Over 11, 000, 000 Nigerian children are out of school; more than 50% of the number presently in school are performing below average. This isn’t just their own problem; this is our problem; a national emergency that no one government alone can solve in 4 years or eight years. As a people with common hopes and aspirations, we must continue to challenge ourselves to do more; to send more children to school and ensure that they get the kind of education that will inspire the best in them; the kind of education that will enable them to compete with their counterparts in the other parts of the world. It’s not just in their own best interest; it’s in our National Security interest.

A study by UNESCO showed that each additional 1 year a child stay at school, that child’s life is improved by 10%. Just imagine that for a moment. For the boys, it means that the chances of serving as potential terrorist recruits or kidnappers is reduced by 10% and for the Girl-child, the returns on investment is mind-blowing; it will affect everything about her, the choice of who she will marry, when she will marry, the number of kids she will give birth to and how those kids will grow up.

In the last 1 year our organization has reached over 5, 000 secondary school students through our I AM NIGERIA School Campaign; propagating the message of Patriotism, Moral Value, Commitment to Nation Building etc. and also imparting them with different skills; lifelong skills that they’ll carry with them as they prepare to go to the university, thus making them better citizens and providing them with more options as they climb through ladders of opportunity.

But it doesn’t stop there; we plan on reaching millions more in the next five years through our WIRED-INN Initiative. The sole objective of the initiative is to promote school enrollment in Nigeria and use Open-source Technology to deliver quality education to children in rural communities.

Technology that will transform how these children learn. All that some of them have seen and witnessed are the horrors of terror in the last few years. Now more than any time in our history, we must extend a heart of kindness to them. We must show them that we care enough about their future and that the difference between us and them is opportunity and we are willing as fellow citizens to give them the opportunity they require to make of their lives what they wish.

Join us to send 1, 000 Solar Candle to some of these children in IDP Camps. The Solar Candle is an amazing technology that will enhance their reading experience. The candle is green, clean and renewable; it’s powered by a solar technology, they don’t need to invest in batteries. The candle can last up to 30hrs when properly exposed to sunlight.

Simply subscribe to the Independence Edition of I AM NIGERIA Magazine, featuring some exceptional young people from politics to Activism and Entrepreneurship.

·        Annual subscription starts @ N6, 000.

*2 copies of each edition will be sent to you;

 

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