Save Our Needy Launches M.E.T Girls

In commemoration of the UN Universal Children's Day, Save Our Needy implemented the M.E.T Girls program. On Friday, November 18th, notable speakers converged in New Era Girls High School, Lagos, to inspire, motivate and educate young girls to take the lead and become successful in every sphere of their lives. 

Two public secondary schools in Lagos State namely New Era Girls High School and Ajigbeda Girls Senior Secondary School were selected to participate in the program which aims at Motivating, Educating and Training young girls to become leaders.

The guest speakers gave the girls compelling reasons to believe in themselves and in their abilities to become successful leaders in whatever they choose to do in life. There was an interactive question and answer session where the girls had their questions answered.

Speakers at the event were; 

Mrs Scholastica Lan, a fellow of the West African Post Graduate College of Pharmacists and Program Manager at Nigerian Academy Of Science. She urged the girls to enrol in STEM classes and break barriers in the world of technology in Africa.

Kate Ekanem, a writer and a Girls' Rights Activist. She is the first Nigerian to represent the African Union at the global Girl20 summit, Turkey. She is a Vital Lady of the Vital Initiative Africa, a Delegate for Development Dialogue Nigeria, a Queen Young Leaders awardee, and a Global Media forum scholar. 

Anu Adelakun, a passionate Gender Advocate, journalist and Development practitioner with years of experience working on issues affecting marginalized girls and women in Nigeria. She is dedicated to empowering, and creating opportunities for girls and women in rural and underserved communities.

 

Being a very grave issue affecting every Nigerian today, the ONE "Make Naija Stronger" Campaign was highlighted at the end of the program. Participants were urged to sign petitions that will be presented to the Nigerian government in December to put pressure on them to improve healthcare in Nigeria.

Save Our Needy strongly believes that investing in girls education, health and safety is a key to ensuring they reach their full potential as well as improve Nigeria's development. We believe that the provision of quality education for girls is critical to breaking the cycle of poverty.

The MET Girls program supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of promoting girl-child education as well as ending extreme poverty and gender inequality by 2030.

This initiative was implemented in partnership with ONE Campaign and Waje Safe House.

 

Better Life Through Education Project (Phase 2)

SON team with representatives of NBC, SUBEB, PTA and pupils of Progress and 7th Avenue Nursery & Primary Schools

Education is an absolutely necessary precondition of economic development.

An investment in education is an investment in the future of a generation.

October 22nd 2015 will remain a day to remember for Progress and 7th Avenue Nursery and Primary Schools, Festac Town, Lagos, as they became the beneficiaries of the 2nd phase of the "Better Life Through Education" project initiated by Save Our Needy (SON).

New desks and chairs were donated to these low-income schools to improve learning conditions of the pupils.

Learning equipment donated to Progress and 7th Avenue Nursery & Primary Schools

The memorable event was graced by representatives of the Lagos State Basic Education board, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Education Authority, members of the School Base Management Committee and parents of the pupils.

The pupils of the schools performed various songs, dance and drama to show appreciation for the kind donation.

A cultural dance performance by pupils of 7th Avenue Nursery and Primary School

A drama presentation by pupils of Progress Nursery and Primary Sschool

We sincerely thank our partners, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) and Shoprite Community Network for joining hands with us to make this laudable initiative not only a reality but a huge success.

Through the initiative, "Better Life Through Education", we are improving the learning conditions of underserved children, one school at a time.

Mr Patrick Souza, representative of Lagos State Basic Education Board (SUBEB) addressing everyone present

 

Testing out the new chairs and desks

CEO, Save Our Needy, Marvella Odili (left) and Public Affairs Manager, Nigerian Bottling Company, Ifeoma Okoye, encouraging pupils to study hard at school

Ms Ifeoma Okoye, Public Affairs Manager, Nigerian Bottling Company, making a speech at the event

Mr. Olatunji, Head of Parents Forum giving a speech at the event

We Stand With Girls Everywhere

 

Yesterday, October 11, was the International Day of The Girl. The UN's theme for this year is “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030. The theme highlights the importance of girls to achieving the global goals for sustainable development. Simply put: In order to attain the Global Goals by 2030, we have to reach girls.

