The Federal Government’s At-Risk Children Programme, ARC-P, has graduated 500 facilitators in Gombe to help reduce the increasing rate of out school children.
The ARC-P initiative is hinged on seven pillars of Literacy & Numeracy, Vocational & Financial Skills, Digital Skills, Life Skills and Sports, Health & Nutrition, Agriculture &Climate Issues, Gatekeeper, Intervention & Incentivisation.
It is aimed at improving the living conditions of street hawkers, orphans, people living with disabilities, survivors of child marriage, drug or substance abuse and internally displaced persons.
The Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, urged the facilitators to help the children beyond the acquisition of knowledge, but to the provision of mentorship.
She said the graduating facilitators would be expected to give reports on a monthly basis for each child under their care, noting that the effort is strategic in solving the various issues affecting the enrolment of children within the communities.
“I like to tell you that we have faced a lot of responsibility 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 not only supervise and teach them you will also monitor them, but you will also mentor them. This is a huge task but we feel this is the only way we can address the huge numbers of children that are out of school across the country. The need to create an army of capacity within the community to see how we can support these children whose not the fault of theirs are deprived of so many rights and protection,” Mrs Uwais said.
She commended the efforts and cooperation of the Gombe State Government in tackling challenges around children, saying it has become a model for other states like Sokoto, Kaduna and Borno.
Equally, Mrs. Uwais said the Federal Government had since signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which the state government was expected to address.
“What you see here is what we are going to be sharing in other states. I like to thank you for setting the pace and for the graduands for assuming the responsibility we have been put on you,” Mrs. Uwais said.
Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya praised the Federal Government for the far-reaching initiative, which he believes would tackle the crisis of vulnerable children, including Almajiri children, street children and youths potentially at risk physically and psychologically adding that it would reduce social vices within the state.
“The introduction of this programme in order to provide succour to the less privileged and vulnerable in our societies so that they could live a more dignified life is indeed timely and welcomed,” Governor Yahaya said.
He confirmed that the first batch of facilitators was selected from the databank established by his administration to link skilled unemployed young graduates in the state with appropriate job opportunities.
“As pioneers of this programme, I urge you all to work hard, uphold your knowledge for good practice and training, remain focused and above all, be good ambassadors of our administration’s effort towards improving human capital development in the state,” Governor Yahaya said.
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