12 yr-old orphan trashes 1,800 students in quiz competition

A 12 yr-old orphan, Umaima Adamu Mati has defeated 1,800 other students in a quiz competition held in Bauchi state.  The competition was organised for pupils from 40 informal learning centres being run by a non-governmental organisation, Community Initiative for the Promotion of Health and Education Sector, (CIPHRES) in the State. Kano Chronicle gathered that […]

A 12 yr-old orphan, Umaima Adamu Mati has defeated 1,800 other students in a quiz competition held in Bauchi state. 

The competition was organised for pupils from 40 informal learning centres being run by a non-governmental organisation, Community Initiative for the Promotion of Health and Education Sector, (CIPHRES) in the State.

Kano Chronicle gathered that the CIPHRES’s informal learning centres were established to support out of school children in Gamawa local government area of the state.

Little Umaima, an indigene of the local government, lost her father late Alhaji Adamu Mati when she was one year old.

Following the death of her father, Umaima and her five siblings found themselves in a difficult situation, as their jobless mother Amina Adamu could niether feed nor educate them.

Amina said, “After the death of my husband, I couldn’t feed the six children he left behind, not to talk of sponsoring their education. As God have it, four of them are now studying in various schools across Bauchi state. The eldest is at the College of Agriculture, Bauchi; two others in SS 3 and JSS 2 at Iqamatussunnah College and Central Primary School Gamawa while Umaima is studying at a CIPHRES learning centre.”

Umaima is currently learning literacy, numeracy and life skills being the only subjects taught across the 40 learning centres managed by the NGO.

To boost learning activities at the centres that have 45 learners each, CIPRHES organised a quiz competition in all the 40 centres.

Surprisingly Umaima defeated her peers at the centre-level which qualified her to compete with other pupils who emerged victorious from their respective centres at the second stage.

The little orphan also emerged the overall winner of the competition having defeated all the 1,800 pupils that came from the 40 centres located in different communities across the local government.

Commenting on the development, one of the Judges, Kabiru Mohammed said that Umaima did not only emerge the best, but her approach in answering questions during the competition became a topic of discussion among the judges.

“Little Umaima is prudent, fast in thinking, articulate and calculative. The girl has impressed many people. I pray to Almighty Allah to continue to bless this little girl so that she will become somebody in the future,” he said.

In his address, the Secretary of the Local Government Community Coalition, Alhaji Babayo Kasuwa said that he was happy with the performance of the young girl and challenged wealthy individuals in the state to support orphans to get better education.

He argued that any society that neglects its vulnerable and orphan children would be doomed.

Executive Director, CIPRHES, Alhaji Ibrahim Ladan Wunti reiterated the commitment of the organisation in educating vulnerable and out of school children.

“It has always been the work of CIPRHES to help the less privileged. We will continue to do so despite the meager resources we have. The result of the competition shows that we are succeeding in impacting the lives of the neglected children,” he said.

Wunti said CIPRHES would remain focused and partner individuals and philanthropists in executing developmental projects across different communities in the north east.