The United States Consulate recently hosted the nominees of The Future Africa Awards & Summit 2014 to an exclusive reception in Lagos, Nigeria and two of the nominees were on the Sunday August 3 edition of Rubbin’ Minds on Channels Television.
Founder, Stay In School Initiative, Tricia Ikponmwonba, and Founder, Access Drive Nigeria, Adeniyi Olokun, were in the studio to discuss their programmes and efforts at offering support.
Tricia Ikponmwonba noted that her initiative which is financed from individual funds, is focused on education intervention project, were they try to create education opportunities for disadvantaged children within rural communities in urban centres.
Explaining the rationale behind her initiative, she said, “we are in communities people do not focus on, and there are many children who are out of school within (ages) 5 and 14 in these communities”. One of the activities include a public fund raising which is a charity celebrity football match where individuals pay to watch.
The program, which has been running for 1 year and 7 months, has been able to send about 200 children to school.
Mr Adeniyi Olokun’s initiative ensures the facilitation of ICT laboratories in schools and the training of the students to be proper computer literates.
Adeniyi believes that ICT is a platform that can help in the development of individuals and is important in the development of every child.
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In collaboration with Leapfrog Institute, he is working with the Office of the Special Adviser to the Minister of Information and Communication Technology to ensure that they put ICT laboratories in schools across the 6 geopolitical zones.
This is in line with the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal and the project would be piloted with the centre in Oyo State.
On his greatest challenges, Niyi says blockage created by schools were there is need to get approval from the government before one could proceed had been frustrating.
Tricia, however, says her major challenge has been the parents who bank on their children for financial support.
Both guests also shared their special drive. Tricia spoke about her experience during the last Children’s Day celebration held in Abuja, were a widowed woman, who valued what they had done for two of four children, wept and prayed for the organisation.
For Adeniyi, the recent Post UTME exam, which was a computerized exam, recalled massive failure as a result of the students’ low level of familiarity with the system. He has promised to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.
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