By George Onmonya DanielÂ
Jerome Orinya woke up one day and decided to make a difference in his community. Otukpo in Benue State, Nigeria, is a large town that Middle Belt region. Jerome has over the years seen young people join different gang groups they call CULT in Nigeria. These cults used to be University confraternity groups before they introduced extreme violence and killings into it to become their main culture. Many young men and women have been killed by these different gangs. Today the cult has moved to the local communities and now you see uneducated young people killing each other in the name of belonging to rival cult groups. Jerome Orinya decided to get the minds of the young generation engaged in chess and other sports and help build them into future leaders of Nigeria.
He teaches them chess lessons and help them with their education. He ensures they get shaved and look clean and those who live in hunger are fed regularly. Those who are ill are looked after. Nowadays children all over Otukpo floods into his house to learn chess and to eat. He also ensures all the children are in school.
In Nigeria, this is a lot. Children need to be given guardian for the future and someone thought since one is doing it, Jerome took it upon his shoulder to do it. He does it quietly until I informed him to register an NGO where we can solicit for fund for him to help more children.
CHESS FOR CHILD initiative has taken many children out of the streets and is giving them hope, companionship and a focus. Jerome Orinya is doing this just to help.
“A lot of children have great talent and we need to make them understand this, take charge of it, and develop it. You never know where this can take them to.” Jerome Orinya told Development Impact.
That is what this whole initiative is about. Development a child’s potentials to grap the future and compete, conquer, through talent.
