All Over the World, the place of civil society organizations (CSOs) cannot be ignored as they are responsible to humanitarian services whenever such need arises. Emergency, such as natural disasters like hurricane, tornado, and human made disaster including war, terrorism, communal crises, mining collapse to mention just a few are among the many conflicts that is currently ravishing across the globe. The role of the civil societies in humanitarian service is a crucial one as they are totally non actors in any conflict. Rather they are arbitrators in conflicts management and as most of them are experts in peace building. As one of its code of conduct demand explained “aid will not be used to further a political or religious standpoint and aid is given regardless of race, religion, creed or nationality of the recipients without any adverse distinction of any kind as aid priority are taken on needs bases alone.
In Nigeria, the upsurge of Boko-Haram insurgency in the Northeast and other conflicts area across the country had thrown a huge challenge to residents of such areas, many people were sent off their homes. Properties destroyed, women and children become Windows and orphans. Likewise, husbands who could not help to defend theirs wives’ lost them to the insurgency. Parents and children are being separated including the elderly ones have become vulnerable and find it very hard to cope with this circumstance.
As the crisis deepen, many challenges arise and the need to respond to conflict is as important as ending the conflict itself, and to support these vulnerable persons with basic needs through, livelihood support for parents, psycho social support for traumatized persons, protection for children, education, medical services, society reintegration for CAAG (Children associated with armed groups). Separated and Unaccompanied children provided with alternative foster care while agencies carry out tracing to trace parents and reunify them with their children.
Intercommunity development social organisation (IDS) Nigeria in partnership with Street Child International UK with support from other donors organizations and governments of countries like; UNICEF Nigeria Country Office, The Government of the People of Japan, Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF), Too Young to Wed (TYTW) and the Global Center of Cooperative Security USA and many other international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are playing a huge role in the humanitarian response to manage the conflict situation in the Northeast Nigeria.
IDS in collaboration with Street Child UK is working with special focus on child protection where it is providing case management for vulnerable internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and host communities children; Unaccompanied/separated and other children at risk of abuse, exploitation and violence. These children are provided with psychosocial clinical support which involves mental assessment and evaluation of children suffering from stress, anxiety, depression, and grief with counseling session also provided. A child friendly space established were children can come learn, relax and relief stress with recreational activities like storytelling, football, handball, volleyball, skipping, swing, dance and so many activities. Alternative care provided to these children and also family racing reunification (FTR). As part of economic empowerments and reintegration, parents of affected children are selected, trained and put on the FBS (Family Business Scheme) where they are also supported with grants to startup own businesses for income generations, employment creation and poverty alleviation. To also ensure the sustainability of this program and help parents continue to provide for their children an investment scheme called the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) has been established to enable beneficiaries of the program save and also access loans to expand their businesses.
The “Education Cannot Wait”(ECW) project is one of the emergency response interventions project the duo partners are vigorously implementing to take the vulnerable and out of school children back to school. The project had undergone it first phase of three years now as many children in and outside the IDPs Camps had being enrolled through the temporary learning centers (TLCs) spread across the two local government areas of Biu and Damboa local government area of Borno State which the program is currently being implemented.
The ECW Project is meant to support thousands of out of school children. Children who had to drop out as a result of the insurgency in the Northeast go back to school. The protection and Education in Emergency (EiE) projects run concurrently to help children who had witnessed traumatic times during the raid by the insurgents and those associated with arms conflicts to regain theirs mental health and become normal again like every other child in the society. To this effect, the child friendly space (CFS) and child help desk (CHD) were provided in the IDPs camps and host communities to identify children with such challenges to be counseled and engaged in the CFS centers where recreational activities are carried out to help the children relieve stress, relax, learn and reintegrate with their peers.
This is done so that they can learn and perform very well in the TLC and the formal schools when they are being enrolled back. In the TLCs children are being taught using UNICEF educational module, monitoring and evaluation is consistently carried out to ensure that children are safe and free from harm, mentally stable and are doing well in their academics.
This is a laudable contributions coming from IDS/Street Child UK looking at the terrains the organizations are operating from to better the lives of these vulnerable children. They deserve to be commended. A situation where most of the humanitarian organizations had stayed put-in Maiduguri where most them felt, it is most secure for them because of the security presence, these duo had taking the bull by the horn and push it service to this hard – end and difficult terrain to provide its services. (Sounds too patronizing for me)
On my last visit to Damboa, I had the opportunity to have first-hand experience on what it meant to live in this country side. First, my phone was partially out of service. Secondly, there was no place to get a food vendor of my taste as I eventually ran out stuff. The presence of security personnel’s in eventually every area made my life feel I was still in a war zone which cannot denied. This affected my psychology as reporter who had never had never had such experience before and so many others things.
Basically, one would think that no one would be found working in a place like this aside from the indigenes of these areas. But to my greatest surprise I was joyed as I met good number of professionals who are giving much to help humanity with theirs services. It is quite interesting to see Nigerians from other parts of the country that were here basically to serve. I saw volunteer teachers, nurses, community and social workers, clinical psychologists and most people of good hearts working to put smiles on the faces of our country men, women and children that had being in this conflict.
I think the example of this men and women and even theirs organizations they represent is worth emulating and one must at this point say “well done to IDS Nigeria/Street Child for bringing back hope to the children in Northeast through your EiE and protection project intervention. At my last count, I was informed over a thousand children had being through the temporary learning centers (TLCs) and about sixty percent (60%) of them had being transferred to the formal school to continue their education with IDS providing them with educational materials and nutrition. To me, nothing is better than this, as the children are the future of tomorrow and anything we are doing to bring them in pair with others children in other parts of the country should be commended.
In another development, IDS-Nigeria is working partnering with the Nigerian Foundation for the Support of Victims of Terrorism (Victims Support fund (VSF) to support about 3000 farmers with agro inputs to boost farming activities in order to counter food insecurity, malnutrition and stung among children caused by the insurgency. The flag-off was done on the 23rd of May 2019 in a remote village, Garubula ward in Biu Local government area of Borno state. I witnessed the distribution of farm inputs worth over six hundred million (N600, 000, 00) Naira to households affected by insurgency including thirty (30) tractors were given out free to farmers form for the 2019 farming season to help beneficiaries boost agricultural productive and profitability. It goes to tell you that Nigerians are their brother’s keepers and any effort to salvage our common problems should be ultimate and important as we are more humans when we bring back smiles on other people’s face.
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