A UK charity, IA-Foundation has given a lifeline to a Lagos slum community after a video exposing the harrowing condition of school kids in Makoko went viral.
Makoko, Lagos, Nigeria that has a reputation, as one of the worst slum settlements in West Africa is home to about 250,000 people most of whom live in difficult conditions.
The settlement, near the landmark Third Mainland Bridge on the Lagos Mainland depicts the harsh condition of the urban poor in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub and most populous city.
The charity, IA-Foundation, based in London has taken up the challenge of building a water facility for residents of the community, in a bid to provide potable water to the poor residents.
Speaking with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday, Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, Chief Executive Officer of IA-Foundation said, that her group had dispatched a team to get first-hand information on the human condition at the settlement with a view to making the difference.
Mrs Adeagbo said, that IA-Foundation had expressed its willingness to partner with the government to lift the human condition of less-privileged people in Nigeria.
She said that her group was particularly interested in restoring hope to children forced by circumstance to stay out of school in parts of Nigeria.
“We’ve landed in Makoko in Yaba, Lagos to turn things around for the deprived children residing at the slum settlement, where we saw churches and mosques everywhere but no school.
“We’ve taken a guided tour of the settlement and we saw open defecations happening everywhere around dirty waterways in squalid human conditions.
“IA-Foundation has committed to providing a borehole for the community to make portable water available to the residents,’’ Adeagbo stated.
According to her, the foundation has also donated lots of learning materials to help children in Makoko in their education.
She appealed to the Lagos State Government not to neglect the settlement, suggesting that the government should consider the option of building ‘floating schools’ in the area to give the residents access to education.
The IA-Foundation team is made up of Mr Diran Famakinwa, Mrs Modupe Macaulay, Mr Damilola Cole, Mr Femi Peter with Adeagbo as team lead.
Adeagbo, who is also Nigeria’s Ambassador for Health and Safety was among eight outstanding Nigerians recognized recently for “breaking the glass ceiling’’ in various endeavours in the UK.
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