Taken from their website, their mission
statement says “ The StayinschoolNG
initiative is a proactive response to the evident issues in the Education
sector and a long term development plan with major focus on providing
educational support (Scholarships, educational supplies, meals, transportation etc.)
for Orphans and Vulnerable children in underdeveloped communities in Nigeria
ensuring that they Stay-In-School. StayInSchoolNG will provide disadvantaged children in Nigeria with
a pathway out of poverty by exposing
them to educational opportunities. Our
aim is to reduce the percentage of the un-educated population in the country by
starting young, and by doing so, giving HOPE
to Nigerian children. Nigeria will be better for it in the long run”. Impressive
if I do say so myself. But even more impressive is the work they are doing.
With children under the age of fifteen
accounting for more than forty five percent of our current population and the
growing lack of interest in taking teaching jobs on all levels and education
becoming a sort of back-up career when everything else has failed, one can only
imagine the kind of strain that is put on the pre-existing infrastructure and
manpower by this overwhelming demand for primary and secondary education. Even
when the reforms work, because of the lack of pre-existing framework of social
welfare and documentation and care for the underprivileged, the population
demographic who needs education the most (Orphans, underprivileged and children
in rural areas) fall through the cracks simply because of their lack of
visibility. This perpetuates the cycle of poverty in those regions and
increases the financial gap between the rich and the poor. StayInSchoolNG aims
to be a social blanket, specifically to catch these less visible ones.
StayInSchoolNG (SIS) is a non-governmental civil society movement that aims to
reduce the number of educational dropout at the most basic levels (nursery and
primary).
Comprised entirely of volunteer teams that
comprise of social workers, teachers, doctors, students, child’s rights
campaigners and other concerned citizens, they aim to reduce the number of kids
roaming the streets and out of school during school hours, enhance the school
experience by ensuring that their basic academic needs (school books, text
books, stationery and where possible food and clothing) is provided for them
within the period of their studies so that all their attention can be turned
exclusively towards learning. They also aim to improve positive child
development through interactive education and most importantly ensuring that
the recipients of all these boons do ‘Stay-In-School’.
To help them achieve these goals, they
reach students most prominently through the organisation’s annual FunDayOut
event, a social event held during the children’s day week. Initiated in 2013
with an Inaugural edition at the Guzape village at the Asokoro extension in
Abuja, the day celebrated the global children day for disadvantaged children
who otherwise would have no opportunity to do so, organising events and celebrating
disadvantaged children who had excelled in the previous academic year with
prizes. The event is rotated between the villages where the organisation
operates and will hopefully expand in scope in coming years. The organisation
currently has a presence in Abuja in the Guzape village, victims of the fallout
from Abuja’s metamorphosis into a mega city and the infrastructural
displacement of its indigenes. SIS supports twenty five children in a private
primary school in the area, providing school fees, stationery and uniforms.
They
also have a presence in Ejigbo Local Government in Lagos where they currently
sponsors the education of fifty disadvantaged students across five public
primary schools in the area. Apart from that, they also create awareness on
social media about the disadvantaged children in the education system and offer
ways to help.
To help the cause, you can reach them on
their twitter handle, @stayinschoolng or reach them on their website here to volunteer
your time or other skills. Or if you want to remain anonymous, you can simply
send a donation to the GTB account, 012400879 with account name Young Minds
Foundation.
We salute StayInSchoolNG for taking the
initiative to make a difference and encourage you to do the same.
From us at 9JEducation it’s
Hello.
Hello.
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