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Advocacy visit promises new OVC opportunities in Kaduna

In one of the successful applications of ENHANSE grants so far, an advocacy visit to Archbishop Peter Yariyok Jatau has promised new hopes for orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Kaduna State. Archbishop Jatau has flung open the doors of the archdiocese's Provincial Health, Justice. Peace and Development Committee/Caritas; an ENHANSE Project subgrantee advocating with Faith Based Organizations in the state to provide structures and programmes that respond to the needs of the state’s OVCs.

Among the commitments made by Archbishop Jatau were:

• An acknowledgement that the OVCs need special attention particularly with regard to access to health, education and economic empowerment
• Church-based annual fundraising for the identification and documentation of OVCs in all the various dioceses in the state so as to better solicit for adequate resources to meet their needs.
• Assistance with the payment of the school fees of the properly identified and documented OVC cases.
• A commitment to channeling of foodstuff donated by church members to the OVCs and their care providers.
• Placement of OVCs in church-owned and operated nursery and primary schools, and encouragement and support for establishment of schools that would provide OVCs and other less privileged in the society opportunity to benefit from the national programme of universal basic education.
• Use of the church’s goodwill with international donors to raise funds to help give the OVCs a head-start in life where there was once non before.

The archbishop charged the officials of the HJPDC, a subgrantee of ENHANSE Project to furnish the archdiocese with a statistic of the exact number of OVCs in the state. He said that this was necessary for a successful dialogue with potential national and international funding agencies.

The hosts of the visit were Archbishop Jatau and Reverend Father James Sofa. The guests and initiators of the workshop were Miss Victoria Madaki, HJPDC Admin Assistant; Mrs. Dorcas M. Adeyemi, OVC Team Member; Mr. Sunday John Ali, OVC Team Secretary; Sister Mary Sidi, OVC Coordinator; Mr. Fidelis O Ikhile, Provincial HJPDC Secretary; and Mr. Obasi Ogbonnaya, ENHANSE Project Data Use/Communication Specialist.

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