Amidst adversity, the operator of the Home of the Needy, which shelters and caters to over 4,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), has expressed optimism that the facility will produce future leaders.
The founder, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, said the camp has supported the production of over 185 graduates from various Nigerian universities since its inception.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP at the camp, Folorunsho expressed strong optimism that future governors, industrialists, technology giants, and business moguls can emerge among the IDPs despite the daunting challenges.
He recalled that just recently, five members of the facility were called to the Bar after completing their law school programme.
Folorunsho commended former Governor Adams Oshiomhole and Edo State deputy governor Dennis Idahosa, as well as other well-meaning Nigerians, for identifying with the plight of the IDPs.
He expressed joy at the academic feat recorded by students in various universities and appealed to the state and federal governments for support in paying school fees for IDPs in universities.
He said his actions are driven by the love of God and humanity, adding that “If God can care for me, why not others? I am willing to do more.”
Folorunsho emphasized that from the inception of the camp, there was a plan to educate the IDPs, as it was felt that merely feeding and dispersing them would increase criminality, hopelessness, and other vices.
According to him, “When some of them came, they couldn’t even speak English, but with the orientation given to them, today we have lawyers, doctors, engineers, nurses, midwives, and many others.”
“Few months ago, we have five medical doctors, four boys and one girl who graduated and currently doing their housemanship. This year’s alone we are going to have 45 graduates and are presently doing their projects work.”
Ali Emmanuel, an IDP graduate from Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), said the recent call to the Bar of five IDPs will motivate others in the facility to take their academics more seriously despite the challenges. He thanked the founder for his fatherly care.
Daniel Haruna, a graduate from the University of Benin, Department of Agricultural Science, described the call to the Bar of five lawyers from the camp as a milestone, saying, “I am happy about it. It is a milestone looking at where we are coming from and considering all that happened to us.
“We don’t even know that we can find ourselves in this serene environment like this, not to talk of going to school and becoming a graduate. We are happy and grateful.”
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