Positioning the Girl-child for Self-reliance

Mary Nnah writes on efforts by BEMORE Summer Boot-camp, an empowerment initiative of the Ondo State First Lady, Arabirin Betty Akeredolu, through by her BAAF foundation, to change the lives of young girls, especially those in rural areas, to be more self aware and reliant of the power they wield

Jegede Marvelous, from Akoko, a community in Ondo State, is in her early teens. She loves her community so much, but it lacks electricity. This affects not just her home and entire community but most especially her school and studies as she can hardly afford to do her studies at night as much as desired.

For Marvelous, the challenge of power supply got worse after their power generator spoiled, and though the mother tried to pay a certain amount as electricity bill to the authority concerned so they would be connected back, it was to no avail, thus they remained in darkness.

“I can’t read at night because we lack electricity. I can only read using a kerosene lamp, which is harmful to one’s health”, she lamented.

Having lived for two years without electricity in her community, Marvelous was constantly disturbed by this irksome problem and wanted to solve it.

“I have always wanted to help solve my community’s electricity problem”, Marvelous, who lives with her five other siblings, recalled how her adventure into bringing light to her home and in extension her rural community, started almost three years ago.

Marvelous is the last of six siblings, in fact, the baby of the house and the only girl in the family. She is a chorister in her church and also very serious with her academic works, but one particular challenge she faced was how to get electricity to do all she always wanted to with ease, including studying at night.

The opportunity came for Marvelous to achieve her dream in summer 2018 when she was picked among the 400 girls selected from across Ondo State to participate in the BEMORE Summer Boot-camp 2018, an initiative of the Ondo State First Lady, Arabirin Betty Akeredolu, organised by her foundation, Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu Foundation (BAAF), which teaches young school girls to be more empowered and self-reliant.

The Bootcamp empowers young secondary school girls with ICT, solar technology skills and other life-impacting skills. They are also taught taekwondo martial arts for self-defense against rapists and other attackers.

From the onset, Marvelous was clear about her expectations and goal for attending the boot camp. “I came here wanting to learn more about solar technology so that I can go back and solve the problem of electricity in my community”, she said over two years ago.

And truly, at the end of the training, she had learned how to build a solar panel, how to connect all the series. She had returned to her village to put into practice the skill she learned at the BEMORE Summer Boot camp.

The Boot camp had strengthened her passion for transforming her community with renewable energy starting from her home.

By now, she would have built another solar system to generate electricity at her local school, especially to power the computer laboratory, to tackle unstable electricity. That has been her heart desire.

For many other communities like hers, she feels solar energy is the way to go. Her words: “With solar, we can light up our nation – one home at a time”.

Like Marvelous, who deployed the knowledge acquired from the BEMORE summer boot camp on building solar panels to provide solar power to her community, the same has been the fortunes of many other girls who have had the opportunity to attend consequent editions of the annual BEMORE Summer Boot camp.

Thus, Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, wife of Ondo State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, is not relenting in her efforts to ensure that her foundation reaches out to more girls not just in Ondo State but in other states of the nation.

To this end, she is spreading her crusade to various other states in Nigeria.

Recently, she was in Imo State, where she concluded another round of BEMORE Summer Boot Camp, the 2021 edition, to be precise. The girls who were camped for two weeks went through rigorous drills during the training held at Goshen Anglican Retreat Centre in New Owerri, Imo State.

The First Lady set up the BEMORE Summer Boot camp in 2017 to aid the empowerment of the 21st-century Nigerian girl with the proper knowledge and skills to impact society positively. It helps the participants build core competencies in teamwork, problem-solving, social and leadership skills, information and communication technology, and renewable energy.

The girls who participated in Imo exercise graduated after two weeks of intensive training on solar technology, ICT, music, taekwondo, public speaking, breast cancer awareness, sustainable development goals, fine & applied arts, and production of home-made products such as soap, perfume, detergent and confectioneries. They also learnt cosmetology and tying of headgears (gele).

Though the number of girls who attended this year was very few due to COVID-19 pandemic prevention guidelines, the girls numbering 13 were inculcated with life-changing skills and experiences necessary to actualise their maximum potential.

