WINET, Spanish Partner, Awards Scholarship To 60 Indigent Female Students In Another Enugu Community.

Posted by Ignatius Okpara Enugu, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Wednesday, May 17th, 2023

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The joy of sixty indigent female Students of Community High School Umabor Eha – Alumona in Nsukka Council area of Enugu state and their parents on Tuesday knew no bound, as famous non- Governmental organization (NGO), Women Information Network (WINET), and its foreign partner, Mundo Cooperante of Spain, awarded them scholarship.

Aside payment of their third term school fees running from (2022- 2023), the benefiting students were presented with assorted educational writing materials, such as packs of notebooks, Mathematical sets, school bags, among other items.

It would be rcalled that the Enugu based NGO, which has passion for women and the girl child issues, had in the recent past carried out similar gesture in several schools in parts of the local government areas in the state.

Executive Director of (WINET), Mrs. Miriam Menkiti, in her speech at the colourful event held at the school premises told the students that “I want you to know that we are here with the kind permission of the Hon. Commissioner for Education, Professor Uchenna Eze and the Chairman, Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB) Dr. Favour Ugwuanyi.

“In furtherance of our activities under the Right to be a Girl –Projects to End Girl Child Marriage, we are here today to present third term scholarship (2022-2023) to sixty (60) female students of Community High School Umabor Eha –Alumona under the project titled “Support for 128 Students Education in Enugu State, Nigeria” funded by Mundo Cooperante of Spain.

She disclosed that one academic year scholarship was initially awarded to 106 female Students to CSS Akpasha and twenty-two (22) female students of CSS Iva Valley.

According to the Executive Director who spoke through the Organization’s Monitoring, Evaluation and learning officer, Mrs. Chinelo Dim, “We realized extra income after the implementation of the project. We now wish to utilize it to

pay third–term school fees for an additional one hunderd and twenty (120) female students, sixty (60) in Community High school, Umuabor, Eha-Alumona, Nsukka Local government Area, and sixty (60) in Girls Secondary school, Oduma, Aninri Local Government Area.

“As a member of the international coalition of organizations called Girls Not Brides, we are here to support the retention of girls in school for their education. We want our girls to be educated; We do not want them to be given out in marriage at a tender age because, they are girls and not yet matured enough to be brides.

“This is the reason we insisted that Parents of the selected female students must sign commitment letters that they will not

be withdrawn from school for marriage or any purpose during the period of our scholarhip. We urge parents not to discriminate against the girl child.

“They should send all girl children to school like the boys.The scholarship entails payment of school fees for third term 2022/2023 academic session for the selected 60 sixty female students of

Community High School Umabor Eha –Alumona and State Based Management

Committee (SBMC) levy.

“I am glad to inform you that we have paid the third term fees for the girls.We appeal to the benefitting female students to make the best use of the opportunity offered by WINET and Mundo Cooperante to study hard. We thank Mundo Cooperante for supporting this project to retain our young girls inschool.

“Our Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Officer, Mrs.Chinelo Dim will visit the school in the months of May and June to check the progress of the students. I appealto the

Principal, Vice Principal and teachers to cooperate with us in our monitoring exercise.

“We thank the Principal, Vice Principal and the teachers in the school because they have been very supportive of this project.

In a remark, principal of the school, Mr. Ugwuoke Martin, expressed appreciation to WINET and it’s foreign partner for the kind gesture, stressing that the role the NGO has been playing in the defence of Women and girl child is worthy of commendation.

He said the gesture would no doubt serve as encouragment and motivating factor to the benefitting students, whom he admonished to take their studies very seriously as it is the only way they could reciprocate the intervention.

The principal noted that education remains the bedrock for the advancement of any society including Enugu state and Nigeria, hence, the need to always accord the sector the attention it deserves, adding that the scholarship would also serve as a morale booster to the students .

“On behalf of the school management, I want to say a very big thank you to these two organizations for remembering our school.

Expressing their feelings in an interview with our Correspondent, Mr. Paul Atama and Mrs. Lucy Ozioko who spoke onbehalf of parents of the selected students, thanked WINET and her Foreign partner for remembering their children.

They however, called on other NGOs and wealthy individuals to emulate the two Organizations in assisting the less privileged in the society, saying all fingers are not equal in terms of finance.

Responding, on behalf of her fellow students, Ezeguorie Abigail of Junior Secondary school JSI, poured ecomium on WINET and Mundo Coooperante for coming to their financial assistance, assuring them of their readiness to reciprocate the gesture through taking their studies very seriously, stressing that they will not take the support for granted.