By Kayode Abdulazeez, Ilorin
A non-governmental organization operating under the aegis of the Islamic Orphanage Foundation, based in Ilorin, Kwara state capital yesterday appealed to the government at all levels and private sectors to often give special consideration to orphans in the area of job provision.
This is just as the foundation said it has sponsored the education of 96 orphans who graduated from various higher institutions of learning across the country since its inception, including a medical doctor who graduated from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
The foundation, which also empowered nine orphans who graduated from it skills acquisition training programme with various empowerment tools and take off grants.
Speaking at the annual orphanage day held at the Secretariat of the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) Ilorin, the foundation chairman, Architect Safullah Alege, said many of the foundation’s sponsored graduates were still yet to get a job.
“We are appealing to the federal, state government and private sectors to give orphans special consideration in employment. By doing these the society will reduce many evils”, he said.
Alege also appealed to the government to assist the centre in the procurement of empowerment tools and seed capital for orphans who have graduated from the centre’s skills acquisition and training programme.
“We size this opportunity to appeal to you to assist in buying equipments for our children that will be graduating from their training from time to time .Simila ly, there will be need to provide fund for their take off like renting shops and working capital .Today, nine beneficiaries will be empowered with equipment in various field like tailoring, cobbler etc”, he said.
On the challenges facing the center, the foundation chairman stated that the foundation will be required about a million to pay school fees of new intakes, returning students, and pupils as well as WAEC and NECO fees of orphans in SSS-3 and JSS-3 for the 2024/2025 academic session.
Chairman of the occasion and registrar of the University of Ilorin, Barrister Usman Alfa-Nla decried lack of dedicated programmes by the government at all levels to uplift orphans in the society.
In his lecture, Engineer Yasar Remilekun admonished mothers of the orphans to monitor their children and ensure that the investment of the Islamic orphanage foundation in their children is not in vain.
