An ex-National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member who served in Kwara State 13 years ago, Okpe Bartholomew, has returned to the community to empower children and women on ICT and technological skills.
Now the Coordinator of Kiddies Droid Foundation, Bartholomew said the foundation decided to kick-start the training in the state as a way of giving back to the society the benefits he enjoyed 13 years ago.
The flag off the programme, held at the Karuma Primary school, Ilọrin, aims to empower 100,000 children and women across the country with relevant tech skills to thrive in the 21st Century workforce, with over 700 children and women in Kwara expected to benefit from the training.
Bartholomew explained that his organisation focused on children of between six and 17 years that were in or out of school, including women who had no privilege of computer training.
Subsidy back as FG pays N169.4bn in August
Lagos demolishes 500-room estate
He said while he wanted the children to enjoy their childhood, it would be equally good for them “to know that life is not static, and they need to acquire skills to prepare them for the future.”
He further said that since he started the training a few years ago about 2,000 people, mostly poor children, had benefited.
He thanked the Gambari community for the warm reception which made it easy for the programme to hold.
Speaking during the programme, the Balogun Gambari of Ilorin, Alhaji Mohammed Adebayo, stressed that the acquisition of skills for computer and technological operations be spread to the rural communities.
Adebayo, who was represented by a former President of the Balogun Gambari Ward Development Association, Alhaji Abdulkadir Jimoh, said that acquisition of such skills would ease the crisis of unemployment among the youths in the country.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
