Mayor of London Borough of Southwark in the United Kingdom, Councillor Micheal Situ, is set to celebrate Ibironke Adeagbo (IA) Foundation’s efforts at reducing illiteracy amongst children in Nigeria for the past five years since its establishment.
The celebration will be in aid of out-of-school children with the Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner to UK, Ambassador Cyprian Terseer, on February 2, 2024.
Speaking on the development, the founder of the NGO, Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, explained that
factors responsible for increase in the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria and how to find a panacea to the menace will be dissected at the event.
She noted that getting the political will and buy-in to tackle the issue, getting the citizens to socially invest in reducing out-of-school children and raising awareness of the issue internationally and helping UN achieve its SDG4 will also be looked into.
“Dissecting the factors responsible for increase in the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
“How to find a panacea to the menace.
“Getting the political will and buy-in to tackle the issue. Getting the citizens to socially investing in reducing out of school children. Raising awareness of the issue internationally and helping UN achieve its SDG4,” she stated.
According to her, the Foundation had been advocating and picking children from the streets and putting them in the classrooms and paying their school fees, buying their uniforms, books, and bags.
She implied that such effort will reduce poverty, insecurity and crime, adding that social mobility will increase and ensure they are economically active.
“The Mayor of Southwark, Councillor Micheal Situ will be celebrating 5 years of IA-Foundation’s efforts to reduce children illiteracy in Nigeria by helping to reduce the number of out of school children in Nigeria by advocacy and picking children from the streets and putting them in the classrooms and paying their school fees, buying their uniforms, books, bags etc.
“The impact of this is that poverty, insecurity and crime will be reduced. It will increase social mobility and ensure they are economically active,” she stated.
Ibironke, therefore, expressed assurances that attendees would be made aware of the dangers of not addressing the issue now as it would have dire consequences in the nearest future by way of insecurity, increase in crime, unskilled workforce, poverty, teenage pregnancy, among other unwanted consequences.
IA-Foundation is a charity NGO founded by Ibironke Adeagbo, a chartered accountant in the UK, five years ago, to help reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
“Over the last five years, we have picked up over 100 children from the streets, and put them in school and paying their school fees, books, food, bags, shoes etc. We have distributed over 4,000 learning devices and over 9,000 educational materials and built a borehole in Makoko.
“We have had several awareness campaigns, TV/ Newspaper interviews, organised two summits and four flagship fundraising events to raise funds in aid of out-of-school children. We look forward to working collaboratively with the new Commission for Almajiri and out-of-school children,” she stated.
