Plans for Youth Camp Develop in Nigeria
Atan JDPC (Justice Development and Peace Committee) is a Roman Catholic based NGO with nearly four years of success to its name.
Located in the rural Ijebu area of the Ogun State of Nigeria, Atan JDPC runs a host of programmes designed to benefit a wide range of members of the community. These include democracy monitoring and the human rights programme, which aims to 'make sure that poor people are not trampled on unnecessarily', in the words of the JDPC's Training and Financial Development Coordinator Adeniyi Ogunsanya.
Atan JDPC is headed by Rev. Fr. Vincent Ajayi, who is passionate about issues relating to women and children, aided by a board of ten people. Other programmes organised by Atan JDPC include Caritas, the charity arm of the organisation, a Mobile Clinic, taking medical care to those who cannot get to hospital, and Micro-Finance, providing loans for poor women t o trade with.
This September will hopefully also see the second youth camp organised the Atan JDPC. The camp, which Adeniyi Ogunsanya hopes to fund through sponsorship, aims to 'build the leadership potential of the youths', and educate them about various issues including HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, the dangers of drug addiction, the value of personal hygiene and 'the evil of bribery and corruption,' as well as providing career advice.
As a second part of the youth development programme, Atan JDPC is involved with RESPECT through the pen pal letter exchange, visiting secondary schools in the area and making contacts with pen pals overseas. The organisation is also trying to source computers from the World Computer Exchange (WCE) Programme.