IDPs: Jaiz Foundation donates N7m to UNHCR

Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja

The donation is sequel to the deplorable conditions of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the north eastern  region of the country.

Speaking after receiving the donation on behalf of UNHCR in Abuja, the UNHCR Representative to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Antonio Jose Canhandula, expressed gratitude to Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation for the contribution and for the openness of continued partnership.

Canhandula added that partnership was not just about resources, but also about ideas, exchanging ideas about how to better solve the problems of the internally displaced population which is currently in its 10th year.

“Ten years is just too much. At one point, we need to return this populations to their normal life, be it in Adamawa, be it in Borno, be it in Yobe,” Canhandula said.

Speaking earlier, Canhandula said the gesture represented the work of the UNHCR and the relieve of the suffering of Nigerians in the northeast.

He recalled his humanitarian shuttles to Lagos to meet with different enterprises, canvassing the need to alleviate the sufferings of the displaced persons in the northeast.

“Therefore, for us, it is really a very important occasion. In Lagos, we managed to get a donation from one Daystar Christian Centre. Today, we are getting a donation from Jaiz Foundation which is an Islamic foundation. It does represent for Nigeria, the diversity of beliefs that have something in common in their humanity and solidarity,” Canhandula stated.

Canhandula further said religion played very important role in the lives of humans, and particularly for populations that are suffering, religion healed them, a way of sustaining hope and of sustaining faith that something better will come along the way.

He added that with the donation, the UNHCR is better equipped to take on the cause of women in the northeast whom some, particularly the young women, had disappeared or ran away.

Canhandula also said most of the people found in the camps were women and children, women who had lost their husbands and do not know their whereabouts.

“These are the people who are sustaining families  today. And therefore, we are looking at the possibility of helping the women as our mothers, as our sisters,” Canhandula also said.

In his remarks, the Director/Chief Executive Officer, Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation Nigeria, Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, said the gesture was the first partnership between the foundation and the UNHCR.

He said beyond the maiden partnership, Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation is ready to always engage with the UNHCR. 

“We heartily welcome you and we also want to assure you that our doors are open beyond this engagement that we are having today, with many other ones that may likely come up, either in the immediate or in the distant future,” Shuaib said.