By Damiete Braide and Chukwuma Umeorah
A year after the premiere of The Oratory, produced by the Salesians of Don Bosco, the film has impacted and sensitised societal awareness in alleviating the plight of homeless, delinquent and juvenile youths and street children in society.
Speaking on the success of the film at a press conference held in Lagos, the Street Coordinator, Don Bosco Child Protection Centre, Linus Nkemjinaka, said between January this year till date, over 15 children had been rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society and provided with knowledge and skills to be more resourceful to themselves and the society, even as many more are being observed for rescue. He added, we have done a follow up to ensure that these children do not go back to the streets.
Linus revealed that massive awareness campaigns had been carried out across the country, including its recent summer activities where 5000 children were hosted.
Also accessing the progress of the Salesian Mission, Director of Don Bosco Child Protection Centre, Rapheal Airoboman revealed that the mission had acquired a property already serving as shelter for internally displaced children.
He also stated that the mission is working tirelessly to acquire a bigger infrastructure that has the capacity to cater for over 2000 children at a time where they can be provided with fundamental social skills.
“Where I think we are going to ultimately arrive would be to have a kind of youth village where we have sports facilities, a huge technical college and dormitories big enough to gather and cater for 1000 to 2000 children at a time. When they come in, after two or three years, they come out of the other side responsible enough to go into the society,” he said.
He added that the mission had attracted partnerships and support from well meaning individuals, government institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The executive producer of the film, Cyril Odia, posited that there was an increasing number of homeless children in the street, and that it required urgent intervention. He pointed out that these children, if not taken off the streets, could be targeted as vessels for different social vices. He said that the Salesian mission was dedicated to studying the youth situation in the country, the challenges they face and striving to solve the problem, describing it as a missionary mandate.
The Director, Project Office, Don Bosco, Maximus Okoro, said that The movie, Oratory, is a strategic intervention of the Salesian mission known for its humanitarian services. “It serves as a catalyst for the reawakening of our social communal conscience and to remind us as individuals of our civic responsibilities towards street children and also creates an inclusionary framework for the upliftment of homeless, delinquent and juvenile youths who are at risk of negative societal issues such as violence, sexual abuse, trafficking and crime,” he said.
Gbenga Adebija, Chairman, Organising Committee of The Oratory Movie Special Screening hinted the film has raised awareness among stakeholders on the issue of internally displaced children throughout Nigeria.
According to him, “The Oratory in Lagos and before the Abuja premiere was filmed at various locations in Rome, Atlanta, Lagos, and Turin and featured an impressive array of Nigerian and international movie stars, such as Eyinna Nwigwe, Rich Lowe, Celeste Marcone, Shane Guilbeau, Florence Okechukwu, Lawrence Nwali, among others.
Continuing he said, The Oratory “is not just a movie; it is actually an integral aspect of a broader multi-dimensional initiative which Dr Odia and his fellow Salesians are passionately committed to bringing to fruition.
“The film reminds us individually of our civic responsibilities towards internally displaced children and the imperative to support current and future initiatives to ameliorate this situation as best as we can,” he concluded.