No fewer than 43 internally displaced persons (IDPs) residing at the Home for the Needy camp in Uhorgua, Edo State, are set to graduate from various tertiary institutions across Nigeria at the end of the current academic session.
The camp’s Coordinator, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
Folorunsho said the prospective graduates are pursuing degrees in diverse fields such as Engineering, Medicine, Law, Nursing, Pharmacy, Accounting, Business Administration, and Laboratory Technology.
He also revealed that 147 IDPs from the camp recently completed the Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE) conducted by NECO and NABTEB.
“Out of the 147 candidates, 140 sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by JAMB,” he said.
“One of them scored above 300, while over 123 scored above 200. We’re expecting admissions for about 145 of them, based on JAMB’s cut-off marks.”
In addition, six IDPs from the camp are currently undergoing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, while five others were recently called to the Nigerian Bar.
“Five of our children were called to the Bar last month. That means they can now practice law at the Supreme Court level,” he said.
Despite the remarkable educational progress, Pastor Folorunsho lamented the ongoing struggle to feed and educate over 4,000 displaced persons at the camp.
“Feeding over 4,000 people daily and supporting those in school is a huge burden. Many times, we run out of food, and it breaks my heart to see the children look up to me for help when I can’t do anything,” he said.
He noted that the camp receives little or no assistance from government authorities and very limited support from private individuals and clerics.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve not received any help from corporate organisations. We hoped to benefit from Davido’s charitable donations to orphanages, but unfortunately, we weren’t selected,” he added.
Despite the challenges, Folorunsho remains undeterred, stressing that the camp will continue to nurture the hopes and dreams of displaced children.
“Before insurgency drove them from their homes, these children had dreams. We are here to help them achieve those dreams, regardless of their religion or background,” he said.
He called on well-meaning Nigerians, NGOs, and private organisations to support the camp’s efforts in transforming the lives of displaced persons.
“We don’t do this because we have everything. We do it because we have the passion and we believe in their future,” he concluded.