The International Day of The Girl gives us the opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary power of girls to change the world if educated and empowered.

We cannot claim to be living in an advanced world if 62 million girls are still out of school and 15 million girls a year are married before 18. This must change!

Here are a few reasons why we should all stand with girls everywhere and rise up for girls' rights:

• Every girl no matter where she comes from or lives, has the right to go to school, stay safe from violence, access health services, and fully participate in her community.
• Empowered girls mean healthier families. When girls are educated, healthy, and empowered, families are healthier.
• Empowered girls are key to breaking the cycle of poverty for families around the world.
• Empowered girls strengthen economies. According to a new Brookings report, “Increasing the number of women completing secondary education by just 1 percent could increase a country’s economic growth by 0.3 percent.”
• An empowered girl is 10 times more likely to know her right and protect herself from HIV/AIDS.
• Every girl has the right to be in charge of her future and her fate. 

We have the collective obligation to protect girls' rights and promote their well-being. Let's join hands to unlock the potential of girls particularly in Africa.

Are you still hesitating? It is time to take action! Every girl deserves to fulfill her dreams.

#GirlPower

Happy International Literacy Day!

September 8th has been celebrated globally as International Literacy Day since 1966 after it was proclaimed so by UNESCO in 1965.

Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies.

It is a day set aside to remind us of the status of literacy and adult learning globally.

Sadly, despite efforts made, 775 million adults around the world still lack minimum literacy skills; 1 in 5 adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women.

Worse still, 60.7 million children are out-of- school and many more attend school irregularly or drop out and are not able to finish schooling due to poverty.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest literacy rate in the world today. We must take action to change this.

There is a clear connection between illiteracy and countries in severe poverty, and between illiteracy and prejudice against women.

We support the fight against illiteracy. We believe in Education For All. Women and children must be educated and empowered for a better world.


#EveryoneMustBeEducated #NoOneLeftBehind

“Better Life Through Education” Project Launched In Partnership With The Shoprite Community Network.

                                     

After months of preparation, the ‘’Better Life Through Education” project was finally launched today.

The main focus of this initiative is to promote early childhood development, encourage basic education amongst disadvantaged children and create a conducive atmosphere for learning.

Progressive Nursery and Primary School, Festac Town, Lagos, was the first beneficiary of this initiative. Whiteboards, dusters, markers, chairs and tables were donated to transform classes and improve learning conditions of the pupils. Some of the classrooms were also rehabilitated during the course of the project.

The SON and Shoprite Community Network teams were warmly received by excited parents, teachers, head teachers, members of the School Base Management Committee and members of the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), Lagos.

We sincerely wish to thank the Shoprite Community Network for ably and generously supporting us during this project. We also wish to express our gratitude to our partners Verdant Zeal, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Lagos as well as our media partners Stella Dimoko Korkus blog, Vanguard, Punch and ThisDay newspapers.

A nursery classroom of Progressive Nursery & Primary School, Festac Town, transformed

Whiteboards donated to the school

Head teacher, Mrs T.A Ajayi, representatives of State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Lagos, representatives of Sshoprite and SON team appreciating the transformation of the nursery class

From R-L: SON volunteer, CEO, Save Our Needy, Marvella Odili, representatives of School Base Management Committee, representatives of Shoprite Community Network, head teacher and teachers, Progressive Nursery & Primary School, Lagos. Squatting: SON Staff

Classrooms were also renovated

Before and after pictures of a nursery class of Progressive Nursery & Primary School, Festac Town, Lagos.

 SON volunteer, Onyinye Veola, representative of SUBEB, Lagos, CEO, Save Our Needy, Marvella Odili, representatives of School Base Management Committee, representatives of Shoprite Community Network, head teacher and teachers, Progressive Nursery & Primary School, Lagos. Squatting: SON Staff, Wale Olatunde and Ifeoma Ihionu

This is the pilot phase of the “Better Life Through Education” project. We hope to embark on the second phase in the not too distant future.