By Emma Una

CALABAR –  A thirty years old man, man, Mr  Edet Eyo Amaku who grew up in popular Calabar slum, Bayside has decided to reach out to school pupils, students and widows in schools around the area with uniforms and other school materials.

Mr Amaki who distributed the uniforms and materials to primary one to six pupils in three schools around the Bayside said his action is in response to the needs of the pupils in the area owing to the poverty in the area.

“Many of the children do not have uniforms or at best  wear torn dresses to school and paying the school fees is a big task prompting many of them to drop out of school”

He said the high school drop out rate among children in the area is  occasioned by  early child pregnancy and truancy is attributable to high  poverty rate among the slum dwellers which  is why he  decided to assist to make sure the children, particularly the serious ones remain in school.

“I grew up here and I know that  most families find it difficult to have one square  meal a day. So any effort that will keep the children to to stay in  school will go a long way in changing the fortunes of some of them the same way mine was changed”.

 He said he  lived in Bayside  and presently   controls the Games House at the Marina Resort. 

According to him, ‘when I look  back how I grew up in this environment and today live a different life, I felt I should give back to the community where I came from no matter how little  particularly to the children of some of my mates who are still struggling with life there”