Street Child Care and Welfare Iniative
16 Akinwunmi Street
Alagomeji, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria
Street Child Care and Welfare Initiative (SCCWI) is a new NGO registered in Nigeria the 22Nd of February 2008. SCCWI is the result of two French speaking people and Nigerians willing to help street children in Lagos.
Street Child Care and Welfare Initiative has opened a centre of rehabilitation to take care of 25 “street boys” aged from 8 to 15 years old coming from all part of Nigeria. SCCWI wants to protect them from dangers of the streets, ensure them with their rights, and give them the opportunity to go to school.
Therefore SCCWI provides them with accommodation, food, clothing, medical, and health care, education, counselling and recreation activities (sport, batik, carpentry, drama, and music).
Children are mostly originated from broken families. They left home because of poverty, death of parents, family violence, rejection, mistreatments, exploitation by the new wife, husband. They were found homeless, mostly under bridges of Lagos State.
SCCWI team started first in getting the trust of the children and little by little they introduce the centre to them. Today 7 people employed by SCCWI are taking care of the good running of the organization and of the 13 children at the centre of rehabilitation.
The centre is located in Yaba. The place is nice, clean, and functional. The kids have very nice bedrooms. They are in charge of taking care of their centre and they do it very well. The kitchen is kept very clean and their bedrooms tidy up. It was pouring rain the day we visited, but yet the centre looks great. Some of the children were having a math class and others an English class, so they’ll be able to join school in September. Guess what; they all want to be footballers except one who wants to be a doctor! It’s not easy for them to go back to study and to socialize after so many years being left to one’s own devices. Anyway, there are wonderful children.
Street Child Care and Welfare Initiative, with the collaboration of other NGO’s, protect the rights and lives of those children. SCCWI helps children to build up their potential and provides for each of them a quality education. The main objective is to rehabilitate the child into his family or relatives and into the society.
Don’t Forget… was truly amazed by that project and if we have enough donations we would like to participate on medical care or educational program.
SCCWI estimates that the cost per month per child in primary was between 6500-6700 Nairas ( €37) a month and between 7000-7500 Nairas (€41) a month for a child in secondary. The total amount per month includes food, clothing, school, and medical care.
We are in touch with SCCWI who are still making quotations concerning different programs. So, as soon as we get all details, we’ll keep you updated.