Her story
Ezinne Regina Okeigbo
1934 – 2022. A widow who educated herself, raised her family alone and gave freely to others.
- Born
- November 1934, Olokoro, Umuahia South, Abia State
- Passed on
- 5 March 2022
- Known as
- Da Regy
More family photographs, scanned at high resolution.
A good mother
In Igbo, Ezinne means “good mother”. Regina Enyioma Ulogwarama Okeigbo was decorated with the title after serving for more than thirty years as Life Matron of St Mary’s Catholic Youth Organisation. To those who loved her she was simply Da Regy.
Early life
She was born in November 1934 into the family of Ichie Opigbe Ikoro of Itaja Olokoro and Lolo Nwanyiocha Ikoro (née Oriaku) of Itu Isielu Olokoro, in what is now Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State. Her parents died when she was very young, and she was raised by her maternal uncle, Dee Amaka Samuel, and Daa Mary Oriaku at Itu Isielu Olokoro.
A schooling she had to fight for
She had no formal education before marriage. Her husband helped her enrol in school, but childbirth interrupted her studies. After the war she joined an adult education scheme and earned her First School Leaving Certificate in 1982. She wanted to go further, and family responsibilities did not allow it.
Wife, mother and provider
She married Ezekiel Enyinnaya Okeigbo of Itu Mgbedeala, Olokoro. They had ten children, and she lived to see nineteen grandchildren.
After her husband’s death she carried the family alone for thirty-nine years, paying for her children’s education, welfare and every other need. She did it through work. She was a trader in palm oil, kola nut, melon and grains, a farmer who grew most of what her family ate, a seamstress trained by the Singer institute, and a shopkeeper.
Faith and community
She became a Catholic through marriage and lived her faith daily, at Mass and with her rosary. She was a member of the Catholic Women’s Organisation of Holy Cross Parish, Olokoro, and of the St Anthony of Padua society, and she served on the Holy Cross building committee.
In her community she served as chairlady and treasurer of the Mgbedeala and Umuenyi women’s meetings. The Umuada Olokoro honored her with their Golden Mother award, and she was a member of the Oganihu Women of Olokoro.
A giver
She spoke up for people who had no voice and was a mentor to many families, especially those with less. Even in her later years she would hand out kola nuts, food and money to whoever came around her. She took her sons-in-law and daughters-in-law as her own children and taught her family to stay united.
We your children shall maintain and uphold all the good legacies we imbibed from you.From the family’s tribute at her funeral, 2022
A letter from our founder
Ezinne Regina Okeigbo was my mother-in-law, and she treated me as her own daughter. She welcomed me into her family with open arms, and the way she lived shaped the woman I am today.
I watched how she treated people. If someone was in need, she gave what she had. If someone was going through a hard time, she was there. She did not wait to be asked, and she never made anyone feel small for needing help. Many people in our community looked up to her, and they were right to.
When she passed, I did not want that kindness to end with her. I started this foundation so that the good she did for me, for our family and for her community can keep reaching people: a young person who needs a chance at school, a widow who is carrying her family alone, anyone less privileged who needs someone to stand with them.
Mama showed me what love looks like when it is put to work. This foundation is my way of saying thank you, and of making sure her legacy lives on.
Dorothy Nnenna Enyinna-Okeigbo
Founder and Chairman, Ezinne Regina Okeigbo Foundation
Her legacy lives on
Her own life is the reason for each part of our work. She had to wait until adulthood for an education, so we help young people stay in school. A trade fed her family, so we teach skills. She was a widow who raised her children alone, so we stand with widows. And she gave to whoever was in need, so we stand with the less privileged too.