Programme Goal

That all may realize and appreciate the image ofGod in them and thus live positively, spread the positivity around and bring about the promotion of the kingdom of God

Objectives

1. To reduce the deplorable living condition of the Agodi inmates and facilitate legal help, release and family support for them.
2. To improve the living conditions of the indigent persons, including the ex-inmates.
3. To promote peaceful coexistence in families and among all people.
4. To empower JDPC-Parish Promoters to function more effectively while they take up the issues of Justice and Peace.
5. To reduce the incidences of human trafficking in Oyo state through awareness creation and case work interventions.
6. To promote healthy living through enlightenment on environmental protection.
7. To reduce the incidences of the transmission of HIV/AIDS through awareness, counselling and testing.

Strategies

Visitation
Sensitization
PeaceEducation Training / Conflict Reconciliation outreach
Counseling
Economic Empowerment
Networking/ Collaboration
Monitoring and evaluation

Inmates’Welfare

The CARITAS service delivery to the inmates of the Agodi Custodial Centre over the years is with no sense of complacency, unrelenting and impactful given the numerous humanitarian needs of the inmates. The capacity of the Agodi custodialis 390 but they are over 1,500 inmates currently. The impacts of our servicesinclude the following:

Financial and Material Support:

We provided some of the basic needs of some of inmates, through the financial and material support of some generous individuals and groups. More so, 1,050 inmates benefited from packs of toiletries on 9th April,2024

Spiritual Renewal:

The inmates get spiritual renewal through Eucharistic celebration with them every Sunday, encounter Prison Apostolate member visits,

Christmas Celebration:

Over the years we conduct Christmas celebration for the inmates in commemoration ofthe Bishop Emeritus Alaba Job on every 24^th December and feeds themon sumptuous meal

Inmates’ Linkages:

We assist the inmates to stay connected with their families, friends and lawyers. We review their cases and link them withthe JDPC lawyers

Collaboration

We collaborate and network with other persons and groups such as (a) Fr. Wilfred Kouijzer SMA and other priest, the Religious Sisters of Charity, The Prison Fellowship of Nigeria PFN the Prison Apostolate Members who go the extra mile to offer the inmates at the Agodi Custodial Centre some scour.

Medical Outreach:

In 2023 we started Medical outreach inAgodi Custodial Centre. Between 2023 and 2024, we have reached and treated over 700 inmates. The positive outcome was indeed palpable.

Care of Indigent Persons:

We receive the indigent persons frequently at the Caritas department. People withvarying degrees of need.  We try as much as feasible to attend to their needs. Some of the needs require immediate interventions such as food and clothing. While we discourage handout, relief is the first action while we engage them further and empower those who are willing and able when the resources are available. 
Over the years we have met the basic needof an average of 200 persons with cash and clothing while forty of them have been economically empowered. We have also paid the medical bills of six indigent persons over the past three years.

Environmental and Climate Change Programme.

The issues of environmental degradation and climate change is a reality that we strugglewith on daily basis. Sadly, many people are still oblivious of how the human activities contribute to the issues of climate change. Our mission therefore, is to drive home the message on the issues of environmental degradation andclimate change. Between 2022 and 2023, Through the support of the Conrad Hilton Fund for Sisters and in collaboration with the religious Sisters of Charity, we created awareness at Ibarapa North Local government area on the need for environmental preservation using the following strategies; awareness creation in schools, Training of Trainers, Community level step-down training, Street/market rallies, household sensitization, and advocacy visits. The climax of the activities was the commemorative tree planting of 165 seedlings (oranges, mangoes, African Star Apple (Agbalumo) etc. in schools, communities,and the local government area's office. The follow up monitoring conducted shows that thus far, 90 of the seedlings survived. The trees no doubt will contribute to healthier ecosystem.

CAMPAIGNAGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING

In the year 2022 and 2023, we conducted an awareness campaign on human traffickingacross 11 local government areas (Ibarapa North, Ibarapa Central, Lagelu,Akinyele, Oluyole, Ona-Ara, Ibadan South-East, Ibadan North, Atisbo, Saki Westand Ogbomoso North) in Oyo State.  

The project activities included; airing ofjingles in 8 radio stations and phone-in radio programme in 2 radio stations,market rallies in 8 major markets in Ibadan, Training of Trainers for 383participants across the 11 LGA, community stepdown training, 48 advocacy visitsto, religious and community leaders and anti-human trafficking agencies,awareness creation in 53 schools and some religious institution and one-dayconference. 

