Insurgency: Catholic Bishop gives scholarship to 250 IDPs Children in Benue

By David Odama

Concerned by the high number of parent less children in various Internally Displaced Camps arising from insurgency and other forms of killings in Benue State, the Catholic Bishop of Katsina-Ala Diocese in Benue, Most Rev Isaac Bundepuun Dugu has offered scholarships to over 250 children living in IDP camps in Anyiin and Ugba in Katsina-Ala LGA of Benue State.

With the scholarship award, the children will be trained to whatever level of education and would be made to spend part of their holidays with some members of the Diocesan family outside the IDPs as adopted children of the Diocese.

In addition, the Catholic Diocese of Katsina-Ala has build and equip a primary school for the IDPs children within the premises of St Athanasius Parish, Anyiin to ensure that no child is denied access to education, lamenting that some of the children were born in camps and have never had access to the four walls of a classroom.

His Lordship, Bishop Dugu while performing a symbolic presentation of the scholarship to the children, announced that over two hundred Internally Displaced children in Anyiin have already been enrolled into Primary School while fifty children have been enrolled in Ugba by the Catholic Diocese of Katsina-Ala.

Bishop Isaac Bundepuun Dugu explained that the aim is to give the IDP Children an opportunity to have access to education as a way of empowerment and also prevent a situation where they will grow to be a menace to society.

The Bishop maintained that twenty four (24) children from the camps have also been admitted into St Paul’s Secondary School, Kyado, Divine Love Catholic Girls’ Secondary School and St Gerald’s Secondary School Katsina-Ala while two (2) have proceeded to Enugu; all on full scholarship from the Diocese.

He reiterated the willingness of the Catholic Diocese of Katsina-Ala to provide education for all IDP children who are desirous , while emphasizing that the goal is to empty the IDP Camps through education since it is difficult for them to return to their ancestral land with nothing in place to forestall the incursion by armed herdsmen.

“I am inspired by the gospel of John chapter 10:10, where Jesus said He has come so that humanity may have life and have it to the full, stressing that as a shepherd, he felt the duty to cater for both the spiritual and physical needs of the people through education which is pivotal to ending poverty and ignorance