WHERE WE OPERATE

The Nigerian economy is based primarily on petroleum extraction which represents 30%of the gross national product, 85% of exports and 75% of state revenues.

Petroleum reserves in Nigeria are estimated at 25 billion barrels. Indeed, Nigeria is completely dependent on the petroleum sector, which makes it the most industrialised country in Africa yet impedes economic diversification.

While Nigeria is one of the principal producers of crude oil in the world and the top producer in Africa, alongside Angola, it is forced to import petrol because it does not have enough refineries; current estimates indicate that there are only four existing refineries which guarantee petrol for only 10% of the Nigerian population.

Political instability and continuing security issues in the Niger Delta – where most of the crude oil is extracted – have slowed the growth of this African giant.

Other problems which threaten the country’s security are:

  • the growing threat of Islamic extremists in the form of  Boko Haram, a fundamentalist Islamic group  fighting for the institution of sharia law in Nigeria, which would lead to the destruction of the Christian community.
  • growing discontent with the increase in fuel prices following the government’s decision to eliminate state subsidies. The 2012 decision saw the price of petrol double at the pump – in one day it jumped from 65 Naire per litre ( about  € 0,30 ) to 140 Naire (about € 0,66). The cost of travelling by bus and minibus, the main means of transport in Nigeria, tripled.

Thus we see an increase in economic and social tension as a result of unequal distribution of wealth produced by Nigerians while environmental exploitation in the petroleum industry is leading to the destruction of the country’s ecosystem and Nigerians are forced to eat petroleum saturated fish.

Three-quarters of the Nigerian population live below the poverty line, earning an estimated one dollar per day..

The United Nations Development Programme report ranked Nigeria 156 out 187 countries in 2013 based on the fact that:

  • only 65%of the population has access to potable water
  • 700 woman out of 100,000 die in childbirth
  • infant mortality stands at  83 per 1,000
  • only  40% of children are vaccinated
  • only 40% of children aged 7 to 12 attend schooldei ragazzi dai 7 ai 12 anni non frequenta alcuna scuola;
  • average life expectancy is 47 years

The Nigerian government has introduced reforms with the aim of improving the lives of its citizens. However the healthcare and sanitary systems show no improvement; energy resources are being depleted and the education system is in tremendous difficulty.

S.O.Solidarietà is currently working in the province of Owerri, IMO STATE.

IMO  STATE is one of 36 states in Nigeria.

It was created in February 1976 during the last military regime. Subdivided from the republic of Biafra, it was previously part of the East-Central State. It takes its name from the Imo River.

The capital is Owweri, which is also the largest city in the state.

Owelle Rochas Okoroch has been governor since 2011.

  • Area: approx. circa 5,100 km
  • Population: the 2006 census registered 3,927.563 inhabitants but current estimates stand at 5 million
  • Religion: Religion plays a key role in the lives of this primarily rural population.
  • Language: Igbo and English.
  • Climate:Average humidity is 75% reaching up to 90% during the rainy season.
  • Production: palm oil, corn, tapioca, yam

Many areas lack basic services including potable water, hospitals, schools and roads.

CONTEXT AND INTERVENTION MOTIVES

S.O.Solidarietà’s long running experience has taught us that material support is not enough to ensure a better future for children in Nigeria.

S.O.Solidarietà is carrying out its Distance Support and Happy Home projects in the villages of NGUGO – IKEDURU (for further information see Appendix A) and in MBAISE.

NGUGO is a village of approximately 15,000 inhabitants who face serious economic hardship and inaccessibility to basic infrastructure. There are no local craft industries – there is no oven for bread production – and cultivation of corn, tapioca, yams, and palm oil is hindered by low soil productivity.

The village does not have potable water, electricity or health care.
The centre of Ngugo is an intersection with several shacks where basic necessities are sold.
Parishes serve as the main meeting places.

Although approximately 70% of the local population is of school age, there are few schools:

  • Nursery schools: 4 public and 4 private
  • elementary: 4 public  and  2 private
  • secondary: 1 public institution

Due to the great distances between home and schools, many childen attend  “schools” run by local women.
The average number of children per family is seven. Children often spend most of their time gathering palm branches in the forest and passing time idly around the “compound”.
Much more than just work is required to reduce the infant mortality rate and improve conditions for children in developing countries: children need the guarantee of a better future.

Unfortunately, in this part of the world, schools are not equipped to facilitate the integral formation – the harmonious development of all dimensions of a person – of children with the aim of encouraging them to become free-thinking, responsible individuals capable of eventually becoming active adults on a local, national and international level.The current education system is unable to deal with the complex life experience of children and does not facilitate the development of critical thinking, independent behaviour and the ability to understand and avoid negative conditioning. Nor does it value intuition, imagination or creative intelligence.

Of particular concern is the fact that children are forced to sit at their desks from the age of 3 onward, with little time for play or creative activity. Children are rendered immobile, first on their mothers’ backs, then at school.

Children are not considered active individuals capable of interacting with others and making their own decisions. This immobility carries on into adulthood, resulting in adults who are not autonomous and unable to take the necessary steps to improve their living conditions.