Rural kid authors excited with skills to write new books

Students of Junior Secondary School Goza, Lugbe, Abuja, have expressed joy at the writing skills imparted by a non-profit organisation.

The students expressed their joy at one of the special classes of the Satayaa Africa Foundation, which was held at the school premises on Friday.

The programme is part of the non-profit organisation’s Project Safe Spaces in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation and Centre for Research and Development.

Under the programme, the organisation supports school children with reading and writing skills, trains them on topics such as identity, leadership and responsibility, renovates the school library and helps them publish their works under the “Hidden Treasures” collections.

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Speaking, the Director of the MacArthur Foundation in Nigeria, Dr Kole Shettima, said it was exciting to be part of the community-based project that made a difference in the lives of kids who are not living in Abuja’s highbrow areas.

“I am very happy to see children from this environment, where we know that this is not Maitama or any of the other big places, but to see how young children are exhibiting their creativity, talent and aspirations to be great people is always satisfying,” he said.

He said: “It is always satisfying to know that despite the problems of the country, there are so many people who are making a difference in the lives of children.”

In her remarks, the Secretary General of Satayaa Africa Foundation, Adesuwa Ehinome Iluobe, said the programme was designed to help vulnerable children within their jurisdiction become better people by teaching them governance and community development and discovering who they are.

Further, the programme advisor, Ifeanyichukwu Okoli, said the programme, which has run for one year, equipped junior school students from 19 communities around Goza, FCT, with the platform they deserve to know their rights, identity and responsibility in the society.