Guests who thronged the venue of the graduation ceremony of the 2021 BEMORE Summer Boot camp on Saturday, August 28, were obviously elated and fascinated at the remarkable transformation which had occurred in the girls.

The confidence they exuded during their different presentations convinced many guests that the girls actually learnt well; that the time spent at the boot camp was one well spent.

Some of the participants who went into camp nervous have now built confidence in themselves, and with the necessary skills, the girls are here to dare and conquer the world.

Besides expertly demonstrating what they learned during the camp, the girls displayed dancing and singing skills, including taekwondo expertise which sent a strong message to the men present that the girl-child is no longer a piece of soft beef to be chewed at will.

Delivering her speech at the closing ceremony of the Imo State Edition of 2021 BEMORE Summer Boot camp, Anyanwu-Akeredolu, who was so excited over the outcome of the two-week training, said, “Today, I am exceptionally elated. Looking at my girls grow remarkably within the space of two weeks brings unending joy to my heart and reminds me of the words of Maya Angelou: Just do right.

“Right may not be expedient, it may not be profitable, but it will satisfy your soul. Although I had wished more girls registered, I am comforted by Maya Angelou’s quote that I am right in investing in these lovely girls despite not being profitable in immediate monetary terms.

“Usually, the gains of social investments, in this case, human capital development, can’t be quantified in Naira and Kobo. However, the impact will surely be felt in the future with their inputs in their various life endeavours, causing sustainable societal development. Social investments are long term projects that require sincerity of purpose, patience and commitment.”

She emphasised that positioning girl children to be self-reliant was the right thing to do, adding, ‘‘working to ensure gender equality is the right thing to do, so whatever the cost, whatever the loss, whatever the discomfort, I have chosen to do the right thing”.

Anyanwu-Akeredolu, who passionately appealed for more Nigerians to join the campaign to empower the girl child, observed that for far too long, society had tolerated an environment that hindered women’s well-being and advancement, but that it was time for a change.

She urged further that like-minded people should join the ranks of many warriors who are already fighting the cause of a thriving society by empowering the girl child and standing against every cultural norm and every patriarchal tendency that was carefully constructed to cage the womenfolk.

“You are all seated here today, regardless of your age and social status, you do have the ability to do the right thing even when it is unpopular”, she noted.

Congratulating the BEMORE girls, the First Lady said: “You made it! Two weeks of rigorous training in ICT, Solar technology and life-enhancing skills have come and gone, but many years of impacting the world and making it a better place are just ahead of you.

“The baton has been placed on your hands; your race begins now. I must warn you that there will be challenging times, but you should know that this boot camp has equipped you with all that you need to overcome them all.”

For 15-year-old Ezinwa Balewe Uche Adaeze, one of the beneficiaries at the BEMORE Imo Summer Bootcamp 2021, the experience helped her to find her creative voice and how to influence the way she thinks, especially about gender equality.

“While I walked through the gates of the Goshen Anglican Retreat Centre, I was scared. I was terrified because I knew no one, nobody at all. But then I got up and said I would make a change. I’ll make a stand; I’ll make the society better for girls, and now, I’m here, standing, a victor. BEMORE has made me a victor, a fighter, a champion. I am not ashamed to face the world anymore. I am not ashamed to take the next step because I am a girl”, she said excitedly.

The Chief Press Secretary to the First Lady, Oluwatobi Fademi, noted that the core aim of BEMORE is to bridge the gender gap in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) and empower the young Nigerian girl-child to develop valuable life skills that translate into self-confidence, higher-income earning potential and fulfilling careers for them.

She revealed that with the just concluded Boot camp in Imo State, BEMORE has trained more than 1500 girls who are now technologically skilled. She explained further that the next boot camp would kick off from September 13th in Ondo State.

The Chairman of the occasion and Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Prof. Nnenna Oti, extolled the initiator for mentoring the girls to be more in life, more responsible and innovative. She charged the girls to be passionate, focused and hard-working.Oti displayed the dramatist and motivational speaker in her, rounding off her speech with “If I could be FUTO Vice-Chancellor, you could be more,” to the thunderous standing ovation from guests.