Project Handlers Sensitise School On Dangers Of Trafficking

Mr Joseph Sanwo, the Senior Project Officer, Action Against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants in Nigeria (A-TIPSOM), has sensitised pupils of an Abuja school on dangers of trafficking.

He also educated the pupils on how to identify traffickers and how to prevent the menace within their vicinity.

The project is being handled by International Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), a Spanish public foundation working on the A-TIPSOM project.

The sensitisation, tagged “No to Human Trafficking, Child Labour” was conducted at the Christ City Mission School, Abuja.

Sanwo said that the aim of the awareness was to make the pupils and management of the school know the dangers associated with trafficking.

He explained that the foundation was also in the school to teach the pupils how to identify traffickers and prevent the menace within their vicinity.

He added that “A-TIPSOM plans to move to other schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to teach pupils how to identify a potential trafficker.

“This project is funded by European Union, implemented by FIIAPP, we are partnering with four major actors to do this work in Nigeria.

“Our actors are Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL) which is a civil society organisation, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

“A-TIPSOM’s objective is to see that the menace of trafficking is totally wiped away from Nigeria, this is why we decided to educate this school, located in the remotest part of Lugbe, FCT.”

Dr Carol Shalom, the founder of the school, thanked the project handlers for the sensitisation, saying it was a rare privilege.

Shalom, also the Coordinator of NACTAL, FCT chapter, said most of the pupils in the community school could easily be trafficked, going by the level of poverty associated with the residents.

She added that “Christ City Mission School is a school for the under-privileged, the poorest of the poor, street children.

“I go from street to street to gather children so I could teach them; no fees is collected from anyone since their parents cannot afford it.

“This sensitisation by A-TIPSOM will help us. The teachers are excited.

“Most of these children are orphans; we get our support from good Nigerians to run this School, we seek for more support from well-meaning Nigerians.”

Mrs Vera-Roli Igbinadolor, the Secretary of NACTAL in the FCT, urged parents to inculcate good morals in their children.

According to her, trafficking business is real and most of the people doing it are not strangers to the community where they usually get their victims.

She added that “my message to the children and the parents is that we should all be stronger together to fight trafficking.

“Traffickers are deceptive, they are manipulative, they are there to take our children for child labour, we don’t want this in our society.”

Mr Abdulsalam Adamu, the leader of the community where the school is located, who expressed his joy for the awareness programme, thanked A-TIPSOM for the gesture.

Adamu urged the project handlers to assist in helping to secure a better land to build a befitting school.