Jesuit Refugee Service Nigeria launches education and oil‑spill resilience projects

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Nigeria, together with partners, has begun two major initiatives. An EU‑funded two‑year project in Sokoto State’s Kware, Sabon Birni and Isa local government areas will reintegrate more than 9,000 out‑of‑school children—particularly internally displaced, returnee, Almajiri and disabled learners—into formal education, with girls comprising 60% of beneficiaries. JRS Nigeria Country Director Fr. Temple Anuforo highlighted the severe lack of infrastructure, safe routes and water supplies that have kept children out of school.

In a separate effort, JRS launched a CARITAS Canada‑funded programme in Akwa Ibom State to strengthen community resilience to oil‑spill impacts in the Okoro Utip community of Ibeno LGA. The project adopts the African Palaver approach to foster inclusive dialogue, environmental monitoring and advocacy, aiming to mitigate the long‑term health, food‑security and livelihood harms caused by decades of oil pollution in the Niger Delta.