Keeping Marriage Alive Awards set for July 1

Worried by the declining values in todays marriages, divorces and the lack of integrity in marital unions, the Keeping Marriage Alive Initiative has taken one bold step in restoring sanity to the homes of Nigerians.

To this end, the Keeping Marriage Alive (KMA) Awards which will hold on Saturday, July 1, 2017, according to the founders of the Initiative, Dr. Richard and Ngozi Okonkwo, is to bring back the values in marriages as well as celebrate those who have stood the test of time in marital unions.

Speaking on plans for the award, Ngozi who explained the reason behind the initiative, said the aim is to celebrate and honour Nigerians who have done well both in their marriages and in the careers.

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Ngozi who is also known as Ngee, delved into the history of the KMA Foundation recalled how she and her husband, Richard whom she fondly calls Rich, almost got a divorce following a series of problems in their marriage years ago.

"We were having serious issues in our marriage and we almost got a divorce. The problem was that we did not communicate enough, which is something I always tell couple during counseling that communication is very key to a marriage's' survival.

We had serious issues and when we almost lost it, we decided to give our marriage a second chance and try to make it work.

In the process, we realized that the problems in our marriage were a lack of communication, commitment and choices, something we have coined out as the three Cs of a marriage.

After realizing our mistakes, we worked on our differences and found out that we could have gotten a divorce over nothing. Today, I can tell you that we are not only great partners, we are also the best of friends.

We came together to set up the Keeping Marriage Alive Initiative to try and save marriages and bring couples together.

What we do is to bring back the value systems in marriages, counsel couples, help them to build a strong marriage, strong family and a healthy society."

Speaking further on how the KMA has helped homes, Ngozi explained that the organization has been able to foster a great unity amongst couples who take the time to visit them and are willing to talk about their problems.

"Actually, we call the KMA the 'habit shop that caters to the needs of marriages, families, and society.' Going by our mission, you will see that our vision is not only to build a strong marriage but a strong family and a healthy society. We try as much as possible to stir up the culture of oneness in marriages by reviving the moral values of the society.

Apart from organizing counseling sessions, we also organize events for couples like our intensive habit workshop where we educate couples in areas of relationship, marriage, finance and the workplace.

My husband talks to the men in a language they would understand easily while I talk to the women in our own unique female language.

We have our family and couple's boot camp where we teach practical tasks on teamwork and vision in the home, the Fidelity Walk where we emphasize the need for friendship, insight, discipline, love, integrity and teamwork between couples."

Drawing from her near-divorce experience, Ngozi further explained that many homes are in turmoil because the couples do not communicate or even listen to each other.

"The major problem with most marriages is that we don't want to hear each other. We always want to speak fist which is one step to having issues.

Women are emotional while men like facts but we do not see these things in one another but like I keep emphasizing, communication is key in any marriage and it is the number cause of friction in marriages.

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The upcoming KMA Awards is solely aimed at restoring values in a marriage and bringing back the joys of marriage.

I will implore couples to attend the Award ceremony and lecture where they will learn a lot about the values they need to bring back to their marriage.

They can get to learn more about Keeping Marriage Alive Initiative by logging on to our website at . They can also send us an email at keepingmarriagealive@gmail.com," she concluded.