Over 2,000 IDP children in Safe School Initiative programme in Adamawa – Agency

The Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) says over 2,000 Internally Displaced Children were enrolled into Safe School initiative programme in the state.

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Mr Haruna Furo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola on Sunday that the initiative was part of Federal Government’s special education package for IDPs children nationwide.

He said many displaced children were sent to various Unity Colleges across the country under an exchange school Programme.

Furo said there were four ongoing categories of education programmes for IDPs children in the state.

He explained that apart from the Save School Initiative, there were three other programmes in designated IDPs camps in the state.

He listed the three others as Exchange School Programme, Formal and Non Formal camps Education system and Entrepreneurship Education Programme.

He added that all the programmers were in collaboration with Federal Government, State Universal Basic Education Board , UNICEF and the German Governmrnt.

He said that the main objective of the programmes was to facilitate the educational status of the affected children while living in the camps and communities outside camps.

He pointed out that under the programmes, the state government and the Nigerian Army provided teachers, while UNICEF and NEMA assisted with teaching facilities and modules.

On the reconstruction and renovation of schools destroyed by Boko Haram in the state, he said “so far, over 20 schools were rehabilitated.”

In another development, Mr Umar Musa, the Information Officer of International Committee for Red Cross in Yola office said more than 33,000 people in the north-east received essential household items such as cooking pots, water containers, clothes and shelter materials, among other things provided by the Red Cross.

Musa told NAN that about 6,000 returnees in Adamawa received agricultural inputs to start farming.

He added that “over 9,600 people, including 1,500 widows received cash and basic training on small businesses to help them to start a trade.

“More than 1,000 returnees from Michika and Maiha localgovernments in Adamawa received ICRC support to rebuild 430 houses.”

Also, Mr Muhammad Bello, the Secretary, Nigerian Red Cross Society in Adamawa, said the society built 30 houses for returnee IDPs in Hong Local Government Area of the state.

Bello told NAN that the organisation also built five block of latrines and five hand pump boreholes to the community.

He added that the society had also distributed 50 sewing machines to the affected communities in Hong, Gombi and Michika Local governments.