Why We Kissed Their Feet and Served Them: Witness of Hope and Service

Our team barely slept that night. As dawn broke July 10, 2025, in Umuchima, Ideato South, Imo State, Nigeria, my body ached from exhaustion, but my spirit clung to peace. For months, we planned and prayed, coordinated, and emptied pockets of energy and resources to prepare for the Jubilee of Hope, themed, God’s Special VIPs, a mission that was bigger than all of us.

At 7:30 a.m., the first bus of volunteers pulled into the arena. Another followed, and another. Soon, we all arrived. What we saw when we stepped out was no longer just an event site; it had become something more. It was holy, an arena transformed by grace and human efforts. The tents had gone up late the night before. The red carpet was in place. Volunteers were calm and coordinated. The atmosphere was unmistakably sacred. God had filled in every gap.

A Spiritual Moment

I walked into the center of the field, dropped to my knees, and lifted my hands. Blessing the space, I asked God for four hours of heaven on earth; for joy, safety, calm weather, and open hearts. I prayed that each person who stepped into this arena would know they were coming home.

Then I walked from tent to tent, stretching hands on tables, whispering prayers over the volunteers. When I returned to the red carpet, a new wave of guests had begun to arrive—our beloved VIPs. They were older women and men with wrinkled feet, young boys and girls with sun-worn faces, widows, the hungry, the blind, and the overlooked. The ones the world forgets.

Kissing Their Feet

Without thinking, I knelt and began to kiss their feet. Not as theater or optics, as such thoughts never crossed my mind. But as obedience. I had carried this in my heart for months. It was a divine prompting. I had no script. Just love. As each person passed, I looked them in the eyes, held their hands, and said, “Thank you for coming. You honor us. You are precious.”

Some cried. Others pulled away, saying, “Father, please don’t.” But I insisted, gently lifting their feet. “This is for you,” I said. “You matter.”

By the time I stood, tears were streaking down my face. I looked up to see John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Bishop Martin Uzoukwu, and other clergy and dignitaries arriving. I greeted them warmly, deeply grateful they had come not to be honored, but to serve.

In Worship and about Dignity

Within minutes, the arena was filled. More than a couple of thousand people gathered by the time the Eucharistic celebration began, and over fifty priests surrounded the altar, united in worship. By the end of the day, we had served about five thousand guests.

But this was never just about food. It was about dignity.

Donating A-Month Worth of Grains Per Family

Each family received a 50kg bag of rice, not handed out in a queue as if they were prisoners on a pantry trail, but discreetly loaded onto buses while they dined. They also received small cash gifts off camera, with quiet respect. There was no chaos, humiliation, or stampede, just care.

I remember being told that some guests refused to sit at the banquet tables. “These are for very important persons,” they said. When they were told, “You are the VIPs” many began to weep as they finally took their seats. That is the transformative power of sincere dignity. It dismantles shame and gives hope.

A Gospel of Hope

It is the Gospel we came to preach, a Gospel of Hope. We wanted each person to feel what it means to be valued, to be seen as important, and to walk with confidence. Even if only in small ways, we hoped to shift the mindset that says, “I don’t matter.” Because true transformation, beyond policies and infrastructure, also requires a change in how people see themselves. Until someone believes in their worth, it is nearly impossible to overcome the grip of poverty.

The theme of the day, “God’s Special VIPs”, and the event “Jubilee of Hope” were not mere branding. It was a theological declaration. People with low incomes are not charity projects. They are icons of Christ. And when you serve them as kings and queens, heaven takes notice. Humanity is honored, too.

Hopelessness is Worse

The homily delivered by Cardinal Onaiyekan cemented it. He spoke not as a guest, but as a prophet. Drawing from Pope Francis’ Jubilee of Hope message, a message continued through Pope Leo XIV, the Cardinal reminded us that this gathering was symbolic and subversive. In a world wrecked by war, injustice, poverty, and despair, the Church must remain a sanctuary of hope.

“Poverty is bad enough,” he said. “But hopelessness is worse because it robs the poor of dignity.”

He called out performative politics that promise “renewed hope” but deliver nothing. And he affirmed our witness as real hope, rooted not in government, but in God. In action. In love and in the community.

It was a challenge for all of us, including priests and laypeople, as well as Nigerians at home and abroad. Hope is not a sentiment. It is a right. And it must be nourished.

Bearing Witness to the Good News that Happened

The testimonies from the day were overwhelming. Nigerian media houses covered the event. Social media exploded. And yet, many social media posts of the accounts failed to grasp the point, as social media trends often do. Some fixated on a politician serving food, as if that was the story. Others speculated, unaware of what happened and the deeper intent. That’s, in part, why I write now to bear witness.

GVM Team Work

The event was conceived and fully sponsored by Gratia Vobis Ministries, the nonprofit I founded in 2013 and our generous donors. Fr. Cyriacus Uzochukwu and a team of over 400 local volunteers cordinated it. We did not request or receive any government or political funding. However, government representatives and politicians did attend, and they served alongside us, not above us. That was by design. Role reversal was part of the witness. To show that leadership means service. Dignity is not hierarchical; we are all stewards.

Our GVM president, Paul Verderber, and his wife, Mary Ann, flew in from the USA. So did other board members and family who live outside Nigeria. Some of our biggest donors for the event (the Carvers and the Coopers) couldn’t make it due to unforeseen circumstances. Our team covered every detail, from logistics to security. The governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, promised security and road repair, and he delivered both in the quiet spirit of the event. The weather, which had been raining nonstop for days prior, held off. There was not a single drop until late at night after the event. Even nature seemed to conspire in grace.

Visiting Schools and Scholarships

We also visited schools and gave scholarships. We distributed books donated by the Pauline Sisters of West Africa. Also, we listened to people’s stories, needs, and dreams. Our film crew filmed character-driven and event-driven documentary stories. In due time, they will be available for people to experience a bit of what we experienced. And we began laying the foundation for what’s next: education, skill-building facilities, and long-term transformation. Because hope, to be hope, must last longer than a meal.

Our gesture in this mission is not the end. It is the beginning—a seed planted in sacred soil. We want to raise kings and queens who rise from hunger into wholeness, from invisibility into purpose. This gesture is not a campaign. It is a covenant.

Gratitude

To those who were there: thank you for seeing what we saw. If you’d like to read my personal message to these VIPs, handed to them as a souvenir, it is posted too. To those who missed it, I invite you to take another look not just at what happened in Umuchima, but at what is possible when love takes the lead.

Let this be our standard. A community where no one is in abject need because everyone is seen. A gospel where hope is not spoken but served. To our sponsors, “thank you!”

Some Major Press that Covered the Events

Below is a list of some major Nigerian media outlets that covered the event. Vatican News also featured it.

• Vatican News
• Vanguard
• Nigerian Tribune
• News Agency of Nigeria
• Daily Champion
• Nigeria Newspoint
• The Guardian
• Leadership
• The Authority, and this The Authority
• 21st Century Chronicle
• The Authority Magazine
• National Beam
• The Sun Nigeria
• Premium Post
• Peoples Gazette
• Newsone Nigeria
• The Niche

It also ran on the following major television networks in Nigeria:

• NTA
• Channels TV
• Arise TV and many Nigerian radio networks.