By Lockdown Extension, School In The Street Calls For Donations Towards Its #FeedTheStreet Project
With the Presidential broadcast yesterday by President Muhammadu Buhari extending the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun State and Abuja for another one week, out of school children focused NGO, School In The Street (SITS), is calling for donations from the public to sustain its #FeedTheStreet programme of providing one meal a day to our school children.
SITS averred that since the commencement of the lockdown on March 30, 2020, restriction of movement, businesses and commercial or social events, street children have been the worst hit.
“Knowing street children will be locked out during the lockdown without any means to earn, we launched a relief programme, #FEEDtheSTREET. We called for support to enable us to provide at least once-a-day meals to them during the lockdown to prevent them from going into crime, stealing or robbery in their search for what to eat and how to feed.
“The support received in response to this call has been quite tremendous and helpful. As of 26 April 2020, a total donation of N326,500 (three hundred and twelve thousand, seven hundred naira) has been received. This support, by no small means, has helped to ensure we deliver a cooked meal to a good number of street children since the feeding commenced on Friday, April 3. So far, at an average cost of N250 per child, we have successfully fed 50 street children in Ikorodu (Lagos) for a period of 19 days, 42 street children in Abeokuta (Ogun) for a period of 12 days, and 100 street children in Oshodi (Lagos) for a period of 3 days. Also, we gave out food items to 13 adults particularly those with 3 or more children. We hope to continue this for as long as lockdown exists,” Olakunle Sanni, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of SITS wrote in a statement made available to BlackBox Nigeria.
He further used the opportunity to thank sponsors and volunteers that have sustained the activities of the group since the commencement of the street feeding programme.
“We are grateful to iCARE Foundation, CEWHIN, Medicine De Rue Foundation, Hope for the Hungered Foundation, Childhood Advancers Ibeju-Lekki and all the individual donors who have chosen to remain anonymous. Men and women may not know you but the Almighty God knows you and will reward you abundantly (amen). We are grateful to all our team of volunteers: Mrs Fatima Chiwendu Abegumde-Yakubu, Mr Sulaimon Mojeed-Sanni, Ms Olaide Ebo, Mrs Mujidat Mojeed-Sanni, Ms Joy Okolie, Mrs Busola Alabi, Ms Elizabeth Odion, Mr Adam Olusola, Mrs Olaide Akasoro, Mrs Olufunke Adu and Mrs Aminat Sanni; for their efforts in keeping this programme going across the three locations.
“We are using this opportunity to seek for more donations both in kind and cash as we, once again, assure you of our commitment to rebuilding the lives of street children in Nigeria,” Olakunle appreciated.
