Plight of rural girls worry Benue CSOs

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Benue State have expressed concern at the plight of many girls in the rural areas especially those at Internally Displaced Persons’ camps. 

The Executive Director of Community Links and Human Empowerment Initiative, (CLHEI), Dr Helen Teghtegh, told journalists in Makurdi that the Benue girl child especially those in IDP camps does not even have access to basic education. 

Teghtegh said at a time when the world are talking about going digital, IDP girls in Benue State are out of school. 

“If not for the primary session established by partners and state government in the camps, most of them would have dropped out after primary six, because their parents could not pay their school fees. 

Many would have been either given out in marriage, roaming the camps or given to cheap labour as house helps.” 

The founder of Jireh Doo Foundation (JDF), Josephine Habba, said the girl child had almost lost the chance of being educated because of the attitude of leaders who pay lip services to their responsibilities. 

Habba noted that lack of scholarship schemes for girls had impeded on them becoming computer literate.  

“If the government want to patronise the girl child to make her take her life in her hand tomorrow, they should target particularly the health of the girl child, security of the girl child and, most importantly, the education of the girl child,” Habba further observed. 

Benue/Plateau Trust reports that many of the girls at the IDP camps scattered across the state have no access to formal education. 

Some who were forced to abandon schooling to ran for their lives have just been roaming round the camps as there is no provision for them to continue with their studies.