The Federal Government in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Government has trained 650 youths facilitators across the state towards addressing the menace of out-of-school children.
Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment,
Maryam Uwais, disclosed this Wednesday in Lafia at the closing ceremony of the three-week training of the facilitators of At-Risk Children Programme (ARC-P) in the state.
Uwais said the ARC- P initiative was a strategic approach to solving the myriad issues affecting the enrolment of children in schools in communities.
She said the facilitators were equipped with requisite knowledge to help them impact on the at risk children and thereby addressing out-of-school children and its attendant consequences.
Uwais, said that the 650 facilitators were expected to give a monthly report on the progress of each child under their care and help the children beyond acquisition of knowledge to mentorship.
The Presidential adviser said: “I like to tell you that we have placed a lot of responsibility on you; you have been trained to handle the responsibility of other children beyond learning.
“You will take care of the children in your communities, you will be expected to supervise and teach them, you will also monitor them.
“You will make sure you give us a report every month on how each and every child that has been assigned to you is progressing within your community.”
The SA to the President lauded Gov. Abdullahi Sule for his cooperation and support toward ensuring the success of the programme.
Also speaking, Governor Sule represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Aisha Rufai-Ibrahim, said that the 650 facilitators trained on knowledge and skills comprised 50 youth each drawn from the 13 Local Government Areas of the state.
The governor said that the facilitators were trained in areas such as basic education and literacy, agriculture, climate change, health and nutrition, digital skills, sports and substance abuse.
He added that each facilitator would be assigned to teach and mentor 50 out- of-school children and adults from one to 24 years in their respective communities.
“They are expected to provide basic education and vocational skills to the out- of-school persons under their care in order to make their lives worthwhile.
“The government would pay the facilitators N30, 000 monthly stipends to enable them to carryout their assigned responsibility with ease,” he said.
Sule expressed optimism that the programme would go a long way toward addressing menace of street begging involving children in the state.
Some of the facilitators who spoke at the event, Miss Mbewashi Danboyi and Joel Ovey lauded the Federal and Nasarawa State Governments for the opportunity and training.
They said they were trained in knitting, sewing, shoe making, tie and dye and crop production among others.
