Doctors attending to the vulnerable children during the medical outreach programme.
By Anietie Akpan
A Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in Calabar, Cross River State has again commenced the process of clearing the city of Calabar of vulnerable children curb available deaths.
The NGO, Street Priest Incorporated (SPI), based in Calabar, does not offer accommodation to the vulnerable children but work to assist health wise, rehabilitate and reintegrate them with their families.
The Chief Storyteller of SPI, Miracle France who said this at the just concluded two-day medical outreach aimed at reducing preventable deaths among street children in the city, stated that, “the organisation does not operate a shelter, as many of the children come from homes they abandoned due to neglect, poverty, abuse, or peer influence”.
The intervention, which held in partnership with Asi Ukpo Hospital and the Comprehensive Cancer Centre, among other collaborators, began on Tuesday and concluded on Wednesday.
“We focus on rehabilitation. First we trace their families, work on reforming the child’s mindset, and then facilitate reintegration into their homes.
“We support the families to handle daily needs like food and housing, while we focus on the child’s education or vocational training”, he added.
France said the July outreach was necessitated by a disturbing rise in avoidable deaths among children living on the streets of Calabar.
“We have lost too many children already, children who died simply because they lacked access to basic healthcare. We didn’t want to wait until we lose more before taking action,” France said.
The initiative, he explained, is also means to raise funds to support ongoing medical care for these vulnerable children, often referred to locally as “skolombo.”
France said that recent screenings for HIV among the children returned negative results, hence the NGO decided to expand the campaign to include malaria testing and other general health checks in collaboration with Asi Ukpo Hospital.
Recalling some of the tragic losses over the years, France mentioned Nduke (2016), John (2020), and Ezekiel (2024), who died from complications related to HIV and stage-four tuberculosis. Most recently, Daniel died after stepping on a sharp metal object at a refuse site.
“These cases keep repeating. That’s why we’ve decided to formalize partnerships with hospitals and pharmacies to provide either free or subsidised healthcare to these children before their conditions deteriorate,” he said.
Beyond Asi Ukpo Hospital, he stated that SPI is working to establish partnerships with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) and various pharmacies in the city.
While expressing concern over the lack of consistent government support,often hampered by frequent changes in administration, France acknowledged past assistance from individual public officials such as Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong and Dr. Betta Edu
He cited the case of George, a street child struck in a hit-and-run incident, whose life was saved through the intervention of the NGO and support from Senator Ekpenyong.
One of the beneficiaries of the outreach, 14-year-old Miracle Nsifon, shared his story.
Nsifon said he left home due to poverty, as his single mother could not afford to cater for him.
“I sleep around Mary Slessor Roundabout and beg near Bogobiri. I really want to go to school, but my mother says she has no money,” he added.
The outreach is part of SPI broader mission to bring dignity, health, and hope to the city’s most vulnerable children.
