By Mercy Odeh (Content Editor)

PORTHARCOURT, NIGERIA — The Rotary Club of Port Harcourt International Airport (RC PHIA) has donated 20 child-birthing kits to healthcare centres in Ipo and Omagwa communities in Rivers State, as part of efforts to promote safer deliveries and improve maternal and child health.

The club, led by its President, Rtn. Ngozi Vivienne Onyeanwuna, donated 10 birthing kits to each of the two community healthcare centres, with the items targeted at pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Speaking during the outreach, Onyeanwuna said the initiative reflected the club’s commitment to translating its focus on maternal and child healthcare into tangible interventions in communities around the airport.

She said the project was anchored on the theme, “Every mother matters, every child matters, and every life is worth investing in,” and aligned with Rotary International’s Maternal and Child Health Area of Focus for the 2026/2027 Rotary Year.

According to her, the initiative was designed to bring Rotary’s humanitarian objectives closer to families in the airport’s host communities.

She attributed the success of the outreach to the generous sponsorship of the Area Manager/Regional General Manager, Port Harcourt International Airport, Mrs. Ezike Ifesinachi, whose support, she said, demonstrated a strong commitment to humanitarian service.

Onyeanwuna said the items meant more to the beneficiaries than ordinary healthcare materials.

“For the women who received the tools, they were more than healthcare items. They represented care. They represented dignity. They represented hope,” she said.

She added that the impact of the intervention would extend beyond the immediate beneficiaries, noting that the kits would help promote better hygiene, safer childcare practices and improved maternal and newborn wellbeing.

The Rotary president also stressed the importance of creating greater community awareness around maternal and child health, noting that healthy mothers and children were essential to building strong communities.

The matrons of the two healthcare centres commended RC PHIA for the intervention, saying the donated kits would assist mothers in maintaining proper hygiene while caring for their children.

The club said the donation was not merely a provision of healthcare materials but a demonstration of partnership with the airport host communities, assuring residents of Ipo and Omagwa that they remained valued and worthy of meaningful investment.