The Country Director of Positive Chants for Nigeria, Amb. Obeahon Precious, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Benin City.
She said that once the NGOs are trained, they will be better equipped to identify and assist children who are experiencing various forms of abuse and neglect.
“This day, we have children who do no longer feel safe at home because they are either violated, they don’t have enough food to eat or they are witnessing parental separation, or witnessing a family member going to the Correctional Centres as we call it or just not feeling loved, not having enough food to eat,” Amb. Precious said.
“These are common things that happen to children in our society but if we neglect the need of our children, they can actually grow up and become adults who lose a sense of belonging.
“So, we want to be able to raise children up so that they become active members of the society, but before they can become active in the society, they have to be active in their own lives. An adversity tends to separate children from experiences they are supposed to be having in their own lives.
“So, we are hoping that we are able to create a safe space where children have safe people they can talk to and not just their parents but their teachers and even community members around should be able to contribute positively to what happened to the children.
“We should not close our eyes when we see a child does not have enough food to eat. If theparents don’t have food to eat, there should be somebody around that wants to help out. The burden should not be on the parents alone but on the society and the community,” she added.
Amb. Precious emphasized the need for collective action in building a progressive Nigeria, stating that NGOs must work in synergy to effectively care for children and not operate in isolation.
She explained that the event aims to build the capacity of 65 NGOs and community-based organisations in Benin City and across the South-South region to effectively integrate Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs), UNICEF’s thematic focus areas, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their programming.
She said the training will enhance the capacity of participating organisations to implement data-driven Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) strategies, improve collaboration, and increase overall impact.
“At the end of the training, participants will understand and define ACEs, PCEs, and their long-term impact, map their organisation’s work to UNICEF thematic areas and relevant SDGs, design and implement trauma-informed, resilience-building, and SDG-aligned programmes,” she noted.
She added that the participants will also be equipped to apply practical MEAL tools and frameworks for evidence-based programming and use digital storytelling tools for community visibility and policy advocacy.
Also speaking at the event, President of the Conference Of Non-Governmental Organisations (CONGOS), Comrade Dr Bartholomew Okodo, said the press conference was held to “unbundle the monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning” for the 65 organisations in Edo State.
According to him, the project aims to ensure that organisations are able to assess the effectiveness of their work and determine the outcomes of their initiatives.
“This project is geared towards making organizations to assess themselves and know whatever they are doing if it is impactful and to be able to get the outcome of what they’re doing,” he said.
