Afri-mission and Evangelism Network (AMEN), a non-governmental organisation, says it has returned 178 vulnerable children to school and enrolled women in adult literacy programmes to improve their livelihoods.

The president of the organisation, Pastor Oscar Amaechina, disclosed this at the back-to-school and women empowerment programme in Abuja on Monday.

The event was held with the theme, “Every Child and Every Woman Deserves to Learn and Survive”.

Mr Amaechina said the initiative, initially targeted at 200 out-of-school children, was designed to support vulnerable children and women affected by poverty, displacement and loss of livelihoods.

“The vision of Afri-mission is to help the helpless and to help the marginalised, the downtrodden. And then when we saw that there’s a lot of children out of school, we decided to embark on this journey.

“And we are grateful to God that today it has become a living reality.

“Initially we planned to take up to 200 out-of-school children back to school. But today, we can say that we have counted, and then we have around 178 of them. So, and this is an ongoing project,” he said.

He said the beneficiaries were identified through a needs assessment conducted in Anka, Ajata, Jikwoyi, Kurudu, Orozo, Karishi and Sabon Gari communities.

According to him, some beneficiaries were displaced persons whose parents had lost their livelihoods, while others were children of widows who could not afford to send them to school.

Mr Amaechina said the organisation had invested about N12.5 million in the initiative, with support from partners, particularly Ignited Family in Lavonia, Georgia, United States.

He said the programme would continue with another batch, adding that the organisation’s desire was to ensure that no child was left uneducated.

The Afri-mission president said the organisation was also supporting vulnerable women with soft loans ranging from N300,000 to N500,000 at 10 per cent interest.

“We give loans to vulnerable women. And we give N500,000, but the least we have given is N300,000. And they are only to pay 10 per cent.

“It’s a soft loan; we call it Jesus Loan. And this is just to enable them to find their feet and then to be economically independent,” he said.

Mr Amaechina said some women were also enrolled in adult literacy classes because they lacked basic reading and writing skills required to participate in the organisation’s skills acquisition programme.

He said the literacy programme would serve as a foundation for the women to subsequently undergo vocational and skills training.

He said the organisation planned to extend the programme to other states when more resources became available.

Earlier, the director of humanitarian services in the organisation, Pastor Josephine Amaechina, said the group had provided school fees, school bags and books for the children.

She said it had also created opportunities for women to acquire literacy, vocational and entrepreneurial skills.

“Today is an investment in the lives and future of our communities.

“We are gathered here because we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and dream, regardless of the circumstances into which they were born.

“We also believe that every woman deserves an opportunity to acquire knowledge, develop a skill, become economically empowered, and build a better future for herself and her family,” she said.

She urged the children to take their education seriously and remain committed to their studies.

She also encouraged the women to embrace the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills, saying that empowering women would strengthen families and communities.

One beneficiary, Margaret Nnaji, a widow, said the N300,000 loan she received helped improve her business.

Ms Nnaji said she would repay N330,000 over one year, adding that the loan had enabled her business to grow.

“The loan has changed my life. I’m a widow who cannot feed. But with this loan that I collected from Afri-mission really changed my life. My business is moving well,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Patience Jibrin, said she used her N300,000 loan to purchase a grinding machine and trade in charcoal.

She said the organisation had also supported her family with food and payment of her children’s school fees.

A student beneficiary, Victor Timothy, said he was grateful to Afri-mission for supporting his family and enabling him to return to school to write his West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

“I want to thank Afri-mission for what they have done for me and my family, and I’m happy to go back to write my WAEC,” he said.

The event featured the presentation of school materials to beneficiaries and support for women under the empowerment programme.

 (NAN)