JDPC
ISSELE-UKU DIOCESE MARKS THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE GIRLCHILD IN A UNIQUE
WAY
The
international day of the girl child is an international observation day
celebrated by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of Girls and the
International Day of the Girl .The observation supports more opportunity for
girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide
based on their gender. The international day of the girl child is celebrated on
11 October yearly with different theme for each year. 2021 international day of
the girl child is themed Digital Generation Our Generation.The Justice
Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) Issele-Uku Diocese celebrated this with
the students of St Rose's Girls Grammar
School, Ogwashi-Uku . It was the first of its kind in a long while
and one that the students would live to remember for a long time to come.
The events
marking the celebration, due to some logistics, took place on 22nd day of
October, 2021 at the school hall. The JDPC Issele-Uku Diocese
team was led by the director, Rev. Fr. JohnBosco Ezeonwumelu. Other members of
the team are the OVC Protection Officer, Mr. Emmanuel UboguUsiwo, the OVC HIV
Prevention, Care and Support Officer, Miss Esther AmakaAkawe and the OVC
Education Officer, Mr. Frank AguEze. Also present was the OVC M&E Officer,
Mr. Anthony Ezeobi. The team arrived at the school at about 11am and was
received by the school principal, Sr. Henrietta Aguh NES. With the hall set,
the students numbering about 120 settled down with their teachers with great
expectation from the visitors. Without wasting any time, the director, Fr.
JohnBosco led the opening prayer, after which he introduced his team and the
organization to the school. He also set the ball rolling by explaining the
reason for the gathering. Having done that, he invited Mr. Frank Agu Eze for
the first presentation.
In his
presentation titled, digital generation, our generation, Mr. Frank highlighted
the benefits of digital technology such as learning and earning opportunities,
reading of books and online news and the interconnectedness of people in far
and near places. In the same vein, the downsides of digitalization were
stressed such as crime, terrorism, privacy concerns, pornography, and job
insecurity and so on. He therefore encouraged the participants to channel their
energies and potentials to the advantages inherent in digital technology as
opposed to the disadvantages. He concluded the first session with the point
that digital equality can only be achieved if girls and young women are
included in the picture.
The second
presentation which was facilitated by Miss Esther Amaka Akawe was on HIV
prevention, care and support and emphasis was laid on the causes of HIV such as
pre-marital or extra-marital sex, sharing of unsterilized sharp objects and
instruments. She noted that HIV has no known cure but can be managed if
detected early and the patient adheres to treatment. However the children were
admonished to abstain from pre-marital sex and any practice or act that can
expose them to contract HIV/AIDS.
The third and
final presentation was by Mr. Usiwo Emmanuel Ubogu. In the presentation titled,
sexuality education and gender based violence (GBV), Mr. Usiwo x-rayed the
differences between sex and gender and between the myths and facts of sexuality
education. He also enlightened the Children on the different forms of gender
based violence (GBV) such as sexual, physical and psychosocial violence. He
encouraged the children to be bold and confident at every point in time to
enable them resist any form of gender based violence and/or report to their
superiors and to appropriate authorities whenever they sense danger around
them.
The highlight
of the event was class based quiz competition on the various presentations of
the day. Two persons were selected through a transparent elimination process to
compete against each other. All the children were given equal opportunities as
the participants were made to pick a number and to answer the already set
question assigned to the picked number. At the end of the completion, six
winners emerged, one from each class. Each of the winners received the big sized
Oxford Advanced Leaner’s Dictionary (10th Edition) and a Casio 3-Display
scientific calculator. Satisfied with the performance of the students at the
quiz completion, the Director also enlisted the best runner-up as a beneficiary
of the same dictionary and calculator. Two other students who answered
important questions during the competition from the audience during the
completion were given consolation prizes, each going home with a big dictionary
each. So, the victorious students include:
Winners:
1. Simon
Onyebuchi – J.S.S. 1
2. Sunday
Divine – J.S.S. 2
3. Chukwuka
Ifeoma – J.S.S. 3
4. Nwaegbeni
Francisca – S.S. 1
5. Agawuzo
Geraldine – S.S. 2
6. Okolie
Esther – S.S. 3
Best
Runner-Up
7. Kidochukwu
Stellamaris – S.S.3
Consolation
Prizes
8. Okondu
Miracle – J.S.S. 1
9. Onyeka
Pearl – J.S.S. 1
Outside the
individual gifts, the Director of JDPC Issele-Uku also made a presentation of a
4x6 white marker board with a park of marker and two dusters to the principal,
Sr. Henrietta Aguh NES for the use of the school. All the participants were
also provided with snacks for refreshment.
The
celebration came to an end at about 3pm after the vote of thanks from the
senior prefect, Miss Kidochukwu Stellamaris, closing prayer by the principal,
Sr. Henrietta Aguh NES and the blessing by the JDPC Director, Rev. Fr.
JohnBosco Ezeonwumelu.
Caritas
Nigeria
The U.S. President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
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