Foundation Holds Charity for Out-of-school Children

Funmi Ogundare

The Ibironke Adeagbo Foundation (IAF) has expressed its readiness to hold its third annual charity programme to lift out-of-school children from the streets and give them access to quality education.

The charity, scheduled to hold on February 26 virtually, will feature key speakers like a former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Senior Pastor of Trinity House, Ituah Ighodalo and an education advocate, Miss Zuriel Oduwole, who will talk about how the country can reduce out-of-school children, as well as a raffle draw to raise fund for their bursary.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Ibironke Adeagbo, who briefed journalists virtually, recently, expressed concern about the heightened security situation, especially in the northern part of the country, saying that parents are now scared of sending their children to school, which has increased the number of out-of-school children.

Adeagbo recalled what led to the foundation’s establishment three years ago, saying, “I remembered one particular day I was driving on Third Mainland Bridge, and there was traffic. A seven-year-old boy came to me knocked on my car window, saying he wanted to sell a handkerchief to me. This was about​ 11: a.m. I asked him what he was doing there at that time instead of being in school. He replied to me saying his parents cannot afford to send him to school. I bought all his handkerchiefs, and took me to where his parents lived in Oworoshoki. I told her that if I decided to pay his school fees, she must allow him to go to school. The boy was enrolled in school afterwards.”

She said she thought that if she did this, then she could do it for more children in Nigeria, adding that since the establishment of the foundation in 2019, it has been picking up more children from the streets, paying their schools fees and buying them uniforms, books and bags.

She commended the efforts of the Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno regarding out-of-school children, building schools and developing infrastructure in the state.