Support 50 Vulnerable Children in Calabar

REPORT ON SUPPORT 50 VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN CALABAR SECOND QUARTER AUGUST 2023

Charles Edet Effiong Foundation, through its household-community intervention activities, renewed the hope of its beneficiaries including households and children.

These interventions were done by providing educational, health, psychosocial, and financial literacy and management to 24 vulnerable households which consists of 50 children (27 males and 23 females) and 24 caregivers. Amongst all the above services provided, special attention was given to quality education where 50 (27 males and 23 females) children were supported with payment of school fees and other school levies, etc. The academic performance of the children was also assessed using the vulnerable children's academic assessment tool. The report cards of children were also sighted during home visits. During these visits, it was generally observed that the continuous assessment results sheets which are divided into the three domains of education - the psychomotor, the affective, and cognitive domain only had the cognitive domain leaving out the other two domains. Also, it was observed that some subjects were not recorded in result sheets even though these exams were taken by the children. Caregivers also raised it during the caregivers forum as part of the concerns they had which made them sad as this led to a low rating in the overall scoring for their children.

As part of the health services provided in the period, 24 caregivers and 50 children (27 males and 23 females) were risk assessed and tested for HIV, and a total of 74 beneficiaries who were tested, had all results returned negative. Adolescent 15 adolescent girls were provided with sanitary towels, and messages on menstrual hygiene.

In addition to engaging with beneficiaries during home visits to provide services, children and caregivers were engaged during the quarter using the caregivers' forum and Kids/Adolescent meetings as foras to provide psychosocial support and parenting skills. During this session, caregivers were counseled on the need to attend parents' Teachers Association meetings at their children’s meetings to contribute their opinions and provide feedback to the school on issues in the school as they affect their children. Each adolescent was given a task on their personal growth and development, this was to get them to meaningfully support their parents by taking simple safe steps in earning incomes to gradually gain financial independence to reduce over-dependence on their parents as they have the burden of catering for the needs of the family.

During the preceding period, the Foundation provided financial education to 15 adolescents to build their resilience and reduce their over-dependence on their parents to meet their basic needs. The service was targeted at adolescents because of the need for succession planning and emergency funds within the households. The Foundation team members helped caregivers in 5 households who would be graduating in the next academic session to identify assets within their households, which their children could build upon without depending on external support. These caregivers were involved in vocations such as sewing, and petty trading. Children whose parents were into vocations like sewing were given the task of spending the holidays with their parents to build their skills in those given vocations and bring with them what they had sewn to the next meeting. Children whose caregivers were into trading were also tasked to spend more time during the holidays with them to learn the trade and also sell little items that their mothers were not selling so that they could make additional income for themselves and build a savings culture for themselves. Our adolescents found these lessons interesting and exciting and were ready to try them out. Caregivers also promised to support the children to achieve the tasks as this would bring sustainability to our intervention activities at the Foundation.

As we have earlier mentioned, findings from our engagement with our beneficiaries during home visits and caregivers forums as well as adolescent club meetings show the gaps in the results of the children, The team shall engage with policymakers and influencers in the various schools where we have our children through advocacy visits, dialogue sessions to resolve the issues around incomplete recording of results, the complete domains assessment and recording, as well as regular Parent Teachers Association (PTA) meetings.

Based on the funding available to the Foundation, we plan to increase the number of vulnerable children from  50 children to 100 in Calabar, Cross River State in this coming academic session. This is to help cushion the shock of the removal of fuel subsidy on vulnerable households which has thrown more children out of school due to the increased financial burden on parents and guardians arising from tripled financial responsibilities.

The Foundation is continually grateful to you all for all your support and contributions towards the achievement of our goal of restoring hope to vulnerable households and communities.

Charles Edet Effiong Foundation, through its community intervention services, renewed the hope of its beneficiaries including households and children - as always.

These interventions were done by providing educational, health, psychosocial, and financial literacy and management to 24 vulnerable households which consist of 50 children (27 males and 23 females) and 24 caregivers. Amongst all the above services provided, special attention was given to quality education where 50  (27 males and 23 females) children were supported with payment of school fees and other school levies, provision of scholastic materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pencils, erasers, etc. The children's academic performance was also assessed using the Vulnerable children academic performance assessment tool. The assessment revealed that most of the children performed academically well in their classes, with good grades and averages. In order to support the improved psychosocial well-being of the children in our care, the Foundation supported children to attend inter-house sports in their various schools.

SUPPORT 50 VULNERABLE CHILDREN,  IN CALABAR, FIRST QUARTER  REPORT 2023 

During the reporting quarter, the Foundation witnessed a huge setback in supporting its beneficiaries due to the glitches brought about by the Nigerian government’s naira 

redesign policy and withdrawal from circulation.  This was also exacerbated by the electioneering processes where our underserved communities experienced heightened hardship and hunger, inflation, and lack of access to basic amenities including transportation. This resulted in reduced visits to beneficiaries in their homes and schools which in turn reduced direct service provision. School fee payment was also affected as schools could not accept electronic transfers. Every part of society was affected including children’s regular school attendance. Following the Do No Harm policy of the Foundation, Kids and Adolescent club meetings did not hold following the unrest around the various electioneering activities in order not to put children in unintended harm in their various communities by bringing them out for meetings.

The Foundation still reached beneficiaries through consistent phone calls. Foundation staff also maximized every opportunity to ensure beneficiaries received the minimum package of care based on their individually assessed needs.

Irrespective of the hitches in the reporting period, the Foundation recorded huge success among its 50 children and 24 caregivers. This was evidenced by improvements such as improved coping skills, especially among adolescents, and improved academic performance. Also, twenty adolescent girls were provided with messages on menstrual hygiene, Water Hygiene, and Sanitation (WASH). They were also provided with sanitary towels to cushion the effect of period poverty and its ripple effects amongst our adolescent girls. 

