REPORT ON THE VISIT TO THE IDP CAMP, MAKURDI, BENUE STATE
Outreach Title: VISIT TO THE IDP CAMP
Date: 10th September 2025
Place: IDP camp, International Modern Market Road, Makurdi. Benue state
Presenters: Mrs Grace Atagher, (Program Coordinator), Dr Becky Akaagerger, Ms Christine Ende, Sule Hassan, Fanen Gambe, Vera Nwosa, Charity Mileyange (Volunteers)
Organizer: Shelter the Hurting Initiative
Audience: More than 300 persons were present.
SHELTER THE HURTING INITIATIVE is a non-profit organization given to philanthropy wherein we seek to provide succour to those hurting and under-served such as the internally displaced persons. Our objectives as an NGO, include offering services such as psychosocial support, legal assistance, safe shelter, and community reintegration for survivors of gender-based violence and those affected by displacement.
At Shelter the Hurting Initiative (SHE), our vision is to rid our homes of abuse against women and children. End human rights abuse against women and children by the next decade, and ultimately shelter the most vulnerable of them all.
Our mission is to unlock the full potential of women and children, create a nurturing, stable, and culturally healthy family environment, empowering women and children to initiate personal and social change to achieve lifelong successes.
The IDP Camp International Market Road, Makurdi, Benue State.
For the time being, Benue hosts over 500, 182, 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have been forced to leave their villages due to persistent attacks. They are located in 26 camps and Camplike settings managed by the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in collaboration with IOM Nigeria.
The outreach took place at the IDP camp on Friday, 12th September,2025 by the hours of 1300 -1600. Upon our visit we offered words of inspiration such as prayer sessions, spiritual support, psychosocial engagements, singing and dancing to lighten the burdened hearts and the distribution of relief materials such as fairly used clothes, bags and shoes, books, new slippers and crocs like foot wears, consumables like Vaseline, soaps, sanitary towels, beverage drinks, snacks for the children etc. This is only a drop in the ocean due to the large-scale humanitarian crisis Benue State is facing at the moment.
Our aim ultimately is to grow the impact of SHE, provide access to help for the women and children, educate them on reintegration of displaced families in Benue State as result of the Benue killings back into their communities, provide some form of succour in times when hope feels out of reach, SHE kindness shines as a beacon of compassion and solidarity.
Thanks to a few donors, we continue to offer critical services such as psychosocial
support, legal assistance, safe shelter, and community reintegration for survivors of gender-based
violence and those affected by displacement. Your support not only meets urgent needs—it
affirms the dignity and resilience of those who are too often overlooked. It is a reminder that we
are not alone in this mission.
The Process of Establishing Indicators
Dr Becky, set the stage by highlighting the irreplaceable roles of women in our communities and rights of young children without which children in any society, cannot grow, learn and thrive.
Christin, the founder, gave a word of encouragement by reading scriptural verse from the bible and prayed with them to have the hope to build again. After the prayers everyone broke out in dancing and singing to lift up the spirits of the women and children gathered.
Furthermore, all the volunteers, assisted in the distribution of the gift items by separating them into 5 different platoons going by the directive of the Camp officials. Each of the platoon leader was then given the responsibility to attend to the individual distribution of the items.
Afterwards, the representative of the Camp residents thanked SHE for taking the initiative to gift the women and children with needed materials as stated above.
We took photographs with the women and children who were presented with the materials.
SHE is geared towards coming back to lend another hand of hope to the campers in a very near future.
Signed
Programme Coordinator
Mrs Grace Atagher
