NGO Founder Builds Safety Handrail for Lagos Community

 The founder of Think Child First Foundation, Pastor Okeson Oche Onu has build safety handrail for the residents of Ifelodun community in Ogba, Ifako-Ijaiye local government of Lagos State.

Pastor Onu, who is the senior pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Jesus House Area Headquarters in Ogba, Lagos, who just celebrated his 50th birthday on February 28, commissioned the life-saving handrail for the Ifelodun community, a low-lying neighborhood trapped below ground level.

Before the handrail

For residents of this flood-prone Lagos area, simply leaving home has long meant navigating a perilous 50-step descent into a ravine—a slippery, treacherous path that has claimed lives, especially during rainy seasons.

On his milestone birthday, the philanthropist pastor unveiled the sturdy handrail, which now ensures safe ascents and descents for daily activities such as accessing roads, markets, and workplaces.

Pastor Okeson Oche Onu

Pastor Okeson recounts that he noticed the dangerous step on his first visit to members living in the valley few days after resuming office as pastor of the church in November of 2024. When he asked how to reach them, he was told he would have to brave the steep descent. A church member volunteered to hold his hand for support until they arrived safely. From that moment, Pastor Okeson vowed to address the danger. He was very much concerned about the safety of children and older citizens who must climb the steps to school and other life activities. This was his driving force towards building the community.

Nze Benedict Anyanwu, Vice Chairman of the community, said many residents, landlords and tenants alike, had perished in falls before the handrail’s construction.

“We have lost a lot of landlords, we have lost a lot of tenants, especially when it rains,” he said. “Because it’s slippery, you will see people falling down inside the gorge.”

Anyanwu noted that the community had long planned to build the handrail but lacked the funds until Pastor Okeson intervened.

The handrail was completed and commissioned on February 28, alongside the launch of a book he authored, titled 50 Ways of Touching the Immortal, which he described as unlocking the secrets of God’s anointing and miraculous healing.

Think Child First Foundation logo

Pastor Onu is the founder of Think Child First Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on child rights, education and health awareness. He is a younger brother of Betty Abah, the Executive Director of the Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE).

Betty Abah, Founder CEE-HOPE Nigeria

Abah stated that after God, the greatest influence in their lives was their mother, who passed away four years ago.

She explained that from their mother, they learned honesty, kindness, and transparency. These qualities have rubbed off on Pastor Onu who has been entrusted with leadership responsibilities since his secondary school days.

Pastor Okeson