The campaign which was sponsored by theMisean Cara and conducted in collaboration with the Religious Sisters ofCharity Nigeria paid off! The changes below attest to the impacts of theproject.

The major Changes and Success Achieved include:

Increased Awareness:

There is an increase in the awareness of the Oyo populace on the issues of Human trafficking. The participants of the training of trainers were very passionateabout the lessons learnt and spread the news with so much ease and eagerness.Thus, aiding the fast spread of the message on the issues of human traffickingto the nooks and crannies of most of the LGAs visited. The drastic reduction inthe ignorance of the right place to make a report attests to this.

Ability Report Human Trafficking Cases:

Thepeople now report to the trainees at the grassroot, who guide them on how andthe right place to report. The trainees even accompany the complainants to therelevant agencies sometimes.  We had 55reported cases during the execution of the project and still and stillcounting.

Ability to Act and Prevent incidences of Human trafficking:

Ourtrainees and other community members in the LGAs visited were able to preventsome people from being trafficked just by sharing the information on humantrafficking with prospective victims and their families. Even handling thecases reported to them even before informing us. The ability to take action isa plus.

Collaboration with the traditional leaders:

Thereis a positive synergy between our trainees and the traditional leaders thatmakes the fight against human trafficking fruitful. For instance, it took thecollaboration of our trainees, representatives of the king, the communityleaders and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) to apprehend atrafficker who trafficked a young girl to Kano.

Rescue Victims and resettlement of survivours:

18 Victims of the victims were rescued and six surviours were resettled between 2022 and 2023.                                                  
In 2024, though the sponsorship for the project has ended, we continued theawareness creation through visits to schools, Webinar, radio programmes andintervention in human trafficking cases reported to us. We visited 8 schools,featured in two radio stations and rescued one human trafficking victim whogave a tip off that lead to the rescue of 8 other victims and arrest of fourtraffickers by the NSCDC.

JUSTICE DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE COMMITTEE INPARISH (JDPC-P)

It is the mandate of the church that Justice Development and Peace commission shouldbe functional at the parish level. The goal is to ensure that human right is protected at all levels especially at the grassroot level. Thus, wesuccessfully conducted awareness drive in 42 parish of the archdiocese afterwhich we had formation training programme for Justice, Development and PeaceCommittee in Parish (JDPC-P) promoters from 38 parishes.

The promoters were equipped with all theskills needed to take up issues of Justice, development and peace in CatholicArchdiocese of Ibadan and beyond. Thus, they were tasked to train otherpromoters from their parishes. 

The inauguration of 181 JDPC-P promoters from 27 parishes on 2nd October, 2022 byhis Grace, Archbishop Gabriel Leke Abegunrin was the culmination of the JDPC-Pawareness campaign in parishes and formation training of the promoters. TheJDPC-P activities kicked off once more with old members revived and new ones created.

The cases below were successfully handled by the promoters over the years sinceafter their inauguration in different parishes of the Catholic Church in Ibadan Archdiocese.

1. Reconciliation of 17 families who were inconflict across St Gabriel Mokola, St. Augustine Ojoo St. Thomas Agbowo, St.Anthrew Oke Bola, St. Leo’s Challenge, Divine mercy Maunatan, Seat of Wisdom Universityof Ibadan and St. Patrick Bashorun.
2. Improved health care through HealthCheckup for average of 200 persons from St. Thomas Agbowo, St. Augustine Ojo, and Holy family, Yawiri Akobo.
3. Legal consultation services at St. Leos Parish.
4. Preparation and sponsorship of 10 couplefor the sacrament of matrimony at St. Leos Parish.
5. Awareness creation on human trafficking, food security, conflict reconciliation, human right, voter education through radio jingle (St. Anthony Igboorah parish produced the jingly) among others by the promoters across 20 of the inaugurated parishes.
6. Case work intervention of a 10 years old child who  was abused by a 46 years old man. Also, intervention in a case of an abducted child from Togo who was exposed to forced labour without pay by St. Leos parish Orita Challenge. They made all the necessary requirements, including some paper work, tracing of her family and subsequently sent her back to her family who thought she was dead.
7. HIV/AIDSAwareness, Counselling and Testing: in Collaboration the APIN Public HealthInitiative we embarked on awareness creation, counselling and Testing ofPregnant and non-Pregnant persons for HIV/AIDS. So far we have Counselled andtested 72 persons 38 pregnant and 63 non-pregnant persons for HIV and AIDS.