A note from an aid worker in the Middle East

With hundreds of thousands dead and millions fleeing their homes, how do you even begin to pray for a situation as terrible and complex as the Syria/Iraq refugee crisis? One of our Tearfund workers in the Middle East has some thoughts…I’m a frontline worker in the Syria and Iraq crises. Yet if I’m honest, when it comes to praying for the region I often don’t know where to start.The recent heartbreaking images of refugees travelling to Europe are moving many, thankfully, to pray and act. But what about the source of the problem – the conflicts in the Middle East triggering the mass movements?In a tragedy so vast and complex, can I believe my prayers will make any real dent? I mean, ‘Peace in the Middle East, please’ feels vague and frankly a bit unrealistic, given everything I’ve seen and heard here.I dared to pray a crazy prayer: that the monthly food packages we deliver would stretch to feed extra mouths.The other day I decided to put the question to God: what can I pray that will make a concrete difference? Just thinking about the array of needs was overwhelming, so I decided to start small.I found myself praying that today, if anyone was planning a suicide bombing in the region, the detonator would malfunction.I could believe that might happen. People and their struggles may be complicated and unpredictable, but I can always focus on practical things.In that vein I could also pray that today, somewhere, a weapon aimed at an innocent person would miss its target.

Sexually abused victims tell their stories

Participants displaying placards at a museum organised by the Dream Project for Africa in partnership with Junior Chamber International with the theme: "End Sexual Harassment and Bribery in Nigerian Colleges". The event held at the Afe Babalola Hall, University of Lagos.Facilitator of Ornaments of Grace and Virtue, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to promoting the welfare of young girls, Mrs Kehinde Omojola, speaks to OLUWATOYIN ADELEYE on how they can prevent sexual harassment.THE rape scandal rocking the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has, once again, thrown up questions on why undergraduates fail to seek redress through  the channels provided by their institutions when sexually harassed by their lecturers.Dr. Akin Baruwa, a part-time lecturer of UNILAG, on Thursday, July 23, this year raped a teenager, one Cecilia (not real name), who was seeking admission into the university in an office in the Faculty of Business Administration.The victim’s father and Baruwa are said to belong to the same landlord association in Abesan, Ipaja area of Lagos.

teenager docked for raping a minor

A 15-year-old boy, Tobilola George, was on Wednesday remanded at the rehabilitation home in Oregun, Lagos, over alleged sexual assault of a minor.The teenager, who was brought before a Lagos Magistrates’ Court in Yaba, was charged on two -count charge of unlawful sexual activity under Sections 263 (1)(2) and 261 (1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011, to which he pleaded not guilty.He was alleged to have committed the offence at 12, Ogunfunmi Street, Surulere, between 2013 and last year.According to the charge sheet, the defendant unlawfully caused his seven year old victim (names withheld), to engage in sexual activity with him, thereby assaulting her.The presiding Magistrate ordered that he be taken to the rehabilitation centre because of his age and adjourned the case till Thursday for mention.

Father rapes daughter six times

From Clement Adeyi, OsogboA 34 year -old man is in a mess for allegedly having sex with his 14 year- old daughter.The culprit, Mohammed Ahmed, was paraded at the headquarters of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Osogbo, yesterday for committing the crime.Daily Sun gathered that Ahmed had been committing the crime since April, 2015, until he was apprehended by NSCDC after a tip off by Ahmed’s co-tenant.

Update on the Unilag Lecturer

    Dr. Akin BaruwaFor nine days, Shola (not real name) was in pain. The abdominal pain she endured felt as if a knife got stuck in her, she toldSaturday PUNCH.She was scared but she had no choice but to endure the pain since she couldn’t imagine telling her parents the unimaginable trauma she had been subjected to that led to the pains she was going through.“How could I face them? How could I tell them that the man they handed me over to, to help process my admission, had raped me?” Shola said.But then, much as she tried, she couldn’t continue hiding her ordeal, especially when the pains had become unbearable. Shola’s parents eventually got to know what their daughter had passed through in the quest of trying to become an undergraduate.Eighteen-year-old Shola is one of the numerous hopeful candidates, wishing to secure admission into the University of Lagos. But her score of 211 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination fell short of the requirement for Mass Communication, which was her choice.Her father, who resided in Abesan Estate in Ipaja area of Lagos, had done all he could to ensure that her daughter would become a university student this year but all his efforts seemed to be futile.“Someone told me to send her UTME registration number.