US based Nollywood actress cum producer, Bukky Amos-Bello affectionately known as Arewa is in the news again!
The Nigerian born actress has kick started her own non-governmental organization, Maria Oladapo Foundation which she named after her late mom. The NGO coughed out about N10 million worth of relief materials to less privileged people identified in five Southwest states- Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun, all within three weeks to support the government’s initiative on relief packages in this pandemic period.
For those who do not know, Bukky Amos has been a big name in the entertainment world for two decades.
As a model, the sultry actress struck gold in her modelling career in year 2003 when she became the face of one amongst the biggest United Kingdom’s telecommunications company, T-MOBILE. She graced billboards and media spaces in the competitive British market, making some of her rivals green with envy.
On why she is reaching out to families with food packages, protective items like sanitizers and facemasks and complementing it with cash, through her pet project, she said
“This is my ministry; I give as I earn because I have realized that this is why God has blessed me. I’m not blowing my trumpet and I’m not doing it because I am richer than my mates; no, but I always wonder why keeping millions in my bank accounts doing nothing with them yet some people are hungry,” declared the producer of ‘Ajitannawo’.
Bukky also admitted that Nollywood has not grown to the level of paying bills comfortably, this she earns her regular income as a full time healthcare worker and investing heavily in real estate.
”I’d always wished that I had a lot of money to give out because I had experienced poverty and never wished anyone to be poor. Honestly, this food distribution was not planned at all. I actually started the charity idea in Year 2000 when I spent about N12 million to care for widows and vulnerable children. But when the Lagos lockdown started, I saw some video clips in the social media that brought tears into my eyes. People were running after food trucks, crying and begging for food and I saw people being forced to feed their young children with cassava flakes (garri). I’ve regularly donated to various organizations and will continue to do so, but this is the first large-scale effort I’ve led and executed. That is why my focus is on the very poor, and this Covid-19 challenge even provided the opportunity to identify and reach my main targets. Also, movie production does not pay my bills.
Married with children, the actress has notable names like Yomi Fash-Lanso, Kola Olootu and Yemi Amodu as members of her NGO while the seasoned broadcaster, Feyikemi Olayinka is the foundation’s Finance Director.
On her next project as producer cum actress, Bukky says her movie, ‘Sisi Maruwa’ is due for premiere soon.
