Senator Rocha’s Okoricha
Sponsor less privileged children’s education, Okorocha urges rich Nigerians
By Uji A. Iliyasu
Abuja
Worried by the growing number of out of school children in Africa, Senator Rochas Okorocha has called on leaders, politicians and businessmen at all levels to sponsor less privileged children in schools in order to reduce to the barest minimum the menace.
Speaking at the formal launch of an initiative christened Teach a Child/Sponsor a Child Project (TAC-SAC) organised by Rochas Okorocha Foundation, in Abuja today, Okorocha said if politicians and well-do-to individuals support in sponsoring children to schools, the number of out-of-school children will reduced drastically.
“We have over 200 million people in Nigeria, out this figure, we can have one million people who can comfortable afford to teach a child or sponsor their education.
“Now if you ask every of these people including members of the National Assembly, politicians and businessmen, to come together one million of us and take only 20 children each and sponsor their education, we will take 20 million children back to school immediately.
“This is what this programme is set to achieve. We belong to different organisations including churches, mosques, clubs, but we are talking about education where it matters most,” he said.
Senator Okorocha further explained that the initiative is targeting to get one million people in Africa to sponsor 10 children by each person.
“Our target is to get one million people in Africa who can take 10 children each in any of the African countries. If Rochas Foundation can take over 25,000 children, we can collectively take care of 20 million children who are out-of-school.
Speaking earlier, the Director General of Rochas Foundation, Miss Uchechi Rochas, noted that with the unveiling of the TAC-SAC initiative, well-meaning individuals will be expected to get involved in order to reduce drastically the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria and Africa at large.
“As a nation, we have lost the spirit of volunteerism which has brought about 13.5 million children not to be in school.
“An uneducated child is one who showed up at your door step for a robbery attack, an uneducated child is one used for terrorism .
“The entre problem of this country can be stopped with education because if we empower these 13. 5 million children, we have empowered 13.5 million families.
”If you look at these numbers, female children have the larger part of it. Therefore, it is important we get the children into the classrooms because if you empower the girl-child, you empower the nation,” she stressed.