Group targets 37,000 Borno children for integrated education project | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
28th March 2019
A development group in Nigeria named Plan International has said that about 37,000 children  will benefit from an integrated education and child protection project it is spearheading in Borno, North East Nigeria.
The Communications Advisor of the organisation, Yunus Abdul-Hamid disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Plan International is an international humanitarian organisation, with its headquarters in Canada. It promotes children’s rights and equality for girls.
Mr Abdul-Hamid said that the two-year project would be implemented at Gwoza and Dikwa Local Government Areas of the state.
He added that the project would be executed in collaboration with the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO).
According to him, schools are often among the first targets by armed opposition groups when they invade communities, thereby constituting a setback for the children’s education.
recalls that a 2017 report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nigeria, indicated that an estimated three million children were affected by  conflicts and are in need of immediate educational support.
Nigeria’s North East has been target of pockets of Boko Haram attacks that had left thousands of people dead or injured and over a million people displaced from their homes.
Teachers and pupils in schools are not usually spared in such situations.
This project is expected to respond to the urgent education and protection needs of children and adolescent boys and girls affected by the conflict in North East Nigeria.
In his words, “Plan International Nigeria is implementing the 24-month project with an overall objective of having girls and boys to have increased access to quality formal and non-formal learning opportunities and live in a protective environment in Borno State.
“Education is one of our core areas of intervention in the North East of Nigeria.
“We are also supporting affected children with essential services such as learning materials, classrooms, desks, safe play grounds for children, and child protection services.”