Gaurapad Charities: Providing Permanent Abodes for the Common Man

Mary Ekah

In a renewed effort to better the living condition of the numerous distributors of its products and the common man on the street, Gaurapad Charities, a foundation which has the mission to provide holistic well-being to society through unique and highly effective healthcare products, recently launched another means of rewarding Nigerians when it launched a home scheme initiative tagged, ‘Sack your Landlord’. This by design means that with this home launch anyone at the grassroots can actually have his or her own home.

Astonishingly, renowned Nigerian entertainers and other prominent Nigerians gathered at the headquarters of the Gaurapad Charities in Maryland Lagos, where the launch was held, to give credence to initiative. In attendance were Prof. Pat Utomi, Jide Kosoko, Tee Mac, Patience Ozokwor and of course members of the international community who would be coming on board with Gaurapad as an NGO to support the process of giving ownerships to Nigerians to have their own homes.

Gaurapad Charities, a transdermal specialist company, in partnership with Ionics Research (USA), specialises in the research and development of transdermal products for supporting various health issues. Gaurapad products have provided succour to many people who are languishing in physical and financial pain. Over the years, the organisation has provided platform for thousands of unemployed, widowed, students and professionals to establish their own independent sources of income.

Founder, Gaurapd Charities, and former President of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Mr. Bolaji Rosiji who over the years have had an overbearing passion to create an enabling environment for healthy living and help people achieve financial freedom through Gaurapad Charities’ unique business plan, said, “We all know that the country has been going through a cycle of growth and we have had our ups and down and a year ago, our country keeps exploring the available resources to augment our source of livelihood. We have come to realise from experience that in every low point, there is a high point. And there are people who believe that every down fall is an opportunity to rise. So what I have done is to look at the nation’s economy and then look at Gaurapad as being on the rise. So we have come to a point where we have to rise and rise despite the economic recession and at this point we have come to a point where you, ‘Sack your Landlord’ and that is what we are launching today.”

On what informed the choice of the personalities invited to be part of the project, Rosiji said, “The main reason why we have Pat Utomi, Jide Kosoko, Tee Mac and Patience Ozokwor on the board of Gaurapad is because largely, they are our Gaurapad ambassadors and they have been here severally and for Pat Utomi, he has worked on budget monitoring and other issues related to anti-graft over the decades, so these are all time partners in development and we are so happy to have them here as we launch our programme ‘Sack Your Landlord’.

Rosiji whose programmes at Gaurapad are usually geared towards well-being, awareness and humanitarians services, attributes a lot of people take for granted, noted, “Health is considered by the United Nations as one of the primary objectives of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), therefore in Gaurapad, we have health as the foundation of our projects and that is our main project – we are focused on holistic wellness, which involves body, mind and soul. And what we are doing here today is dealing with financial wellness, which is this home launch.”
The home ownership scheme, Rosji said would be of utmost benefit to the grassroots people in that it would be providing opportunity for people to own their own houses without much stress. He said further that the housing scheme will be executed in areas like Ibeju Lekki, Ibafo and Ikorodu, areas where a multitude of Gaurapad members will be able to smile to their own homes.

“Now if you could afford 50 per cent of the value of a home, we would find means of cutting cost, we would invest for you, we would work with NGOs and local NGOs collaborators to contribute their talents and whatever else their expertise is, into the project to compensate for the 50 per cent that you do not have. That is what the project is all about,” the Gaurapad boss noted.

Rosiji said foreign collaborators are coming in to be part of the project in different ways, adding, “We would be working with very experienced companies in order to continue with this and that is why this dream is happening today and that is why we are sacking the landlords today. Secondly, we have those who would be providing consultations in various other technical areas and thirdly we have those who are going to be providing us with mechanical hardware that we would otherwise have paid so much money on spot. And then next thing, we are going to make sure that we do away with the banks and in this way, we would bring the cost of living down for Nigerians.”
A partner on the Gaurapad Sack your Landlord project, Mr. Vikas Kane of Shapoorji Pallonji Limited, a construction firm, said his company was proud to be associated with the initiative. “Actually this project is part of CSR for our company. We have been into construction for 150 years now. So as a part of Corporate Social Responsibility, we want to help the needy and we want to associate with organisations that help the needy. As a company, we believe that it is not only right to make money but to also use the money we make to impact on the lives on people around us and that is what we do in all the places we operate in all around the world. Currently we are working on two hospital projects and these are modern hospitals, which are today’s requirement in Nigeria in the healthcare sector. Nigeria needs to improve a lot in the healthcare sector. Nigeria spends more than $600 million every year on foreign hospitals and that is why we are proud to be associated with Gaurapad which focus on health and well-being of Nigerians.”

Speaking on why his company is partnering with Gaurapad on this particular project, Kane said, “We have been associating with Bolaji Rosiji of Gaurapad for a couple of years now and when he told me about this project since last year, I told him that whatever support he needed from us, we are ready to offer it. But if we have to build the houses for this project, it will not be affordable anymore because the cost implications are high and we are known for our quality services. So this Gaurapad Sack your Landlord project, we will come in as associate consultant, we would give them advise on what type of quality and resource they need and instead of going for big names in the industry, they can go for petty contractors and it is like skill development for the petty contractors and at the same time, the houses will be affordable for the target audience. And we would monitor and ensure that quality is maintained and the requirements for legislation and the government are taken care of.

Speaking on his connection with Gaurapad Charities, Nigerian famous flutist, Tee Mac said, “I have known Rosiji for quite a long time. His father and I were amongst those that built the MUSON Centre. I was the founder of the Classical Music Society and so we decided to build a music school. And Rosiji was the PMAN president before me. Also I use Gaurapad products, which is why at my age, I am quite fresh. And again I like to be supportive of very good causes and Rosiji has dedicated his life to do good by helping the less-privileged and those who have health problems, so I am very supportive of his foundation. So I tend to make time out whenever I’m in Nigeria to participate in events like this.” Kosoko noted, “I must confess that I appreciate the Gaurapad products. I have tasted them and I can attest that they are trusted. So when he came up with this new idea for encouraging the Gaurapad distributors, I feel proud to participate in such project. From the programme of Gaurapad, you realise that from a very small amount, you start climbing the ladder and with time, you get there as long as you are dedicated and hardworking and I’m particularly excited about Gaurapad encouraging people to get their on houses.”
Another renowned Nollywood actress, Patience Ozokwor, who was also part of the project, said, “Gaurapad is to be reckoned with because their products are what they say they are. You know some people find it difficult to swallow drugs and these are products that will heal you or prevent something from coming to you and you don’t need to swallow them. It is so easy like that.”