“Please ensure that the items go to the real victims and nobody else, they should not be diverted”, is the instruction the leader of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T.B.Joshua, gave when he donated GH¢140,000 (1.4 billion old cedis) worth of relief items to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in Accra on Monday.

The items include 1,000 bags of rice, 50 boxes of frytol cooking oil, 50 boxes of key soap, 200 pieces of mattresses, 200 blankets, 200 pillows, 400 plastic buckets and 400 plastic cups.

The gesture is the church’s contribution towards assuaging the pains and trauma of victims of the June 3 flood and fire disaster in Accra, which claimed about 160 lives and destroyed property worth millions of cedis.

Presenting the items on behalf of the Church and Emmanuel Television Partners, Mr. Justice John Ajet-Nassam said the Prophet, who was saddened by the catastrophe, had conveyed his genuine and brotherly condolences to the government and people of Ghana and prayed that such a devastating incident never recurred in the country.

“The Man of God said the items should be distributed solely to the victims and nobody else, and that he shares with the government, the people and the victims their grief and will continue to pray for them to get healed from their wounds and trauma,” Mr. Justice Ajet-Nassam stated.

He said in hard times like this, people in trauma needed consolation, care and support from neighbours and as such, the church had thought it wise to offer help to the victims who, through no fault of theirs, were in such critical condition.

Receiving the goods, the National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Brigadier-General Francis Vib-Sanziri, disclosed that SCOAN’s donation was the largest so far by an institution since the disaster.

He said the government would need the support of institutions, individuals and philanthropists to adequately cater for the victims.

“On behalf of the government and people of Ghana, I thank the Prophet and the Church members for the contribution they have made and promise that the items will not be diverted but given to the victims.

“I am, therefore, requesting the Prophet to pray for them for speedy recovery,” he said.

It is recalled that a downpour on June 3, caused massive destruction to lives and property which left an indelible mark at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle where people who sought shelter at a nearby Goil Filling Station, were burnt to death, making it difficult for some family members to identify their relatives from the heaps of charred bodies deposited at the Korle-Bu, 37 Military and Police Hospital mortuaries until DNA was done.

Following the “darkest cloud” that hung on the nation on Wednesday, June 3, the government declared a three-day national mourning.