Background

The wealth disparity in our communities is mostly reflected in the children and the quality of education afforded them. It is very common in low income areas of delta state to observe children attending school with out shoes and proper clothing. Most are unable to purchase the prescribed school uniform and all its accessories. In some extreme cases as observed in Orerokpe, Delta state, Nigeria, children come to school without haven eaten breakfast and are unsure of where lunch would come from.

On a previous project visit to Orerokpe (Education for All), Acquire Centre recognized this need and through it’s subsidiary Love In Action collaborated with some private schools to address the problem of no shoes.  The project “Care to Share” was introduced to three private schools encouraging students to donate a pair of shoes from their personal collection to students of schools in Orerokpe who had no shoes.

The Challenge

The most challenging aspect of the entire project was the cleaning and sorting of items donated by the students.  We received an enormous amount of donations old and new. Other challenges encountered included deciding which school in Orerokpe had the greatest need.

The Solution

A team was made up of teachers and students volunteered to sort through the pack everyday after school for 2 weeks.  We received more than shoes as students and parents donated toiletries, baby dippers, school belts, reading materials and others.  Each item was sorted and categorized according to size or age group. After much deliberation, Orhue Primary School founded in 1958 was chosen because it was the oldest and most dilapidated amongst the rest.

The Result

The students and teachers of Orhue Primary school were pleasantly surprised as they had no previous knowledge of our visitation.  An emergency school assembly was called for where our volunteer students share the believe and excitement to participate in Love In Action’s “Care to Share” initiative.  The joy and fulfillment expressed by the volunteers was tangible as students mingled with the kids from Orhue Primary School taking pictures and sharing compliments.  The little children from the school ran after our bus as we departed until the they lost site of our convoy.  The headmistress was over joyed and congratulated Love In Action and all the volunteers for their selfless and caring initiative.