It is in vain you build the city, cautions Mark Twain, author of American classic, "Huckleberry Finn," except you build the man. Besides buying into Twain's wisdom, the elegant Delta State First Lady, Chief (Mrs) Nkoyo Ibori took the idea to an even more fundamental level.

Enlisting the timeless verdict of William Wordsworth who wrote that, "The child is father of man," Mrs Ibori conceived of the Delta Manna Foundation (DMF), a non-governmental, privately funded intervention platform to address the laundry list of socio-economic problems that have meshed to deny the Delta children of their legitimate dreams of a fulfilling future.

"Delta Manna Foundation is a set-up to look into the care and needs of children, child development and child healthcare," Mrs Ibori told THISLIFE last week in Lagos. And more. "We are going to build a very big child specialist and referal hospital to address the various childhood diseases we have in Delta state. She recalls that the riverine geography of her state plays host to a lot of diseases. In this connection it was imperative that a proper related research be carried with a view to providing urgent and sustainable remedies, she further elaborated The Foundation which aims to create an enabling environment for fostering optimum child development in Delta state in particular, and Nigeria, in general has also defined for itself a five- point objective. These include a health-focused Paediatric Centre of Excellence, where all cases of children and referrals from across the country will be handled.

Others include mounting an aggressive campaign against child labour, such as hawking by under-aged children, as well as against female genital mutilation and all such harmful practices which are detrimental to women and children. The creation of opportunities for self- actualisation and provision of assistance and encouragement to physically handicapped, as well as abandoned, underprivileged children make up DMF's objectives.

Targeted under this broad game-plan are children from 0-18 years.

Direct observation of riverine condition of the Niger Delta region tends to bear out the insight that may have persuaded her Excellency's later resolution. Infant mortality rate is high, many from various types of disease which due to paucity of facilities and expertise are often undiagnosed.

According to Mrs Ibori, "I love children a lot. While I have been in Delta State for the past 18 months I have seen that lots of children have been lacking in the proper health care that they need. I have realised that the hospitals are not well equipped." and more. "lots of children are there for much longer than the treatment would have taken if they had better facilities. So I thought that if I build and equip a hospital equip it to international standards, these children will not suffer the way they are suffering right now."

According to the Delta State First Lady, the DMF has already had its launching, penultimate Thursday. "It was extremely successful. "A lot of people come and also donated not only in cash but in kind. Before the launching we had lots of contacts, from many multi-national, and so many foreign organisations that have come to our assistance.

The money target the foundation had set for its launching was N1.5 billion and "what we have calculated so far is worth about three quarters of that amount. And we also have so much in kind," she said Enlarging on the Foundation's game-plan, Mrs. Ibori told THISLIFE that, "DMF will campaign for our children to take advantage of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) that the president has put in place and the free education my husband has also put in place. Besides this, she disclosed that DMF will set up skills acquisition centres to take care older children who had not attended school. This centres will try to equip them with some skills so that they are not just layabouts in society.

How will DMF differ from the now familiar often short-lived prestige projects First Lades have previously, and currently set up? With an apparent resolution borne out of deep conviction she revealed that DMF will have in place a board of trustees that would be responsible for its policy making and guidance.

"I am just the initiator. I don't intend to take it away with me. I intend to leave it there for Delta State. It is a project that is so visible anybody and every body could relate to it," she said.

Further, she held that people that will continue with the foundation in the course of time will run it well because its got everything to do with healthcare. "It is not one of those projects that you hear so much about and later everything is down."

Given the depth and scope of DMF as an important project, would its relevance be limited to Delta State? Without hesitation she declared that, "DMF is not only for Delta State. The hospital we intend to set up in Delta State is actually for all children here in Nigeria. This hospital would be the first of its kind in Nigeria.

Once it is set up, all Nigerian children will have the benefit of using the facilities."

The Delta State First Lady, a North London University graduate of computer science, with a privileged background could have chosen to wallow in luxury and ease. But she chose otherwise. A choice that calls to mind Florence Nightingale, Mother Theresa and many other great amazons of history.

With her very young family, how does she cope with the challenges from the task she has defined for herself? "I have a very young family. it is a bit tasking when I have to leave my children to care for other children. I have got very wonderful children that are very understanding. They may be young, but they know that when mummy is here, mummy is going to stay with them, play with them and be with them.

They understand when mummy has to work.

Barely containing her enthusiasm she spoke about her husband's support: " My husband is the best support I ever had and any woman could ever wish for. He supports me through and through. Not only with DMF, but with everything and anything I want to do. I always have the support and backing of my husband.

He is a wonderful man."