News Investigators/ United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in partnership with the Eleva Foundation says it has empowered no fewer than 60,000 almajiri children and out-of-school adolescent girls on lifelong skills in its five implementing states.
The states, according to UNICEF official, are Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Sokoto and Katsina.
The UNICEF’s Child Protection Specialist, Sokoto Field Office, Pius Uwamanua, said this during a media field trip to the three centres constructed for almajiri children and out-of-school adolescent girls in Sokoto state.
Mr Uwamanua said the project had been transformative in supporting the growth of the children.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the collaboration has birthed the construction of a child friendly space centre for these categories of children to learn for livelihood.
The project, situated at three locations of the Dange-Shuni, Kware and Wamakko Local Government Areas(LGAs) of the state, is a one-stop centre that provides different services for children that are in need of support.
Mr Uwamanua said, “The Ministry of Women Affairs in collaboration with relevant Civil Society Organisation (CSO) partners, and with support of UNICEF verified and registered about 249,523 vulnerable children.
“This included out-of-school adolescents’ girls (113,208 Almajiris and 136,315O out-of-school) through a household survey and visit to Tsangaya where many of the Almajiris reside with their Malams.
“The target includes other children at risk such as survivors of GBV, VAC and children in contact with the law.
“Under the guidance of His Eminence of the Sultan of Sokoto, a multi-sectoral programme of intervention was developed to address the vulnerabilities and risks of the identified 249,523 Almajiris and out-of-school adolescent girls in Sokoto State.”
He explained that despite increasing primary enrolment in Sokoto State, 113,208 Almajiri children, mostly boys, were living outside of family care and 136,315 adolescent girls remained out-of-school.
He, therefore, said a data analysis carried out by UNICEF on the verified and registered children revealed the types of vulnerabilities that confront these children.
Mr Uwamanua said the centre provided a multi-sectoral support in different services for children such as vocational, digital, and mentorship training among others to the children.
“Now, this centre here is meant to provide support for these children and actually provide different kinds of services,” he said.
He added that the programme had also been able to eradicate the culture of silence with regards to early and force marriages while also providing psychosocial support for the girls.
“Children have been transformed by this project. We find that children that have issues were provided legal and health services.
“You can see some of the children playing there for psychosocial support. So, there’s a lot of impact of the project.
“With this, a lot of children have been able to build resilience and coping mechanisms.
“Now, the fact is that people are willing now to report cases, because they know services will be provided. So, the issue of the culture of silence has been broken,” he added.
On the sustainability of the project, he explained that the organisations worked with a CSO to support the process with the Arabic Board and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs.
Also speaking, Cecilia Eseme, the Executive Coordinator, Centre for People’s Health, Peace and Progress (3Ps), emphasised the need for mentorship programme for the children in order to resist pressure for early marriages.
Mrs Eseme said the project would continue to be strengthened to provide support for children whenever they needed one.
“The survivor today has an issue of pressure for early marriage, but because this programme has taught them to resist that early marriage, and they know where they can come to.
“We have the surveillance team that followup the children with issues; we also have counselors that counsel the girl-child to actually stand firm on her feet,” she said.
NAN
