Everyone desires good health.

On Sunday 11th July 2021, the Mary Remarkable Foundation did their quota to satisfy that desire for more than 400 residents of Onna LGA in Akwa Ibom State.

Arriving with a team of volunteers, doctors, and other medical workers, the foundation set to work immediately conducting eye tests and giving out prescription glasses to about thirty persons, as well as eye drops and medications to over 100 people.

Faces beamed with gratitude and joy and some of them voiced out their thoughts while showering praises and prayers to everyone at the foundation.

Without bias for age and gender, the foundation attended to over 400 persons, conducting medical consultation, medical tests, and community sensitization to all who came around.

HIV serology screening, Hepatitis B and C screening, malaria parasite tests, and Random Blood Sugar tests were conducted. Vital signs were checked as well as BP measurements and anthropometric evaluations.

Even when the weather became somewhat unfavourable, the team was not deterred. They doggedly went ahead to distribute medications including anti-malarial drugs, antibiotics, and deworming tablets to all who had consulted with the capable doctors on ground.

Eventually, the sun shone as though to give the outreach approval from above. This enabled the team to do more, giving out mosquito nets, insecticides, and sanitary pads to people who needed such.

Needless to say, the residents of Onna will not forget Mary Remarkable Foundation in a hurry.

The Mary Remarkable Foundation is self-funded with support from well-meaning individuals and organizations.

We caught up with the founder of Preshland Decor and Drinks and had a brief chat about his company’s new Product. Read our conversation below.

Disé Akwa Ibom: Hello Precious. Thank you for taking out time to talk to me today. Let’s dive right in.
Disé Akwa Ibom: Can you give us a brief history of your company?

Precious: So, Preshland is primarily a decoration and event planning company. The transition to tigernut drinks production happened out of necessity. As you know, when the pandemic hit Nigeria, social events were banned so business really slowed down for us. I had to do something to keep the brand going so I did some research and I found a market for healthy drinks in Akwa Ibom. That’s how Preshland drinks was born.

Disé Akwa Ibom: That’s wonderful. You were able to start up something at a time when things seemed so bleak.

Precious: I just had to keep us going you know? And people actually wanted a healthy drink that was produced under safe and sanitary conditions. It was easy to fill the need. In fact, I don’t see the drinks and decorations as 2 different business. The vision is for our drinks to one day, be served at an event we organised or decorated for like a wedding or something even bigger.

Disé Akwa Ibom: So are you drinks really healthy?

Precious: Definitely. Our tigernut drinks contain tigernut (of course), coconuts and dates, which are blended together to form a thick and tasty drink that’s PACKED with nutrients. Tigernuts have essential minerals, fibre and proteins. Their low fat content makes them a healthy alternative for people who are trying to lose weight or maintain a certain weight.
We don’t add preservatives too so there’s a 100% organic guarantee.

Disé Akwa Ibom: I’ve had the pleasure of tasting your drink so I know you’re not exaggerating. Why don’t you use preservatives though?

Precious: Preservatives are chemical additives that prolong the shelf life of products. Most of them are not organic as they are synthesized in labs. There’s a saying that every chemical is a potential poison and that’s true in this case. Preservatives can build up in your body and cause health problems eventually. Our drinks only contain ingredients that can be digested and removed from the body once the nutrients are absorbed.

Another thing is that studies have shown that the longer a product stays, the less potent the nutrients become. We want our customers to enjoy maximum benefits from our drink and that’s why we want them to be consumed fresh.

Disé Akwa Ibom: Has the reception been good so far?

Precious: Awesome. Wonderful. Everyone loves our drinks. In fact, once most customers taste one,they keep ordering more.
Even with a little competition, we’re still pulling a crowd because we don’t compromise on our standard of production and quality. Every single drink reflects that commitment.

Disé Akwa Ibom: Can you share some challenges you’ve encountered?

Precious: The major problem we have would be the lack of constant electricity. Our drinks don’t have any added preservatives because of our 100% natural gurantee, so to preserve them, they have to be kept refrigerated. Electricity is so unstable here and I’ve had some major product losses. A few weeks ago, a whole batch of drinks went bad. All the bottles had to be dicarded. It was a big loss for us.

Disé Akwa Ibom: That’s so terrible. I’m really sorry.

Precious: Well, thank you. The good thing is that we can use ice now as a substitute for a refrigerator. Another issue we have is blending the nuts. We don’t use commercial grinders because we’re trying to maintain proper sanitary measures with processing and packaging. It’s really important to me.
So, we use our own blenders but the nuts are hard and the blenders go bad easily. I’ve had to replace 2 blenders already but as the business grows, we’ll purchase more durable blenders.

Disé Akwa Ibom: Do you have plans to other health drinks?
Precious: I do but it’ll happen after we’ve solidified our market stance. We’re focusing on the Tigernut Drink right now but later on we’ll consider othee products like soymilk.

Disé Akwa Ibom: Thank you Precious. This has been a lovely interview.

You can follow Preshland Drinks on Instagram @preshlandtigernutdrink. Delivery services are also available within Uyo.

Yes! Yes! Yes! The Ibibio Bible is here.

This is probably old news to some of you who follow the news. For those of you who don’t, you heard it here first.

On the 27th of August, 2020, the first ever edition of the Ibibio Bible translation was launched. This is different from the Efik Bible translation we all know ehich has been around for years.

The inauguration was attended by the governor of the state, Governor Udom Emmanuel, his wife, Mrs Martha Udom Emmanuel, as well as the first indigenous military governor of the state, Idongesit Nkanga.

A lot of work went into making this dream a reality and it included efforts from some of the foremost linguists in the state.

For now, only the New Testament is available, but I’m sure work is already going into making sure we have the entire Bible in Ibibio.

I guess I better start brushing up on my Ibibio.