NGO supports 4,359 orphans, vulnerable children in Gombe State

A Gombe based NGO, Management Science for Health, said it assisted 4,359 orphans and vulnerable children in Gombe State with educational materials in 2013.

Miss Kabati Baba-Tokora, the organisation's Senior Programme Officer, said this in Gombe in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

She said the materials included school uniforms, exercise books and school bags.

She said that the aim of the organisation was to assist 5,000 indigent children in the state in 2013.

"But we were only able to identify the 4,359 children," she said.

Baba-Tokora said the organisation had advocated waving of Parent Teachers Association (PTA) levy and other levies for indigent children.

"This is because PTA and other levies imposed on the children stopped them from going to school because their parents cannot afford them. We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) with schools and they have stopped collecting such levies from orphans and vulnerable children. Our organisation is supporting the schools with chalks and dusters because that is what they use the levies for," she said.

Baba-Tokora said the organisation plans to assist the schools with desk and chairs in 2014

Gombe State, Management Science for Health