The Ummah Support Initiative was established in 2006 and registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with the aim to provide succor to Orphans and vulnerable in Nigeria and as well support vulnerable women to start business and support their families.
In the course of our work in collaboration with International partners and government of Nigeria through it is relevant agencies, communities and volunteers, we have been able to re-integrate over six thousand (6,000) orphans in Abuja, Nassarawa, Kano and Bauchi back to public primary schools where we provide uniforms, sandals, books and writing materials e.t.c.
In Nigeria, a rapid assessment of orphans and vulnerable children conducted by conducted by stakeholders with support from UNICEF revealed that there were about 17.5 million orphans in 2010 and Out of this total number, about 7.3 million are orphaned by HIV-AIDS which due to HIV/AIDS.
The study shows clearly that Nigeria is facing an emergency situation in which millions of children are in dire need of care and special protection measures,Northern children are the most vulnerable of all,the negative impact on the society of orphanhood of so many children is evident through the growing number of children living in the streets, exposed to the worst forms of child labour and child trafficking and street begging in Northern Nigeria.
The low awareness of the general public of the magnitude of the situation of orphans and vulnerable children and yet limited response of government accounts for the fact that responses are still mostly confined to families and communities.With the burden of poverty, families and communities cannot cope with an increased number of orphans.
Hence the need for Ummah Support Initiative and many other interest organizations to rise up to the challenge and provide basic education and support to the orphans where they maybe through collaborative efforts by community members, families, volunteers and sponsors.
All children have the right to quality education, health care and protection. Orphans and vulnerable children are not enjoying this right especially Northern Nigeria.
At Ummah Support Initiative (USI) we are working to ensure that Orphans do not suffer a double jeopardy: losing their parents and being utterly neglected by society, we couldn’t have enroll a single Orphan without the support of volunteers, community leaders and sponsors.
USI welcomes your idea and financial support on how we can collectively support our orphans. If you desire to support orphans in your community and don’t know how, Please feel free to contact us, we will be glad to provide technical support. For those willing to support N20,000 provide uniform, exercise book, and writing materials which facilitate a child to remain in school for a year, and N5000 can assist a woman start a small business to support her child or children. Please for more information on how you can sponsor a child, kindly visit www.usi.org.ng or call 09005607810.
