NGO WANTS GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISH SECONDARY SCHOOLS AROUND IDP CAMPS 13-02-25
By Sadiq Aminu. A Non governmental Organization Stand With the Girls Initiative SWAG has called on the government to establish secondary schools close to Internally Displaced Persons IDPs to enable young adult attain high school education.
The Executive Director of SWAG Mrs Magrat Bolaji made the appeal while declaring open Stand with the Girls Education Project in Karomajiji IDP camp at in Abuja.
She explained that establishing secondary schools around IDP camps would go a long way to give opportunities to pupils who have graduated from Primary Schools to further their education.
She said the NGO was in Karomajiji to commence an education program for out school children in the IDP camp.
The program which include literacy, Numeracy and Life skills would empower forty-five girls and would last for Six months.
Mrs Margaret Bolaji who noted that data from UNICEF says currently, their are about 18.3 million out of School children, sixty percent of them are girls, called on other partners to contribute their quarter to ensure this number reduce drastically.
“We are in Karimangigi community and we are here to kick off the Stand With A Girl education project here in Karimangigi. the goal is to see that we are able to enhance the livelihood, the education and the health of IDP girls here in Karimangigi.
So with the huge number of out of school girls we have currently in Nigeria and the data from UNICEF, over 18.3 out of school children, 60% are girls. So in response to that issue, we are here, not just in Karmajiji alone, we will also have intervention in other IDP camps”
“we will be empowering over 45 out of school girls with literacy, numeracy and life skills., we will also have a vocational training opportunity for them, where these girls will also learn how to make items to empower them economically”
The project coordinator, Mrs Victory Abraham said in the last two years the NGO has executed the same project in Wasa IDP camp empowering 120 girls with 26 of them back to school to acquire formal education.
She appealed to the government to pay special attention to children of the less privileged especially those displayed by insurgency to enable them feel a sense of belonging and contribute their quarter to national development
”So for this project, this year, we will be working closely with community leaders and all relevant stakeholders to see that we are able to implement this project. I use this opportunity to call on relevant authorities to please pay more attention to this people for the good of our country”
“The project is a one-year project, so for a period of six months, these girls will be in a safe space. The safe space is a mentoring space where they sit with a mentor that teaches them how to read, how to write, basic communication skills, financial literacy, leadership skills, advocacy, and even about their own body, their health, how to take care of themselves, hygiene”
She also said the girls would be thought how to make make their own decisions, how to negotiate ,networking and collaboration.
The girls who were visibly elated, appreciated the NGO for remembering them and promised to make themselves available throughout the training program.
In attendance is a Mrs Uduakobong Umossoh, Deputy Director, FCT Education Secretariat, Gender Unit who pledged the commitment of her department to support the initiative throughout the period.