From The Scratch Initiative: Young Lawyers Distributes Educational Palliatives To School Children In Lagos Community

By Ehiwe O. Samuel

As schools in Lagos State prepares for reopening, the sad reality is that some indigent families are unable to provide some of the basic materials needed by their young children of school age, particularly those in the primary and nursery levels. This has even become more pronounced as the negative economic impact occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the businesses of these low income earners thereby making it difficult, if not impossible, for the families to provide for the needs of the young ones.

It was in the light of the above that a group of young lawyers in Lagos decided to give back to the society by providing and distributing school materials to indigent school children around a community in the Ajah axis of Lagos State. The young lawyers, led by one Ehiwe O. Samuel, on Saturday September 12, 2020 distributed the palliatives as part of the initiative called ‘From the Scratch’. The initiative has as its core aim to amongst other things, assist indigent children who have the desire to go to school but are unable to achieve that desire due to the unavailability of school materials.

Speaking on the idea behind the initiative, the convener, Ehiwe O. Samuel gave a background on how the idea came into fruition. Ehiwe had written and published a book titled ‘From the Scratch’. Upon the publication of the book on okadabooks.com, it immediately went up for sale and received very positive reception and reviews. He then decided to plough the funds gotten from the sale of the book into charity, viz- providing school materials for indigent young school children. With support from friends, materials were bought for distribution to the school children.

The children, upon receiving the school materials reassured the team of their desires to become great people in the future. They also assured the team of their readiness to double their efforts in their studies. The convener further whilst harping on the importance of early childhood education, noted that school is the first avenue of socializing for a child. Up till then, parents and immediate family members are the only people the child has human interactions with.

And as it has been often stated, familiarity is a breeding ground of stagnancy. With schools, children are exposed not only to new ideas but also to same aged compatriots. This instills sociable practices such as empathy, friendship, participation, assistance which turn out to be important in their adulthood. Education forms the foundation of any society. It is responsible for the economic, social, and political growth and development of society in general. The thread of the growth of society depends upon the quality of education that is being imparted. So schools play an important role in moulding a nation’s future by facilitating all round development of its citizens.

Aside distributing the items to the children, team members who included Evince Otiti, Charles Ikpe, Kamo Tor- Melabu, Zakari Dogo, Precious Ogeh, Joy Abena, Nosa Imagbe, amongst others, took out time to educate the children on the need to be focused on their studies and draw inspiration from notable and selfless leaders.