A SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT OF CATHOLIC YOUTHS ORGANISATION OF NIGERIA (CYON), ST. MONICA’S PARISH IBUSA ON THE OCCASION OF HER ONE YEAR ANNIVERSSARY HELD ON THE 16TH OF MARCH, 2014. The Parish Priest,Associate Priests,Patrons and Patronesses,The CYON President, Asaba Region,All serving and past CYON Presidents,Fellow Youths,Ladies and Gentlemen. For God and for Youths ….. It is with great honour and privilege that I stand here to address this noble gathering on the occasion of our one year anniversary. We have longed for this day, we have waited patiently to give the church and CYON members in particular, a report of our stewardship. This is because we believe that to whom a mandate is given, accountability is equally required. Within this one year under review, a lot of water has passed through the pipeline and a whole lot still need to pass through before we get to our destination. I will submerge today’s speech into three headings; Our Achievements; Our Challenges; Our Vision. OUR ACHIEVEMENTSWithin the year under review, we have been able to increase our membership strength, this is made possible through our all inclusive government. For the first time in the history of CYON, St. Monica’s Parish, we had an active representation in a CYON National Programme held in September, 2013, at Ekpoma. This administration has held thirteen (13) Ordinary meetings, the second meeting witnessed the inauguration of the 2013 Youth Week Committee, the committee worked tirelessly towards ensuring a successful 2013 Youth Week. The proceed of the youth week was used to get the youth office functional. Today, the youth office serves as the secretariat of the body as well as a shopping centre. However, one of our achievements that will be indelible in the mind of people was the Father Christmas show which was incorporated into the carol process. We introduced this innovative measure to add flavor to the event. The Father Christmas and gifts he shared to the families we visited symbolized our love and appreciation for your support towards our cause. Cleanliness they say is next to Godliness. Based on this, sanitation and beautification of the church environment with flowers and demarcation paths are at the core value of this administration. We thank our regional chaplain, Rev. Fr. Ignatius Chigbo for his moral and financial support towards this end. Moreover, information is power and so the CYON body does not relent in informing members of the activities of the parish, region and diocese. Our sms portal has been a veritable tool in achieving the information needs of our members. CYON facebook page is still another medium through which we reach out to our distant members. We have also organized empowerment seminars aimed at helping ourselves cope with the present challenges of a globalised world. Our first valentine programme held on the 14th and 15th of February, 2014 can bear witness to our pursuit in enriching ourselves with the tripod of civilization which are knowledge, spiritual upliftment and social integration. We believe that our youths benefited a lot from the erudite lessons of the guest speaker, Rev. Fr. Frederick Chukwuemeke Outside our immediate environment, we have active participation and representation in the regional executive arm. One of us won the election as financial secretary of the region; we also chair many standing and ad-hoc committees of the region. Among us also are members who marriage has elevated to another status in the church. Members like Engr. Victor Ideh, former Miss Anthonia Nwanze and fomer Miss Easterbell Nwadei. We wish them a happy married life. CHALLENGESAchievements do not come devoid of challenges and to this end, the organization has challenges such as; Paucity of funds Mobility Lackadaisical attitude of some members towards CYON activities. PAUCITY OF FUNDSFund is always a challenge to any organization and CYON is not immuned from this trend. However, we want to be very self sustaining when it comes to funding so as to reduce our financial dependence on our patrons/patronesses and parishioners in general To achieve this financial sustainability objective, we set up the youth office last year but since the commissioning of the office we have been making frantic effort towards ensuring that it remains a going concern. Painfully, our efforts so far have little impact on our revenue due to the few wares on display. Because of the little capital employed into the venture, the business has not been able to turn out profit that can take care of our financial needs. Late last year, we secured a ₦200,000 interest free loan to stock the office, 50% of this loan has been repaid leaving a balance of ₦100,00. We are hopeful that before the end of this year, we will off-set the balance. MOBILITYMoving ourselves to educative and spiritual programmes outside Ibusa have always posed serious challenges to this administration. Often times, we are at a dilemma of choosing who to take and who to leave behind when such choices have to be made. To overcome this hurdle, we have decided to launch and by the special grace of God buy a Toyota hiace (18) seater bus this year. We enjoin parishioners, friends and well wishers to help us achieve this noble and laudable task come 8th of June, 2014. MEMBERS ATITUDEObviously, we cannot have a 100% keen interest of all our members, in as much as this administration has brought in a lot of people who were previously indifferent to the organization under the CYON canopy. A lot still has to be done to making our brothers and sisters stay for meetings and contribute their ideas and strength. We are working day and night towards bringing all and sundry together as a unified family of God’s people. VISIONFew months from today, we will see a robust and cohesive CYON body, we are optimistic that before the expiration of this administration, CYON will have a membership strength of 200 or more. We have a dream of leaving the youth office well stocked with books and sacramentals that can meet the aspirations and spiritual needs of Ibusa faithful and its environs. We are not relenting in mentoring young men and women who will take over the leadership of CYON to a greater height. APPRECIATIONI want to appreciate the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Henry Ogonwa for his support towards our programmes and activities. We salute his Associates, Rev. Fr. Ignatius Chigbo and Rev. Fr. Jude Ugbome for their moral and spiritual support. Our Daddy and Patron, Sir P. Egbuche, we can’t thank you enough for your advice, financial and moral support. Our sincere gratitude also goes to our other Patrons/Patronesses; Sir J. C. Efozia, Comrade E.Dibah, Barr. J. N. Nwanze, Lady N. Ugheighele, Mrs. S. O. Okolie, Hon. Charles Uchunor and Engr. Ideh Yobo Victor. To all the Executive Members, I can’t forget your co-operation and dedication to duty. To all the youths and children, I say thank you for the faith you have in this administration and your quick response to duty whenever we call.Finally, we are grateful to God that we didn’t loose any one of us though we regret the death of the father of Francisca Eboh (Financial Secretary/CYON Lolo) and Nnamdi Eboh. May his soul rest in peace, AmenFor God and for Youths …….Nwanze IfeanyiCYON PresidentSt. Monica’s Parish, Ibusa.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:41:30 +0000
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