A TRIP TO THE CHILD’S RIGHT AND REHABILLITATION CENTRE EKET, AKWA IBOM STATE|by gentlesun

Educational trips as we know is a very interesting event because it offers students the opportunity to gain exposure to a wide variety of information that expands their scope of learning, thinking, imagination and general knowledge of things which may not be taught in the classroom or things that may have been thought but are being made real through these practical sessions, and they get to learn more. It also affords these students an opportunity to create bonds and socialize with each other, while sharing lasting memories. With that being said, I would love to share an amazing experience I had during my last school tour to a rehabilitation centre for young children and adolescents.
As a student of psychology, it is a crucial part of my course to meet up firsthand with individuals who are facing all sorts of psychological problems, ranging from inability to deal with everyday life crisis caused by stressors in the society, to devastating mental disorders or illnesses that are life threatening both for the individuals and those around them. During such visits we get to practice a variety of therapeutic methods aimed at treating these disorders, also to check on the general welfare of these individuals and assist them materially, financially and otherwise.
On this occasion, we were scheduled to visit the child’s right and rehabilitation centre, located at Eket, one of the local government areas in Akwaibom state. The date selected by the school management was really favourable for us because, unlike other days during the rainy season, this particular day was sunny, the atmosphere was cool, and even the traffic on the road was less, infact we barely encountered any traffic. During the journey down there, I got to learn a few things on the road, especially because it was my first time ever going to that particular LGA. I loved how the roads were so smooth and well made, as insignificant as that might seem to others, it made me appreciate the kind of governance we have in AKwaibom state. I got to learn that the government ensured that they paid the best international road construction companies to ensure that the work done was up to standard, regardless of the price. I also got to learn that this was infact one of the best ways of cutting cost and making the best use of resources and this meant reduced cost of maintenance and repair, which in turn would enable the government save the extra finances for other projects. Hmm I wish this could be applied to other areas of development not just as a state but a country as a whole. Generally I observed that Eket is a very calm place, everyone minding their businesses and just living in peace and calm. After about an hour and a half, we arrived at our destination successfully and we were all well received by the management who had already been expecting us.
We were then taken on a tour around the building complex, and shown the developments that had taken place in the last 10years since its establishment and the areas where work still needed to be done. To be honest, they tried to manage the place to the best of their ability, I mean as an NGO that was started unintentionally, just as an act of benevolence, to take hungry and neglected children off the streets and atleast give them some small place to call home with enough food to keep them healthy and happy as we later got to learn. But then in my opinion, I still feel much work needs to be done in terms of building of stronger, more standardized buildings, equipping the place with enough beds, I mean with better equipment, modernized health care facilities to actually check on the health of those children, better security systems such as high walls with barred wires around and security personnel mounted at the gate, to prevent unwanted or uninvited people into the environment. I honestly feel like the government needs to step in and help lift the standard of the place for the sake of those poor, innocent children, who at such an early age had been deprived of having a family due to stigmatization caused by superstitious believes, tagging them as “WITCHES” who were out to destroy their families, were now seen as a curse and therefore needed to be discarded according to the dictates of the culture and customs of their society. I got to hear gruesome and heart wrenching real life stories from some of the children there about how their own relatives and family members maltreated them to the point of near-death. Hmmm, such height of ignorance because as we learned, those children who were fortunate enough to be discovered on time before they died of maltreatment or malnutrition and were taken to the shelter home turned out to be just fine with a little bit of training and lots of love and care showed to them. Some even got to further their education as far as Bsc and Msc levels, through the help of scholarships, and were now working and also supporting the institution as best as they could, some had gone off to learn trades and are now managing businesses of their own and we also got to see younger ones who were threading on those footsteps as well.
These made me realize how much the minds of people and our society as a whole needs to be reframed. It made me realize how much work we the educated ones had, to reach out to people living in villages, and very interior communities, to help them come to an awareness of the true reality of things as they ought to be. We also need to teach them how to not be fooled by mere superstitions, how to seek medical interventions and not immediately conclude its something of the supernatural sort when faced with health issues. That was where I made up my mind that whatever I was learning in Psychology, I would use it to create an impact in my society, no matter how small.


After a very intriguing seminar by the management, we were allowed to access the children, give them some counsel, advice the management on better ways of effectively caring for the children and their mental health, we also gave them some provisions and made some donations as well, which they were most grateful for.
Then it was time to leave, and once again we were on our journey back to where we came from. I was so grateful to have been a part of that educational trip. All through my journey home I kept ruminating about everything I had just experienced, thinking of the many things I could do to assist the less priviledged. Well after thinking things through I remembered the fact that we are not without hope, that while no man can bring a sure solution to all of mankind’s problems, our God Jehovah has promised that they’ll come a time when he’ll wipe out every tear from our eyes and death and mourning will be things of the past, there would be no more suffering, no one would complain of any sickness or infirmity, food will be in abundance, everyone would have a place to call home, there would be peace and serenity upon the entire earth for an eternity(Psalm 72:16, Isaiah 33:24& Revelations 21:4) and knowing that these promises are bound to come true in just a short while from now, gave me a huge feeling of relief and peace.