Philanthropist Decries Plights of Indigent Children in Anambra Community

By Olisemeka Sony

The Chairperson of the Chioma-Chika Okoye Foundation (CCOF), Mrs Chioma Okoye has raised alarm over the challenges faced by children who live and attend school in rural areas across Nigeria, especially riverine communities in Anambra West local government area of Anambra state.
Mrs. Okoye, a United States of America-based Nigerian spoke on the plights of children in the area in a statement she released as part of the commemoration of the 2023 edition of the International Children’s Day.

She described as unacceptable the fact that an average Nigerian child is getting less than what he or she deserves from their parents, communities, and government at this point in time and called for a change of attitude towards child rights and privileges in the society.
According to her, her foundation recently donated books, bags, pencils, and other stationeries to about 150 pupils at St Theresa Nursery and Primary School, Umuoba Abegbu in Anambra West council in a bid to ameliorate their pitiable condition.

She said: “We decided to donate those materials because we discovered that most of them lack the basic materials to learn. We are also planning to provide them with uniforms and footwear as we discovered that most of them don’t have them. Even their school building lacks essential amenities for teaching and learning.

“The story is almost the same in other schools in the area, that is why we are seizing this opportunity to draw attention to their plights. Remember that these children are in flood-prone communities and spent weeks in various internally displaced camps during the last flood season and their parents are still recovering from the loss of virtually everything they had.

Mrs. Okoye further disclosed that her foundation, in October 2022 donated essential materials to enable the flood victims to pull through the flood crisis.

“The reality remains that those children need help to be able to acquire education and stand a better chance of becoming successful in the future. Beyond that, we are also concerned about the lack of healthcare and potable water in the community among others.

“If we consider the United Nations Child Rights Charter (UNCRC) which consists of 54 articles that set out children’s rights and how governments should work together to make them available to all children, you will understand that our leaders at all levels have not lived up to their responsibilities.
According to her, under the terms of the UNCRC convention, governments are required to meet children’s basic needs and help them reach their full potential. “These includes, Life, survival and development, protection from violence, abuse or neglect, an education that enables children to fulfil their potential among others.”