A National Youth Service Corps member, Orondaam Otto, had applied to over 150 organisations soliciting donations to kick-start his vision. OttoOrondaam Slum2School Education
A National Youth Service Corps member, Orondaam Otto, had applied to over 150 organisations soliciting donations to kick-start his vision. Not one organisation thought his idea was good enough to embark on.
The emphatic Otto’s focus was not always on education. Indeed, his interest was widely based on social-impact. This desire to see that his environment had an impact led him to pursue a degree in medicine at the University of Port-Harcourt, Rivers state. This was even easier motivation as his father is a medical doctor.
But education to the 25-year-old at the time meant clothes, shoes and teachings on healthcare. But “after months of engagement with them, I realized that we could give them food, clothes, but it would be a temporary relief. ‘What can we give them that will last?’ So I thought education is sustainable and will help them make informed decisions.” This idea birthed the Slum2School Initiative in 2012. To lead his fresh vision, he took deliberate steps to study and familiarise himself with them.
“One night, I was thinking and strategizing on how to achieve this and this idea just hit me. ‘You have a Blackberry phone. What if you get 100 of your friends, and each of those people get 10 of their friends to donate an additional 1000 naira? You’ve raised 1 million naira for this project.” 118 children benefited from this gesture.
Interestingly, Slum2School has introduced what he calls his ‘guinea pig,’- the first virtual learning studio in Africa. Current Slum2School beneficiaries and 10,000 more children in slums and remote communities will enjoy this virtual learning studio.“Whenever there is a tragedy, there is always a shift. The question is, ‘would our education system still remain the way it is?’ We realised during the pandemic that our children were not learning and lots of them had access to virtual devices.
Nigeria Latest News, Nigeria Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
South Africa’s COVID-19 Cases Top 500,000South Africa’s COVID-19 Cases Top 500,000
Read more »
Coronavirus: Nigeria records 462 new infections | Premium Times NigeriaThis brings the number of coronavirus infections in Africa's biggest economy to 43,151
Read more »
Akinwunmi Adesina: Africa's Spotless Son, By Wole Olaoye - Premium Times OpinionAfrica has also re-learnt a historical lesson: United we stand, divided we fall.
Read more »
Cancellation of third term without other provisions compromises education standard - SPN tells Makinde - Daily Post NigeriaOyo State chapter of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), has declared that cancellation of third term of 2019/ 2020 academic session without provisions
Read more »
117 Nigerians return home from East Africa
Read more »
FG evacuates 170 volunteers from East Africa - The Nation NigeriaBy Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja The Federal Government has successfully evacuated 170 volunteers from Rwanda, Tanzania and Rwanda, The Nation learnt. A local airline, Azman Air, was used for the evacuation. The flight arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos in the early hours of Sunday. The volunteers, professionals in different fields, were in the […]
Read more »