NGO Awards Digital Literacy, Scholarship To Borno Orphans

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Matinaah Care Foundation, has awarded digital literacy and education scholarships to 20 students who lost their parents to the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State.

The coordinator of MCF  in the state, Dr Orji Uchenna, disclosed this during a conference organised for the orphans yesterday in Maiduguri.

According to him, the gesture is a form of moral and educational support for the children who have lost both parents or been abandoned as a result of the over a decade-long insurgency.

Uchenna said, “What we did was to announce to schools in Maiduguri to give us the list of orphans they have. From different categories, such as double orphans, that is, those without both parents, single orphans, those with one parent, and abandoned children. We were able to get around 265 students on the list.

“We decided to start from those who are double orphans and a few from the abandoned ones. In this category, we picked 20 people and investigated their cases through their religious denomination and community leaders.”

He further stated that  through the process, the organisation found that “93 per cent of them lost their parents to the violence caused by insurgency”

Aside from the education scholarship, we will also provide them with practical training in digital literacy. The training will last until they graduate. We want to see something positive coming out from them”, he emphasised.

Uchenna noted that the conference served as an avenue to sensitise the schools the orphans will be enrolled on their major needs and how to manage them.

“We assessed their needs and discovered that some are living with fear of the unknown, they feel rejected, and sometimes even suffer molestation. It is that NEEDS assessment that made us organise this conference and invite schools where they are going to be enrolled so that they will be aware of what they are passing through and what they need from the school”, he stressed.

“We discovered that some of them, due to the suffering they are going through, have lost hope in education. We know that some of them are traumatised and due to that trauma, they have lost hope. This gap is what we are battling to fill”, he added.   The Coordinator, however, noted that the scholarship package covers primary and secondary students.

“The scholarship package is for Elementary (primary school) students and secondary school students. Those in the elementary will be sponsored through the secondary, and those in secondary will already be sponsored till they graduate from the school. We will cover their tuition fees. We also have a health allowance in case of emergency and a pocket money,” Uchenna explained.

He identified the participating schools as Immaculate College, Baga Road, Model International Private School, Shagari Low-Cost, Army 1 Junior Secondary School, and Bethel Private School.

The students who participated in the conference commended the organisation for prioritising the welfare of vulnerable children.

A student at Bethel Private School, Abdulhazeez Sanusi, said the conference has broadened his knowledge of humanitarian relations, personal hygiene, and the importance of education.

“It is an opportunity to be here today to learn so many things that will help me in making decisions at any point in my life. I have learned about the importance of education, hygiene and human relations,” he said.

Another participant from Immaculate College Secondary school, John Moses, said the training exposed him to the implications of stigmatising people.

“We appreciate Matinaah Care Foundation for this opportunity. One key takeaway for me from this conference is that I have learned about the adverse effects of stigmatising people because of their condition. We should love, relate and embrace one another irrespective of our history”, he said.