1 GAME to assist 10,000 pupils in Calabar-South

Philip Obaji and Ekeng Henshaw

The 1 GAME campaign has announced its intention to contribute to the Cross River State Government’s fight towards enhancing ‘Education for All’ by indicating it will provide more than 20,000 exercise books and writing materials to assist 10,000 school pupils in Calabar-South Local Government Area in learning when a new academic session kicks off in September.

Speaking during a breakfast meeting with the Chairman of Calabar-South Local Government Council, Ekeng Henshaw, 1 GAME founder, Philip Obaji said that the major factor hindering the fight against violence and ignorance was a lack of basic education on the part children and youths .

Obaji added, “Children have all it takes and can make a significant difference to Nigeria’s development. We must make sure they have everything they need to enroll into school and remain in it. We’ve all been told that a child who completes basic education is 50% less likely to be involved in violent and hoodlum acts.

“Recent figures show that only 64% of the students in primary school in the country actually completed grade five in 2012, and only 43.5 % continue on to junior secondary school. One major reason why they pull out is because they can’t cope with learning mostly because they lack the basic tools needed to achieve it.”

Chairman of Calabar-South Local Government Council, Ekeng Henshaw said he was appreciative of the achievements of the 1 GAME campaign in Cross River State and promised that his administration would do everything possible to ensure that the organization succeeds in Calabar-South.

“We’ve seen what you have done in Cross River. By your efforts, a state has changed and so have we. We will not let you down in Calabar-South. Together we will work to give our children a new meaning to their lives, thereby ending violence, poverty and ignorance.”

Pupils/Student drop-out in Calabar-South ranks among the highest in Cross River State with less than 60% completing primary school.

The Local Government Area has for so many years battled the reoccurring threat of violence and cultism which many attribute to ignorance and poverty.