AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Kitian Training Hub, a non profit organisation, says that one of its agenda is to attract young learners to Information and Communication Technology in line with the prevailing global standard.
At the opening of a 2-week training workshop for learners between age eight and 13 at Leadway Victory School, Orogun, Ibadan, Oyo State capital recently, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Kitian Training Hub, Mrs Taiwo Oshunniyi, made the disclosure.
Oshunniyi lamented that the gap in the exposure of young African learners to ICT compared to their counterparts in the advanced world is embarrassing, hence the urge to intervene.
“Kitian Training Hub is set up to empower youths and women. The NGO ran a programme last year in collaboration with Unity Bank that touched so many lives. We continually partner with organisations that are youth and women oriented, so we went on the programme called teens banquet where a lot of secondary school pupils came. That was where the partnership with this school came from.
“The future belongs to this young ones. Whatever we can do to empower them is what we would do. By all means, we are inspired to touch more schools and we are doing this with Oyo Reporters. The fantastic feedback gladdens my heart when I see how enthusiastic these children and their parents are. We would take these to different schools. Once it is in public space, people would see the partnership.
“We subsidised the training workshop 100per cent just so that we can introduce them to this programme. It is a continuous programme. So, we intend to make this a long term partnership and also take it to other schools in Ibadan first, then we would see how it would go,” she said.
Mrs Oluwatoyin Akiyode, Head and Senior Instructor, Leadway Victory School, said, “We understand that the world is becoming a tech-world and for anybody to excel, technology cannot be taken out of it. So, it’s been on my mind to put the learners through the path of technology by exposing them to it.
“Our slogan is building a global scholar. When they leave the school, we want them to be able to measure up to their contemporaries all over the world. I went for a youth programme and I met Mrs Oshunniyi, she was talking to young people. Since then, I began to look at it that as a school, we should be able to partner to help the future of the children.
“This is just the starting point, I know we are going places and the children would also do greatly and we would become a great nation. Certainly, I strongly believe that it is the beginning of great things that we never can tell where it can take the children to. A number of them have started doing valiantly and so well.
“Parents are calling to say oh, this is awesome and I am impressed. I really want to do more, we want to climb a higher cadre in these kind of things and I trust that God will help us.
Akeem Gbolahan, a 13-year-old JS3 student of Leadway Victory School, Orogun, Ibadan, said, “I feel so excited about this programme because it empowers me. The knowledge would empower me and also impact the nation positively. Technology can greatly develop our country.
“I pray that God will bless the organisers and the management of my school, Leadway Victory School, Orogun, Ibadan for giving us the free training opportunity. I see this as a good empowerment training.”
The participating students were drawn from different classes. According to the school head, the initial plan was to select the participants mainly from Grade 1 (age 6), but because of the difficulty that they might face in handling laptops, the school decided to pick pupils between age 8 and 13.
