14th October, 2017
The Rotary Club of Jos, District 9125, has awarded scholarships to 10 indigent female students of Home Economics Training Institute, Riyom in Plateau.
Among the beneficiaries was Miss Selben Kums, an orphan, who was brought to the school by a missionary, who picked her from an abandoned building.
Mr Yohanna Kingsley, President of the Club, who announced the gesture on Friday in Riyom, said that it was part of the activities to mark this year’s International Day of the Girl-Child.
He said that the awardees hailed from less privileged homes, adding that the scholarship was to assist them to access formal education toward better lives.
Kingsley said that the scholarship would cover one term’s fees for nine of the students, and two years for one of them, Miss Kums, the orphan.
“The gesture is to empower the girl-child to become self-reliant; we want to give her economic security like her male counterparts,” he said.
In her response, Mrs Salome Longwan, the Principal of the School, commended the club for the gesture and assured it that the efforts would not be in vain.
Ms Mary Babushi, a beneficiary of the gesture, prayed for more interventions, especially in the provision of facilities like toilets and infrastructure to the all-female school established in 1975.
“Our school is open and without a fence; that is not safe for us because we are all women here.
“We also need electricity, water and other basic necessities,” she said.
Mr Daniel Dem, who represents Riyom Constituency at the Plateau House of Assembly, in a remark, regretted the bad state of the institute, saying that he had moved a motion for its renovation.
“The school is not conducive for learning; we have inspected the premises and appealed to the state government to step in toward a total overhaul of the structures,” he said.