IBOM 100: EME ATAKPO

EME ATAKPO – PRESIDENT, FRIENDS OF THE NEEDY ORGANIZATION

Deaconess Mrs. Eme Atakpo, (née Eme Attah), a Jerusalem Pilgrim and an Ambassador for Peace hails from Ebighi-edu, Okobo LGA by birth and Afaha-Ikot-Obio-Nkan, Ibesikpo Asutan LGA by marriage, both in AKS.

Determined, hardworking, innovative, focused and God-fearing, Mrs. Atakpo laid a solid foundation for herself development and actualization through the various learning Institutions she attended and qualifications she acquired. Currently, she is a holder of M.SC, B.A (Hons), Diplomas and other professional certificates which have combined to sharpen and widen her horizon for achievement.

Today she belongs to a number of Professional bodies namely, the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM, the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON, Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria, ICAN, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, and NAWOJ, among others. 

A lady of affection and kindness, she is passionate about reaching out to the society directly and positively too, hence the initiation of her pet project, Friends of the Needy Organization, FONO with the slogan.'Giving hope to the hopeless! a philanthropic Organization tasked with the responsibility of providing succor and a sense of belonging to the disadvantaged persons in the state and beyond. Friends of the Needy Organization is a registered member of the Nigerian Network of NGOs, NNNGOs.

Dr. Eme Atakpo - International Coordinator, Friends of the Needy Organization (FONO)

Mrs Atakpo is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Publication - Ibom Jewels, the first ever Compendium of Akwa Ibom Women Achievers all over the world and 'Charity Lane', a news publication of FONO. She is equally the Authur of a literary work 'Givers Never Lack' as well as the Proprietress of Aunty Jewel Montessori Academy, AJMA, Uyo.

Having worked and retired meritoriously as the Director and Head of Marketing, Radio and Television arms of Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation in 2012, Mrs. Atakpo has dedicated the next phase of her life to active service in God's Vineyard, a development which by God's grace has earned her a Deaconess in her church...the Lutheran Church of Nigeria, LCN, among other responsibilities.

She is also committed to the service of humanity through FONO, a platform which has afforded her the privilege to single handedly build and donate a Foster Home and Skills Acquisition Centre to the less privileged. The focus of FONO is to encourage a society where the lives of the disadvantaged persons are positively impacted upon to give them a sense of worth and make them productive citizens; a society where the needy are free from injustices, oppression, diseases and discrimination rooted in gender and poverty; a society where those who have been blessed would become conscious of the needy around them and extend part of their blessings to them.

Evidence of her burning passion for the welfare of the needy abounds through the FONO Foster Home and Skills Acquisition Centre stated above; FONO Multipurpose Cooperative Society where widows and indigent female youth benefit from micro credit facility for economic empowerment. There is also FONO Outreach Programme where the team embarks on visits to hospitals, prisons, and families of disasters, to minister to the victims spiritually and in kind, not forgetting scholarship awards to indigent but brilliant students, as well as a holiday programme for teenagers to equip them with self improvement skills as future leaders.

Her Philosophy: There is nothing we have in life that we did not receive...so best among people are those who benefit humanity. Hobbies: Reading, charity work, travelling, listening to music. She is happily married to Prof. Uwemedimo Atakpo and they are blessed with wonderful children. 

In recognition of Deaconess Mrs. Atakpo's selfless service to humanity, her firm belief in the equitable distribution of wealth and resources to the weak and the strong, her charismatic leadership disposition, all of which project her as a proponent of good governance, she has been conferred with awards too numerous to list here.

Of course, all these achievements would not have been possible without a hand of fellowship and love extended to her by good friends, associates, associations and well meaning members of the public. To them she owes a lot of gratitude.