There are millions of poor and vulnerable children spread across the streets and slums of North-Central Nigeria. They are victims of prolonged ethnic, religious and other social conflicts. These children will, naturally, grow into the society and seek to benefit from it. Without an education to help them compete, they have no opportunities. Without those opportunities they are a threat to society. This project intends to take at least 1000 of those children off the streets and into school.
The two communities of Pankshin in Plateau and Guma in Benue States have been afflicted with communal conflicts for several years and have, between them, over 1,000,000 orphans. These conflicts are recurrent and usually leave in their wake, hundreds of children who become orphaned as a consequence. These children are then faced with the prospect of a lack of formal education, without which they are a potential risk to themselves and the society. This project proposes to help such children.
Education gives an individual the opportunity to attain his or her full potential in life. Such individuals become better people to themselves and their society, helping to develop and contribute to its growth. This project proposes to address the emerging problem of out-of-school children in these communities by enrolling them in schools and providing for their upkeep. This will keep them off the streets and direct their minds positively.
We will educate 1000 children who, in the long-term, would be lifted out of poverty and other social vices as a result of the opportunity of education. The ability provided by their education will lead to the development of their communities which will further benefit others. An increase in the educated population will lead to a greater embrace of dialogue as a means of resolving conflicts and consequently, a decrease in armed conflicts. The larger society will savour the accruing benefits.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
