a rigorous selection process, another set of Fellows, 50 in all, were selected from the many individuals who applied for the 2023/2024 COFP Fellowship program. The first module of the 6th annual and 3rd Continental COFP Fellowship Program, commenced with the arrival of Fellows on Sunday, 23rd July, 2023, at the Ajuji Greenwich hotel, Abuja, and spanned through the entire week. The participants were made up of Christians and Muslims men, women and youth. Read more
Community Engagement on Climate Action
World Children’s Day is celebrated every year on November 20th to honor the rights of children. The Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace marked this day on September 28, 2023, with a special focus on climate change. The theme for the event was “Making Young People Aware of their Role in Protecting the Environment: Inclusion for Every Child”. Climate change and its extreme weather conditions pose a constant threat to the survival, growth, and development… Read more
Scholarship Program for Indigent Children
To ensure that the less privileged children can access basic education beyond FCT Abuja, the Foundation expanded its scholarship scheme to indigent students and pupils in Nasarawa state. 50 students/pupils from ten different schools were assisted during the third term of 2022/2023 academic session while 42 of them received financial support during the 1st term of the 2023/2024 academic session both in the FCT Abuja and Nasarawa state in October, 2023. Read more
Ending Violence and Abuse Against Children (EVAC)
Children are the leaders of tomorrow as often said! But can they lead tomorrow if all we do today is abuse and batter them? The absolute reality is that within the confines of homes, schools, and communities, children face threats that cast long shadows on their well-being. It’s a narrative we often choose to overlook, yet the urgency to address and eradicate violence against children cannot be overstated. We must recognize that no form of violence against children is justifiable, and that every child… Read more
Site Visits from Partners
In October, 2023, we received representatives from the United Religions Initiative (URI) in our office in Abuja and also, Observatoire Pharos in November, 2023. Their visit gave us the opportunity to explore the possibility of collaboration as both organizations share the same vision with the COFP Foundation. In the same light, we welcomed one of our key partners, the Conrad Hilton Foundation team, the sole sponsor of Sisters’ project at the COFP Fellowship program who came on a site visit to witness the… Read more
COFP Fellow Becomes a Catholic Bishop
It was a day of joy in the newly erected Diocese of Katsina in Katsina state Nigeria on 12th December, 2023 when a COFP Fellow, Monsignor Gerald Musa was ordained as the first Catholic Bishop of Katsina Diocese. Monsignor Gerald now Bishop Gerald was a COFP Fellow of the 2020/2021 set (Class of 2021). He hails from Zamfara state and by his elevation, has become the first Bishop of Hausa origin in Nigeria and the pioneer Local Ordinary of Katsina Diocese. The occasion was graced by Bishops, … Read more
