The Adekunle Child Foundation (TACF), yesterday, called on the government to develop a comprehensive policy aimed at improving the welfare of Almajiri children and taking them off the streets.
The foundation believes such a policy would complement existing government efforts and ensure a brighter future for the vulnerable children.
President of TACF, Mr Olufemi Adekunle, disclosed this in Abuja, during an advocacy briefing to commemorate the recent International Day of the Boy Child and Children’s Day.
He noted that TACF’s advocacy aims to raise awareness and prompt action from stakeholders to improve the lives of Almajiri children.
He said: “The Almajiris are male children who do not receive formal education and are part of the statistics of out-of-school children, estimated in Nigeria to be up to 18.3 million, according to recent UNICEF statistics, accounting for 15 per cent of global statistics.
“They roam the streets in dirty and tattered clothes looking hungry and starved. All they have is their big, signature begging bowls with which they roam the street begging for food.
“This is why we have come up with a project where the boys are under the tutelage of Mallam Musa, an Islamic cleric, who provides shelter for them in the city of Abuja, the nation’s capital, and who receives them from some of the insurgency-ravaged states of northern Nigeria and gives them succour.”
