Rescued Chibok girls received by Congresswoman Fredrica Wilson on Capitol Hill

SIX of the rescued pupils from Government Girls Secondary School Chibok who managed to escape from the clutches of Boko Haram have paid a visit to the US Congress in Washington where they were received by Congresswoman Fredrica Wilson.

 

On April 14, Boko Haram abducted about 234 schoolgirls from their boarding school in Borno State as they slept at night and whisked them off to an unknown location. However, on the way, one of the vehicles broke down and about a dozen of the girls managed to escape, while three months later, local hunters rescued another 30 after stumbling on their camp.

 

About 200 of the girls are still being held by Boko Haram but those who were fortunate to be free have been offered scholarships and several of them are now pursuing their studies in the US. In Wednesday, six of the girls were invited to Congress by Congresswoman Wilson, where she and some of her colleagues identified with them.

 

During the visit to Capitol Hill, the congress members wore red clothing in solidarity with the girls who are still missing and held up banners with the inscriptions #BringBackOurGirls in a photo shoot. They also took photographs with the girls outside the Congress building where they joined by other celebrities

 

Some of the girls are now benefiting from a scholarship programme in the US state of Oregon courtesy of a Virginia-based non-profit organisation called the Jubilee Campaign in collaboration with some Nigerian activists. They are quietly finishing their education at the Canyonville Christian Academy, a cosy boarding school with students from more than a dozen countries.