SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTATION MADE BY DR. EKE F. WOKOCHA

AT UMUOGBA USA CONVENTION IN HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA.

Greetings to all of you present who are members of UMUOGBA USA (UUSA).  All of us made sacrifices in order to attend this convention. As such, we should be proud of ourselves. I especially salute those of you who were able to bring members of your family to travel across the United States to be here. In my humble opinion, it was worth it. Our Alabama group has done an excellent job in hosting us.

With regards to our members who have not been showing enough interest, we should not be discouraged. It is not unusual to observe such lack of motivation in members of a young organization such as UUSA.  Our bigger brother organization, The Rivers State Foundation, of which I am currently serving as the Deputy Executive Director, went through a similar growing experience. We may be few but as long as we are committed, we can accomplish whatever goals we have set for this promising organization.

I suggest that each family in the UUSA commit to make a one-time tax-deductible donation of one thousand dollars ($1000.00) payable within one year. This should not stop those families that would like to donate five thousand dollars ($5000.00) as was previously proposed.

 Let us continuously review and innovate the activities that we engage in each year we gather for our convention. Hopefully, the gathering will also provide networking opportunities for members of the UUSA who might be new in the United States. In our deliberations, let us be very action–oriented.

I don’t know about the rest of you but personally, being here among you makes me feel like I am amongst the members of my family, the (UUSA FAMILY). This is gratifying especially since we live in an individualized and often a “lonely” country. I would like to suggest that this spirit of family and oneness should continue to guide us in all of our dealings and interactions with each other.

Despite the stress and pressure that we encounter in this country, some of you have successfully raised your children. We congratulate you for that. For those who are still struggling to do the same, we encourage you to be hopeful and trust that God will continue to guide us. Let us expose our children to our proud and rich culture, in addition to their American culture in which they are born into.  Let us always pray for PEACE and success in our families. To further encourage this endeavor, any family of UUSA who is interested is welcome to e-mail me and request a free copy of any of my CD recordings posted on my website at www.alafiawellness.com. All I will need from the family is a self-addressed/ stamped envelope to mail the CD to you.

Again, I am very proud and grateful to those of you who gave your all to make this convention a successful one. May God bless and reward your efforts.