Foundation fetes IDPs on Tamaro Island

To put smiles on their faces and restore hope to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), a non-governmental organisation, Refuge Foundation, has feted children on Tamaro Island, Lagos.

Speaking at the event, Founder, Refuge Foundation, Mrs. Ogonna Kanu, said the group is working to create awareness on the plight of IDPs in the country and cater for their basic needs.

Kanu said the children and their families are displaced persons from Chibok, Borno State, who have been refugees on the Island for years. She decided to fete and celebrate them on the occasion.

Kanu said she has always been concerned about the plights of displaced persons in the country, saying they often suffer more during conflicts. “Some of the people came to this Island about 10 years ago. That’s protracted displacement.”

To assist them, Kanu said the foundation came up with various programmes such as ‘I Work’ and ‘Arm to Farm,’ to engage displaced people, empower them and ensure they remain productive in the community they live in.

She further disclosed that the body has an initiative named ‘Kit for Kids,’ to provide school materials for displaced children.
The philanthropist urged Nigerians to focus more on the plights of IDPs, saying displacement is now a global crisis and has worsened in the country.

A resident on the Island, Amos Abogo, also from Chibok, appreciated the foundation for the gesture, saying it is not easy to remember others that are in pain.

He appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to assist IDPs in the area of accommodation and payment of school fees, saying many of the children on the Island are out of school.

One of the children, Marvelous John, thanked the foundation for putting smiles on their faces.