The Foundation is continually grateful to you all for all your support and contributions towards the achievement of our goal of restoring hope amongst households and communities.

Thank You.

SUPPORT 50 VULNERABLE CHILDREN, 2022 FOURTH QUARTER REPORT


Support for vulnerable children across Cross River State, has been the paramount aim of Professor Charles Effiong Foundation. In the reporting period, the Foundation has been consistent in providing educational, health, psychosocial and financial support to 24 vulnerable households of 50 children (27 males and 23 females) and 24 caregivers. On education, children were supported with payment of school fees, provision of school materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pencils, erasers, etc. academic performance of the children was also conducted to monitor progress of children. The assessment revealed that most of the children progressed to their new classes with good grades and averages. Health supports in the form of health education, nutritional assessments of children and escorted referrals to health facilities for the treatment of minor illnesses were provided to beneficiaries. Home and school visits during the reporting period provided a platform for Foundation staff to conduct assessments as well as provided psychosocial support (individual and group counselling) to both children and caregivers based on the issues identified. The importance of life skills and parenting skills cannot be over emphasized in building resilient individuals and families in our society. In the reporting period, caregivers and children were engaged in mini-training sessions where they were trained on self-identity/self-esteem and communication sessions during the quarters’ Caregivers’ Forum and Kids and Adolescent Club Meeting respectively. At the Kids and Adolescent Club Meetings, girls were engaged in a menstrual health and hygiene management session where they were also taught to manage their menstrual cycles and periods. The sessions also featured distribution of menstrual pads to the adolescent girls.

Major achievements of the Foundation with its beneficiaries during the reporting period were improved academic performance of children and their progression to new classes, increased communication between adolescents with caregivers on sexual and reproductive health. This were observed during home and school visits.

As the Foundation closes for the year, we thank all our sponsors for partnering with us in 2022 to support vulnerable children. We hope to do this and more with you in 2023.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year!!!

Thank you.

SUPPORT 50 VULNERABLE CHILDREN, 2022 THIRD QUARTER REPORT

The Professor Charles Effiong Foundation has continuously supported vulnerable children across Cross River State, primarily in Calabar South, Calabar Municipality, and Akamkpa Local Government Areas. The Foundation supported her beneficiaries which include children and their caregivers in education - with payment of school fees and other school levies, WASH and nutritional assessment, and mobilization of beneficiaries for maternal and new child health services for the 2022 year. Psychosocial support services such as counseling for individuals and families, and life skills education for adolescents were also provided within the quarter. Household economic strengthening services were provided to caregivers in order to strengthen their abilities and improve their skills in caring for the children in their care. 10 children (4 males, 6 females) on the program, who had no birth certificates, were provided with birth certificates in Calabar South LGA. In order to make the school a safe place for our children, the Foundation team engaged with 27 school teachers in a sensitization meeting to end violence against children, at Government Secondary School, State Housing Estate, Calabar.

The above-mentioned services which make up the continuum of care were provided by the Foundation to 24 household caregivers and 50 children (27 males and 23 females across four (4) primary, and eight (8) secondary schools) in the Foundation’s Support 50 Vulnerable Children Project. With the increasing cost of living in this part of the world, leading to an increase in crime rate including child protection concerns, caregivers were educated on financial budgeting, financial education during the quarter’s caregivers’ forum, as well as better parenting skills through one-on-one session home visits.

Following her intervention activities, the Foundation has documented achievements in the reporting period which include but are not limited to the improved academic performance of children as was observed in the children’s academic reports as well as teacher’s observations and reports of school visits. Another success observed, were improved interpersonal relationship between caregivers and children. Teachers also made commitment statements not to abuse children, not to condone the abuse of any form, and report any cases of maltreatment by parents or fellow teachers. This was evident during family counseling sessions and home visits. These successes were achieved through various engagements between Foundation Staff, with children, caregivers, and teachers.

The Foundation aims to increase the number of children she is currently supporting, thereby creating a ripple effect of development in society. We are grateful for your continuous support as it has helped us to give hope and put smiles on the faces of the young ones in the communities. 

Thank you.

SUPPORT 50 VULNERABLE CHILDREN, 2022 FIRST QUARTER REPORT

The Professor Charles Effiong Foundation continues to support vulnerable children across Cross River State, especially in Calabar South, Calabar Municipality and Akamkpa Local Government Areas. These support provided to beneficiaries (children and caregivers) has been in the areas of education (payment of school fees, school visits and counselling), psychosocial support (Kids and Adolescent Club meetings and Caregivers’ Forum), health (payment of medical bills, health education, nutrition assessments, counselling and education).

All the above mentioned services were provided in the reporting quarter to 24 household caregivers and 50 children (27 males and 23 females across four (4) primary, and eight (8) secondary schools) in the Foundation’s Support 50 vulnerable Children Project. With the increasing cost of living in this part of the world, caregivers were educated on home financial management during the quarter’s caregivers’ forum. This particular session stressed on the need of producing family consumed food through homestead gardening. It also stressed on household budgeting and prioritization of needs. This was conducted with the caregivers to further improve care of children in households as well as bring about sustainability of the project.

Among our successes recorded in the reporting period were improved academic performance of children. This was observed in the children’s academic reports as well as teacher’s observations and reports during school visits. Another success observed, were improved interpersonal relationship between caregivers and children. This was evident during family counselling sessions and home visits. These successes were achieved through various engagements between Foundation Staff, with children, caregivers and teachers.

The Foundation aims to continue supporting vulnerable children, thereby creating a ripple effect of development in the society. We are grateful for your continuous support as it has helped us achieved our goals in the lives of these ones.

Asari Nakanda

Monitoring and Evaluation   Officer