On a recent Friday morning in the city of Calabar, in Nigeria’s Cross River State, Mr. Cornelius Ellah took his car to an industrial workshop for maintenance. What ensued moved him to tears.
One of the mechanics held a very young baby. Assuming the child’s mother had been gone for only a while, Mr Ellah paid little thought to it.
However, when Mr. Ellah returned in the evening to pick up his car, he saw that the frail infant was sitting alone while the mechanics chatted with each other.
Feeling deep concern for the child, Mr. Ellah, who is an academic at the University of Cross River (UNICROSS), declared that the child “would be a great child,” to which the father and other mechanics responded with a heartfelt “amen.”
As a journalist, Mr. Ellah felt compelled to ask about the whereabouts of the baby’s mother. He gathered that the baby’s mother had abandoned the child at only two months old.
Determined to help the baby and her father, Mr. Ellah shared his experience on social media. His post stirred sympathy, prompting a wave of donations totaling hundreds of thousands of naira.
“Blessing deserves better attention than she is currently receiving. Therefore, I appeal to kind hearted individuals and organizations out there who may want to do something good for her to call her dad on this phone number and speak with him,” Ellah wrote on Facebook.
The donations have since been handed over to Blessing’s father to aid her growth and well-being.
Coming in the wake of the 2024 International Day of the African Child, marked on June 16. Mr Ellah’s advocacy for the infant underscores the daily challenges faced by African children while highlighting the broader campaign to defend the African child’s rights.
On a Friday morning in Calabar, Nigeria, Mr. Cornelius Ellah took his car to a workshop and noticed one of the mechanics holding a very young baby. When he returned in the evening, the baby was alone while the mechanics chatted. Concerned, Mr. Ellah, an academic and journalist, learned that the child's mother had abandoned her when she was just two months old. Moved by the situation, he shared the story on social media, generating sympathy and donations worth hundreds of thousands of naira for the baby's father.
Mr. Ellah appealed to the public to support the child, named Blessing. The donations were given to her father to help with her well-being. This act of advocacy highlighted the challenges faced by African children, aligning with the broader campaign for the rights of African children, especially following the 2024 International Day of the African Child.
