Increasing rate of homeless persons, especially children in Lagos State, has pushed Airtel to intervene in arresting the situation.
The telecom company is intervening through its touching lives programme, which is in its third season. Under the programme, it promises to support anyone who volunteers to provide relief to these disadvantaged young people.
The Lagos metropolis is packed with minors. Some of these children are either runaways or unavoidably destitute. “Anyone who volunteers to provide relief to these disadvantaged young people deserves our support,” Airtel has said in a statement.
It said Airtel Touching Lives would not only examine the devastating effects of vagrancy on the poor and hopeless, but also bring attention to a non-governmental organisation, the Street Child Care and Welfare Initiative (SCCWI).
According to Airtel, the aid organisation, led by Comfort Alli, has made a commitment to rehabilitating and reintegrating some of the “250,000 street children” found in Nigeria’s commercial capital and most populated city.
“One of the children rescued by SCCWI is Azeez Rotimi. Before his encounter with the shelter, he had roamed the streets of Mushin for five months. A staff of SCCWI described him at the time as “very wild, shattered, and malnourished,” the statement said.
Having lost his father and with no one else to care for him, he left his home in Osun State for Lagos. Six months after his arrival, more adversity pushed him to give the street a try. He took this desperate option “with the aim of gathering some money so that I would go to school, be it public or private,” he said.
However, for a homeless person, braving the elements is no child’s play, said Azeez. “You never know when it’s going to rain on you all night because you can never predict the rain,” he said. Now, Azeez goes to school and speaks decent English.
Hosted by Wana Udobang, Airtel Touching Lives returns this weekend to its usual slots on local and international television, according to a timetable released by the telecom giant, the statement said.
Daniel Obi
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