Some of the slum2School kids in Uniform during a visit to the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Lekki, Lagos
Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that the Slum-to-School, a social advocacy group, has embarked on the 1000 Voices Campaign targeted at enrolling 1000 less privileged slum kids into school this September at no extra cost to their parents
"I had always wanted to go to school but my parents could not afford it with the little money they make from fishing. I was always sad each time I see school children in uniform. I did not want to end up a fisherman like my father or fish seller like my mother."
Those were the words of 11-year-old Georgette Agbogbe, one of the 320 primary school pupils recently given a new lease of life by the Slum2School (S2S) Project, at the Makoko Community, one of the many slums that dot Lagos.
Agbogbe might have been lucky but recent statistics by UNESCO has unfortunately revealed that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in sub-Sahara Africa to the alarming tune of 10.8 million.
Encouraged by the saying, 'little drops of water makes a mighty ocean', the S2S Project, a social advocacy group, has taken up the gauntlet to rectify this anomaly and provide access to education for more children, especially in slums and remote communities.
With a vision to transform the society by empowering disadvantaged children to realize their full potential, last year campaign saw over 320 underprivileged children enrolled into schools with the help of young and passionate volunteers, partners, media and management team.
The Slum to School Project
Started as a Community Development Service (CDS), when he was a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, the initiator of the project, Mr. Otto Orondaam, said the Slum2School Project is a youth-driven initiative launched in February 2012.
During the short period of its existence, Slum2School has already enrolled 320 underprivileged children into schools, thus changing their lives and giving them hope for a better future.
With focus on harnessing resources towards bridging the enrollment gaps between orphans/vulnerable out-of-school children and children in school, through the provision of educational scholarships and other psycho-social support programmes, kids have been sent and kept in school.
According to statistics, the project is currently one of the very fastest growing and most reputable charity organisations in the whole sub-Saharan Africa, as buttressed by the accolades of awards and lots of international recognition for its work.
Slum Invasion
The slum invasion is a community advocacy programme geared towards sensitising slum communities on the importance of education. According to Orondaam, several campaign strategies have so far been deployed to create awareness and educate parents and community members on the importance of sending their children to school.
He lamented that due to the challenges in the slum, S2S beneficiaries are often older than their classmates in school because of the time they had spent out of school.
1000 Voices
As a volunteer-based charitable organisation, with young social reformers, the group initiated another project to provide scholarship and psychosocial support for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC’s) this year in some of the major slums in Lagos.
Tagged “1000 Voices”, the campaign was geared towards enrolling 1000 kids in three communities namely Makoko and Aiyetoru in Yaba Local Government and Emina community, a remote island in Epe, into schools at no extra cost to their parents and guardians.
With a fundraising drive which began on July 6 and ended on August 5, the over 500-based volunteers strove to raise funds to enroll over 1000 kids from Makoko, Ajegunle and Epe slums to school this September.
The target of the campaign was to raise a princely sum of N30 million at the cost of N30, 000, per child. According to the group, the breakdown of the money include acquiring two pairs of uniform, a sports wear, health insurance, school sandals, pairs of socks and sets of stationaries per child.
The fee would also cover the cost of the frequent mentorship programme, excursion and other psycho-social support programmes like Net-a-child, Christmas in a box and teacher's appreciation day.
With the use social media tools including twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr and Blackberry) and direct marketing, the volunteers went to work in creating a buzz in order to raise the said sum for the kids.
According to Orondaam, “The impact that we have created together in the communities is amazing, but we realise that we’ve only just scratched the back of the tree. The 2013 UNESCO report stated that there are still about 57 million school aged children out of schools, of which a staggering 10 million are in Nigeria alone.
"As much more remains to be done, the Slum2School is determined to reach higher. As we say, ‘It is time for action’. We need to take bold and daring steps to make a change in society.
"Together, with your support, we will make the change possible and change the fate of these children, bringing hope to their future and to our beloved country Nigeria."
The Epe School Makeover
Armed with their axes, tents and essential amenities, 21 young and vibrant volunteers headed to the Epe Slums alongside the international volunteer, Mika, just last week as part of the 1000 Voices campaign.
The school makeover project as initiated by Otto was designed to makeover at least three schools belonging to the less privileged in order to make learning more fascinating.
After spending three days in the Savannah forest, with mosquito bites to show for it, the team however succeeded in painting and repairing the school, the sick bay, library and toilet.
Also, they used the opportunity to begin the verification process for the lucky kids who would be enrolled into school this month. They were also able to profile the kids with the help of the community volunteers.
Teacher’s Day Appreciation
Determined to break the cliche that a 'teacher's reward is in heaven' the S2S crew instituted the Teachers Appreciation Day (TAD) to celebrate teachers who are great tutors that train and guide their students.
Orondaam said, "We can’t do without appreciating and encouraging them. This day is set aside to appreciate the teachers and also have a few discussions on the progress, challenges and possible ways of addressing issues. This encourages the teachers so they know we appreciate and acknowledge them."
Healthy Lifestyle
This programme seeks to train and teach the kids how to imbibe and live a healthy lifestyle and the recent lifestyle day, the volunteers; both professional and community-based taught the kids how to brush their teeth, wash their uniforms, take their bath, comb their hair, wash their socks.
At the end of the session combs, toothpaste, tooth brushes, bathing and washing soaps were distributed among the kids.
The Mentoring Process
To ensure a flawless process in the training of these kids and sustainability, the mentorship programme tagged: 'My Mentor and I' was created to provide after-school psychosocial support to the enrolled children so that their risk of dropping out is minimised.
The project also deployed a system of monitoring and evaluation called 'Evaluate Me'. The attendance and performance of all beneficiaries is monitored regularly and assessed.
Net A Child Campaign
This is an enormous campaign against malaria. According to Orondaam, malaria is still endemic in many slums, sometimes taking the lives of millions of children yearly. Therefore, the Net-A-Child Campaign seeks to provide counseling support, advocacy, and insecticide-treated nets free medical treatment for children and adults living in the slums.
No comments:
Post a Comment