BEVERLY HILLS, February 28, (THEWILL) – About a hundred students of Christ Like School situated in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Uhogua, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, are crying for support from philanthropists and well-meaning Nigerians to enable them actualise their educational pursuit. The students, mainly victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country and orphans, who just gained admission into some of the tertiary institutions in the country this academic session, are lamenting that they are yet to join their mates since the commencement of the session.
Narrating their pitiable conditions, the students said, daily, they are in anguish knowing that lectures have commenced in their institutions but they are yet to join their mates.
They asserted that what is holding them back from actualising their lofty dreams is lack of funds and, as such, they are praying that in no distant time, their plight will be redressed through the intervention of kind-hearted people.
Some of the affected students thanked Pastor Solomon Folorunsho (Commandant of the Camp) for accepting and taking care of them.
“I am happy to gain admission into the University while I look forward to God’s intervention to raise the money needed to fulfil my dream, “ one of them, who craved anonymity, stated.
One other major challenge facing the IDPs is inadequate foodstuff, shortage of drugs in their health clinic and lack of clothes. Food for 5,000 kids and adults twice daily is becoming a big problem in the camp. And the IDPs are appealing and praying that God should touch the hearts of the privileged ones in the society so that they can assist them in whatever way possible.
In a chat, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, the Commandant of the camp, said: “Right now, we have almost 5,000 internally displaced persons(IDPs) here. Most of them are young people who love education. We decided to put effort in that aspect of their lives from the time they came. People come here to inspire and encourage them on the benefits of education.
“Most of them are leading their class in their institutions. They score high marks in their JAMB examinations, WASCE, JSSCE, NECO, NABTEB etc.
“On the average, we register nothing less 200 of them for any examination and when you calculate that, we pay between N9,000 and N12,000 to register each pupil; we spend a figure in the region of millions of Naira to do this.
“Presently, we have more than one hundred of them in different Nigerian universities studying courses like Medicine and Surgery; Law; Engineering etc.
“There are widows who just need help to learn some skills. They need to be empowered to be able to establish themselves in the society.”
Speaking further, he said: “We want to go into large scale farming. We are asking people to donate land to us in any part of the country that is safe. They should also give us the things to plant.
“Right now, we are in real critical situation. In the aspect of education, the ones that just gained admission into universities need school fees. We are pleading with Nigerians to come to our assistance.
“We have gotten in touch with some people who promised to help us talk to the Governor of Borno State, where most of them are from, Babagana Umara Zulum. Till this moment, we have not heard a word about how the meeting went.
“The children love Governor Zulum a lot. They are always excited with the things he does when they watch him on TV. They have promised that they would love to go back home to serve and develop their state.
“There are many children who are out of school. But here are those who have made efforts on their own to get to this stage. They are pleading with the government, the UNICEF and all other agencies that have the wherewithal to help them to do so•”
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