2,000 orphans scramble for space in Borno school

The hope of over 2,000 children orphaned by Boko Haram insurgency, who are yearning to acquire Arabic and Western education in Maiduguri, Borno State, is hanging in the balance. Some of them are children of Boko Haram members who have been killed; others are children of policemen, soldiers and other para-military establishments that were either […]

The hope of over 2,000 children orphaned by Boko Haram insurgency, who are yearning to acquire Arabic and Western education in Maiduguri, Borno State, is hanging in the balance.
Some of them are children of Boko Haram members who have been killed; others are children of policemen, soldiers and other para-military establishments that were either gunned down at the battle- front or trailed to their houses before they were massacred.
 Many others are children of civilians, including artisans, traders and low-income civil servants, who were killed through targeted missions or by stray bullets.
 The 2,000 children under review are aspiring to get a space at Future Prowess, a foundation in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The school offers free nursery and primary education to orphans and vulnerable children in the society. Founder of the school, Barrister Zanna Mustapha also secures admission for the orphans to pursue secondary education once they obtain their First School Leaving Certificate.
 Though the chance of getting a space at the school by the 2,000 pupils that came forward seems bleak, observers believe that they are among the “lucky orphans” who have noticed a window of prosperity even though it will take them long to peep through.
 This is simply because of the fact that in the last five years, thousands of children have been orphaned by the Boko Haram crisis with many of them living in far flung villages that have no connection with modernity.  
For those that have indicated interest to go to Future Prowess, this noble intention will remain a tall dream because the facilities at the school have been overstretched due to the upsurge in the number of prospective pupils.
 Of recent, Boko Haram fighters, in continuation of their campaign of violence, destroyed many communities especially in the southern part of Borno State. Thousands of people, including orphans from the affected communities and villages, have continued to troop into Maiduguri on daily basis.     
Worst affected by the insurgency are orphans who have continued to roam the streets of Maiduguri to fend for themselves. The number of such children is increasing at an alarming rate.
Mustapha, the proprietor of Future Prowess, says he did not envisage the Boko Haram crisis when he set up the school in 2007, adding that his aim was to take children, whose parents died of natural causes off the streets and give them sound education with Islamic background.
But following the outbreak of the crisis, children orphaned by the Boko Haram violence now form the larger population at the school. One unique thing about the school is that children of soldiers, policemen, insurgents and those killed in caught in cross-fire are brought to learn together under one roof.
Speaking of the wisdom behind this arrangement, Mustapha said the move was deliberate; pointing out that it is a conflict resolution process.
“We are trying to mediate and establish an enduring conflict resolution in the school because when you put these pupils together, a long time peace will be achieved,” the school’s proprietor said.
“When the children grow up together, go to school together, eat together, they would now feel at home, they would also forget that the father of this boy was the one that killed the father of that one. As such, they would grow up as brothers,” Mustapha explained.
A walk through the school premises, situated off Damboa road in Maiduguri metropolis, reveals a modest institution with basic facilities for learning. These include classrooms, headmaster’s office, a computer workshop and fish ponds. Our correspondent also observed the on-going construction of more classrooms at the school.  
On the school curriculum, the headmaster, Sulaiman Aliyu said: “We teach the children both Islamic and Western education and the curriculum of the school is the one designed by the ministry of education.”
He added that the purpose of setting up the school was to reduce the number of children roaming the streets of Maiduguri, stressing that the founder has remained resolute in keeping to his promise.
“The essence of the training we are giving them is to ensure that they become leaders of tomorrow with sound moral upbringing,” Aliyu said, adding that the school takes care of the pupils hundred percent.
“We give them free education, free uniforms, exercise books, sandals and also feed them daily. Though we are running a day school due to limited space, but the school is responsible for providing the pupils with breakfast and other necessary things to make their study easier. At the end of every day, the pupils go back to their guardians,” the headmaster said.
In the past, many orphans have been taken off the streets courtesy of the supporting services offered to them by the school. The burden of sending their children to school was removed from the shoulders of many mothers but with the recent upsurge in the number of orphans, many mothers have to wait for a longer time to get any relief unless more of such schools spring up.  
As a result of the upsurge in the number of orphans trooping to Maiduguri in search of survival, Future Prowess is now a hub for thousands of pupils, accompanied by their mothers or guardians, earnestly begging for enrolment.
Weekly Trust gathered that the school started with only 36 pupils in 2007 but the number has now run into hundreds due to increase in the number of orphans now in the state capital.
The proprietor while speaking to our correspondent last week at the graduation and price giving day ceremony of the school said the facilities at the school have been overstretched and it cannot cope with the requests at hand.      
“We have over 2000 orphans on our waiting list but we cannot admit them now because our facilities cannot cope with the numbers. I am appealing to the Gordon Brown Foundation and other organisations to assist us,” Mustapha said.
“We are willing to take as many orphans off the streets but the capacity of the school cannot cope with the growing numbers,” he added.  
Mustapha also appealed to corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals to come to the aid of the school so that it can accommodate the growing number of orphans in the state. He said since the school was established, 189 students have graduated and are now in unity schools across the northern states.
“I established the school to give supporting services to orphans and vulnerable children and Almadulilahi, since we came on board eight years ago more than 189 students have graduated into unity secondary schools in northern states,” the proprietor said.   
Another challenge the school is facing aside from the growing number of requests for enrolment, is the payment of teachers’ salaries, he added.
“Before now, the salaries of the teachers were paid by former governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State but since he left, we have been facing difficulties in paying teachers,” the proprietor said.