Date: 2017-03-29

EMOTION ran high last Monday when a Non-Governmental Organisation, Fresh Insight Foundation, donated school uniforms, desks and lockers to three schools in Bode Saadu, headquarters of Moro Local Government area, Ganmo, Ifelodun Local Government and in Sango, Ilorin South Local Government areas of Kwara State respectively.

In the exercise, which lasted the whole day, no fewer than 300 benefited and the pupils of the less privileged Nigerians were mostly the beneficiaries of the donated items.

The foundation's members and a team of journalists, who traversed the three Local Government areas of the distribution of the school items were shocked to see school pupils in tattered uniforms, while some trekked to school barefooted.

Sighting Umaru Zayaru, 11, a creche pupil of Jihaddeen LGEA School Bode-Saadu , in a tattered home cloth, the entire team, led by its Director- General, Comrade AbdulRasheed Akogun, could not betray its emotions and in an emotion laden voice directed that the little Zayaru be given a new uniform.

Before a twinkle of an eye, the little Zayaru had adorned a new school uniform and beamed with smile while his classmates were hailing him. For Zayaru, who treks almost six Kilometres from Ina Ruwa village to Bode-Saadu for schooling daily, it was a new dawn in his life and was provision of the new school uniform.

The 11-year-old school pupil who spoke in Hausa said: "I don't know what to say because I have never witnessed this before. I am very grateful for this gift of new school uniform".

He went further: "I have a school uniform but it has worn out and I use my home wear as the alternative whenever it is dirt. My parents wished to change it for me but they did not have the financial power to do so. But now with this new uniform, my parents' wish has been accomplished".

The gesture received a warm reception from the teachers, Head Master and particularly other pupils of the school numbering 99, who shared similar story as Zayaru, they were elated and expressed appreciation to the team for providing them with new uniforms.

The elated Head Master of Jihaddeen LGEA school, Mr Abdulkadir Mahmud, who received the team alongside his teachers, described the gesture as a welcome development saying, "This is a wonderful contribution done to this school and we really appreciate this gesture which is geared towards addressing some of the challenges confronting the school".

The story wasn't different as Adeoye Farouk, a pupil of Ipata 'B' LGEA, Ilorin, who could not cease smiling when called up to step forward to wear a new uniform to replace his tattered and worn out school wear. Farouk, alongside other benefiting pupils of the school scampered to have their new set of uniforms, while the teachers in the school helped to identify other pupils who were known for wearing tattered uniforms to the school.

The Head Mistress of the school, Mrs. Mahmud Sikirat, said some of the pupils in the school are majorly from the poor backgrounds, adding that the gesture will no doubt, spur them to be more willing to learn.

"There are so many children from poor backgrounds, who their parents can't afford to provide them enough educational materials, change their wears and so on, to build in them the right strength to compete academically and this intervention will go a long way," she said.

Similarly, pupils of Ajegunle LGEA Primary School, Sango, Ilorin, also got a donation of 45 chairs and five tables.

The whole community stood still and accorded the visiting team a rousing welcome, while parents of the pupils in the school were full of praises and offered prayers to the foundation for embarking on what they called "humanitarian service".

Commenting on the exercise, the Director- General of the foundation, Comrade Abdulrasheed Akogun, said "we live in a state where premium hasn't been placed on the educational sector, how can a state have a future without securing and preparing the kids, provision of qualitative education is the surest way of securing the future of the state and ensure it holds its head up high in the committee of states.

"After our interaction with various stakeholders in the educational sector, we've come to the sad reality that pupils' enrollment in Kwara schools are on the decline, due to varying factors. A shocking revelation, however, is the high rate of pupils who either dropped out of school or absented themselves from school because their parents couldn't provide them school uniforms.

"A child that goes to school in a tattered cloth is psychologically traumatised and disadvantaged; and inferiority complex wouldn't allow such a child to concentrate. Such a child has been inadvertently set up for failure.

"That's why we squeezed out of our lean resources and solicited donations from other public spirited individuals to come to the rescue by complementing their parents and government's efforts through the donation of school uniforms, chairs and tables to some selected schools" he added.