Presidency Begins Implementation Of At-Risk-Children Programme In Borno

Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Mrs Maryam Uwais, has said concerns about the growing number of out-of-school-children in Nigeria compelled the Federal Government to conceptualise and establish the At-Risk-Children Programme (ARC-P).

It’s an interventionist scheme designed to address the plight of vulnerable children and youth across all States of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Speaking on Tuesday during the official flag-off of a three-week training programme for over 900 ARC-P youth facilitators in Maiduguri, Borno State, Mrs Uwais who is also the National Lead of the Programme, domiciled in the Office of the Vice President, said the initiative was geared towards addressing the cross-cutting concerns of children and vulnerable youth in Nigeria, using a multi-dimensional approach covering education, health, digital and vocational skills, enterpreneurship, agriculture as well as sports and life skills.

Uwais, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Budget and Planning, Grace Akpabio, said the core objective of the three-week training programme for the Youth facilitators in Borno, was to prepare them for the task of providing mentorship and guidance for the primary beneficiaries of the programme.

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The training, according to the Presidential aide, was to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the youth facilitators in basic subject matters and life skills to be able to coach ARC-P primary beneficiaries with a view to supporting them to be reintegrated back to their communities.

“This 3-week training in Borno is an opportunity to familiarise with the youths with ARC-p, provide basic tools on mentoring and guidance, recognise the different skills of the trainees and areas of comparative advantage, standard training syllables as well serve as feedback mechanism,” she said.

Uwais further said the youth facilitators have a huge role to play in achieving the objectives of the Programme, which is being implemented in an holistic manner involving State Governments, Federal MDAs, development partners and the private sector.

“ARC-P’s coordination Strategy at National level, includes training of educated Youth who reside in the communities, across many spheres of endeavor, to be assigned the responsibility of training, mentoring & monitoring the out-of-school children in their vicinity after securing parental consent.

“The whole essence is to provide community support of mentorship and guidance to the primary beneficiaries of the Programme, in addition to monitoring them closely, to provide feedback on their progress & challenges towards curbing learning deprivations & child poverty,” Mrs Uwais added.

Speaking at the event, Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, commended the Federal Government for introducing the ARC-P initiative, saying the programme and other social investment schemes currently going on at the national level were in line with his administration’s 25-year Development Plan.

Represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, Governor Zulum said Federal Government’s interventions such as ARC-P, were helping to address the plight of children, youth and women in armed conflict, especially in the North-East where Boko Haram and other terrorist groups have unleashed mayhem in the last 12 years.

Governor Zulum assured the ARC-P team of his administration’s continuous partnership, collaboration and support to enable the Programme succeed while calling on the youth facilitators to put in their best in the discharge of their duties to ensure that the primary beneficiaries of ARC-P get all the support they need to live a better and productive life.

The three-week training programme, which began on Monday is currently holding at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim College of Education, Maiduguri in Borno State.