Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
One hundred Senior Secondary One (SSS1 to 3) students from five schools in Abuja have been offered a three-year scholarship by MATINAAH Care Foundation (MCF).
All the vulnerable students now have their school fees settled from SSS1 to SSS3. Others in SSS2 and SSS3 will benefit for the duration of their time in school.
The benefiting students were selected from five government secondary schools (GSS) as follows: Aleita, 15 students; Garki,40 students; Tudun Wada, 15 students; Wuse One, 15 students; and Wuye, 15 students.
A 2025 global estimate suggests that 151 million children aged 0 to 17 have lost one or both parents, with abot 39 percent of the world’s orphans living in sub-Saharan Africa, and Nigeria accounts for approximately 17.5 million of these orphans.
In its response to the needs of these vulnerable children, MATINAAH Care Foundation said it is intervening in providing care and education for the few selected children, even though it would have been done for more children if resources were available.
Pastor Ibrahim Bamaiyi Magadi, one of the directors of MCF, said the support is intended to bring succor
He emphasised during a question-and-answer session with the students at the weekend that: “MCF is assuring these vulnerable, marginalized, persecuted and abandoned children of its support within the organization’s limited resources.”
Also, Dr. Julie Yemi Jonathan, a physician and lifestyle enthusiast, stated that students who have lost their parents should view their circumstances not as a defining identity but as an experience through which they can move from trauma towards resilience.
On his own, Dr Ado Mohammed Shuaibu, who represented the director/secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Secondary Education Board (FCT-SEB), commended MCF for supporting education and improving the welfare of children and young adults.
He reiterated that education remains a powerful instrument for personal development, social transformation and national progress.
Also encouraging the students, Dr Cyril Efre, a senior manager at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (UPRC), in a paper on ‘Discipline, Excellence and Success’, gave the students some advice.
He said students attending the same school and taking the same examination achieve different results because the difference is not simply a matter of intelligence or lack of connection, but of discipline and how individuals use the same 24 hours available to them each day.
Nnenna Sylvia Philips, a nutritionist, encouraged the students to nourish their future through food choices that support academic performance and excellence.
She emphasised that the brain needs nourishment and recommended balanced meals containing energy-giving food, food that supports body and brain development, brain-boosting fats, seeds for stamina, leafy greens, fruits,s and other plant-based foods. She also highlighted water and sleep as vital to peak academic performance.