Support 50 Vulnerable Children in Calabar

SUPPORT 50 THE EDUCATION OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN CALABAR MARCH 2020

According to recent studies by the World Bank, 53.5% of Nigerians live below the poverty line of $1.90 a day. Also, persons living in female-headed households are more likely to live below the poverty line. Furthermore, individuals with higher education have significantly lower chances of being poor. Another study by Dapel, Z. of the Center for Global Development at the University of Dundee concluded that years of schooling are found to have the strongest negative impact on chronic poverty and that stepping up the education of girls can mitigate teenage pregnancies and consequently address population rise among the poor.

The reality is that our society in Cross River State Nigeria is one in which 84% of the most vulnerable households are households in which women are responsible for the care of children due to the non-availability of a man either physically or financially. Care for children includes food, shelter, clothing, education, and healthcare. This phenomenon is a major driver of poverty and vulnerability in our society, resulting in children who are unable to complete schooling because their mother is unable to afford even the most basic financial educational obligations preferring to deploy her children either to do petty trading or  to grow food or both.

It is for these reasons that the Professor Charles Effiong Foundation launched a program to support the education of fifty vulnerable children who would otherwise not be able to attend school. The beneficiaries of the project are typically bright children who drop out of school because their mother can no longer afford required educational expenses which include basic education fees as well as the cost of a school uniform, a school bag and sandals, text and exercise books and writing pens and pencils. Presently the program provides support for children for primary and secondary education. It is our desire in the future to provide tertiary education or/and skill development support to those who graduate from the program.

The program is not limited to providing these essentials for the children but includes psychosomatic support through monthly kids’ clubs' meetings, coordination and support for their caregivers through the quarterly caregiver’s forum meetings, as well as monitoring and evaluation of the children’s’ attendance at school, behavior at school and at home and academic performance. The children are subject to a basic code of conduct to qualify and remain in the program and their mothers commit to putting their education first.

Presently, thirty vulnerable children are beneficiaries of the program and have been sponsored through the 2019/2020 academic session and are involved in monthly kids club meetings. Our objective is to support fifty children in the first instance and ultimately explore the possibilities of working with their caregivers to take over the responsibility of providing for their children. In the short term, the project is expected to support the children’s education through the provision fees and other requirements for education, improve academic excellence among children in the project through the regular home and school visits, payment of medical bills as well as the provision of psychosocial services such as counseling (individual/family), recreational activities, positive parenting and economic strengthening for caregivers to ensure the sustainability of children in schools after project year. When sponsors agree to support the project, one or more children are assigned to them and they are sent regular updates on the progress, welfare and academic performance of the children.

During the quarter, we paid 2nd term school fees for all thirty children, paid the external West African Examinations Council fees for six kids who are sitting for the exam in June. We held the Kids Club meeting each month and interacted with the children. We obtained a report from the teachers on their attendance and academic performance in school for the first term and sent reports to their sponsors. We visited parents and children at home that required additional follow up and we designed and delivered birthday cards for the kids whose birthdays fell during the period.

Presently, twenty additional vulnerable children have been identified for enrollment but are awaiting the availability of funding to join the program. $240 per annum ($20/month) will cover the cost of school fees, provide school uniforms, school bags, sandals, text and exercise books as well as pay health bills and cover the costs of counseling, psychosomatic support and monitoring for one child for a year. GlobalGiving will match donations of up to $50 at 50% in the Little by Little Campaign from the 23^rd to the 27^th of March and will match the first month’s gift for recurring monthly gifts of $20. We, therefore, ask that you partner with us put our children back in school and transform the livelihoods of the most vulnerable in our society. Kindly click on http://goto.gg/44223 to make your donation.

Thank you.