Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Weekly Subject Experts’ Presentation was held at Hall C TY Buratai Block, Abuja. The only presentation for the day was made by the Subject Experts on Eastern Europe.
The weekly presentation by Brig Gen AK Egwuagu (Rtd) subject experts on Eastern Europe Centered his presentation on Russian Children’s Welfare Society Caring for Orphans. Russian Children’s Welfare Society (RCWS) is a not-for-profit organization based in New York City with branches in Moscow and San Francisco which was founded in 1926 to help Russian children whose families had fled to other countries after the onset of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the society refocused its efforts solely on Russia, with emphasis on funds for scholarship programmes, medical procedures, paediatric hospitals, rehabilitation programmes and orphanages for the benefit of all disadvantaged children throughout the country. The RCWS is a tax-exempt organization dedicated to assisting disadvantaged Russian children towards improving their health, education and social welfare which was generously supported by John Engalitcheff in 1990 with the sum of $4.5 million.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Brig Gen AK Egwuagu (Rtd) pointed out that, Social welfare in Nigeria could be traced from the beginning of human life and their association with others, to the missionary period, the colonial era and to the present day (Skidmore & Thrackeray, 1994). In the olden days, the spirit of neighbourliness and helping one another to solve problems collectively existed as the normal daily pattern and it was generally recognized that the well-being of one person affects the well-being of his/her neighbours and others around. Recently, Nigeria has been faced with serious security challenges through terrorist attacks, farmers/herders clashes, banditry and kidnapping which has claimed several lives and displaced millions of people with many orphans and disadvantaged children roaming the streets and villages seeking for care and government support.
He recommended that, the Federal Government of Nigeria should re-invigorate the old regional welfare services and encourage the establishment of new Children’s Welfare Societies in all the geo-political zones and the FCT to cater for the accommodation, education, feeding, healthcare, counselling and gainful employment of Nigerian orphans and disadvantaged children scattered all over the country and also the office of the NSA, Ministry of Interior and the National Population Commission should maintain an up-to-date data of all orphans and disadvantaged children in Nigeria for national planning.
