Catholic Diocese of Makurdi in Nigeria Reaches Out to Displaced Children with Scholarships

“The 50 students were received by the principals of the five schools on January 12, 2022 after a five-day orientation exercise at Holy Child Secondary School, Makurdi, where Bishop Wilfred Anagbe addressed and presented the scholarship award letters to them,” the January 14 report indicates.

In Benue state, sustained attacks by jihadists masquerading as herdsmen have forced many children out of school as they continue to live with their parents in squalid IDP camps, which lack basic educational facilities, the leadership of Makudi Diocese says.

Last year, the Catholic peace and charity foundation, Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), decried the continued silence on the growing crisis in the Eastern and Southern regions of Nigeria with reports indicating that over 800,000 people have already been displaced in one State of the region that is ravished by armed herdsmen.

“Thousands who have been rendered homeless in Benue State located in Central Nigeria are still trapped in IDP camps,” DHPI Director, Johan Viljoen said 30 June 2021.

Last October, the  Catholic pontifical and charity foundation, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), presented a report by various state and non-state actors detailing the murders, displacements of people and destruction of property in various Nigerian States experiencing persecution. 

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The report indicated that in Benue State alone, there are over one million Internally Displaced People (IDPs).

In the January 14 report, Bishop Anagbe is quoted as saying that the gesture of the Diocese offering scholarships to the children is to “avert the social turmoil that awaits the State in the next decade from a generation of children who have not gone to class or skills acquisition centres.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.