"Change twenty-five people, change a community" to me, sums what Ajegunle.org is about.
Ajegunle is one of the poorest communities in Lagos, Nigeria and it is obvious that youths who live in such a community have limited opportunities. Ajegunle.org has given youths who have taken part, the opportunity to meet people and go places they never would have dreamt possible. I remember a blog written by the programme manager a while back "From Ajegunle to Abuja" about a youngman that had graduated from the programme and was working with a department of the British High commission in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city.
I have been priviledged to be one of the volunteers in the past and it was a moving experience meeting the youths and hearing their stories. Since then, I have come in contact with some of them mostly by coincidence and I can say they have indeed risen above their circumstances.
The graduates have not only risen above their circumstances but are helping other youth in their community do same. The unique structure of the programme allows them to contribute part of their income and mentor those that come after them. Indeed they are also helping transform their community by helping change twenty-five people at a time.
Volunteers like yourself add immense value to the project and as we walk towards replication across different locations, I'm sure we'll be able to tap from your wealth of knowledge regardless of location, using online tools.
Our volunteers are not just a lecturers, but mentors -- and I trust that the inspiration that volunteers like you continue to provide will motivate the participants.
This is a great project. I think sustainability is very important and I like that this has been well-thought through and built into the project. It is very important that young people from economically-disadvantaged areas have access to opportunities such as these to get information technology training, as well as support afterwards in their respective career development.
I look forward to this Ajegunle.org model being replicated in other communities.
We are increasingly excited about the revenue generated by the project participants. Their 10% return may look small when you consider 'temporary volume' but when we consider the fact that these are kids who'd probably not earn an income otherwise, we are glad that sustainability plan was built into the project. It serves the purpose of revenue generation and measuring their growth.
We're also excited about replication opportunities and even though it's not a 'cut-and-paste' solution for every new community, we are glad to overcome even new inertia.
Ajegunle.org is a true story of how any idea that is trully pursued can transform the lives of people in a community. This project has been a success till now but it needs to be sustained. Hope needs to be given to more people. So, there is a sense of urgency to replicate this model in other communities and ensure its sustainability.
Ajegunle.org is more than a mere project. It does not only equip our youths to take charge of their lives but it also creates a platform for them to affect their immediate community. Now is the time to join hands together to push this project forward. Will you join us on this crusade?
As a founding member of the Friends of PIN group (and moderator of the group on FaceBook), I'm sure you know how much value we place on partnerships. Through partnerships, we have been able to introduce the internship component of the program; and same goes for the recently introduced Graduate Loan Scheme.
We are glad to talk to new partners, and appreciate our existing partners. Thanks!
Ajegunle brings to mind the definition of squalor and abject poverty, while this is true of the living conditions, it is also true of opportunities available to its dwellers.
The Ajegunle.org project equips young Ajegunle dwellers with important life skills and experience needed to succeed in Nigeria and the world of today.
What is very unique about this projet is that PIN "select(s) the young people who need help most – and who will in turn be able to pass on the baton of positive change to their colleagues and community."
It will be great to see more support for this project that has recorded such an high success rate so that more of these one-in-a-lifetime opportunities can be provided and 'fate' changed.
One of things we hope the project will achieve in each community where we work is community awareness. Most people think of such communities as Ajegunle as no-go areas but having worked in such areas across Nigeria (and other developing countries), I see that there are a lot of assumptions. As we work in these communities, we are excited to see new online content that tell the other side of the story of such people-groups, e.g. Ajegunle's page on wikipedia. Thanks for yoour continued support.
I have had the privilege of interacting with a set of Ajegunle.org students. Just knowing that knowledge that I take for granted can make a huge difference to someone else is truly rewarding, and makes me want to do more. It seems to me that PIN has created a platform to retrain young Nigerians for a bright future, one mind at a time. Awesome work!
Your mentorship support for the project beneficiaries is appreciated, and I'm sure the students are better for it. I also personally appreciate your honest (and advice) feedback on the project each time we discuss how to improve what we're doing and the next steps.
Congratulations Sesan for being selected as one of the finalists of Champions of Quality Education in Africa! I like your idea because it talks about TELECENTRES, something that we are also setting up in Kumi. I would like us to keep in touch for more exchange of ideas. Congs!
For communities that have come to know sharing as their gateway to access, telecentres are a natural response to the need of getting connected to knowledge, resources and infrastructure. I look forward to the opportunity of discussing your project in Kumi sometime.
To be interested in the society and a comunity that id left to rotten, whereby the populace believes that nothing good can come out of and where a project that is applauded by great minds in Nigeria as a wonderful phemenenon that integrates ICt as a tool for economic developement...Ajegule.org initiative by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) should stay and the efforts and the achievement of the complemented. To inifinty and beyond
This project has presented us with a successful, and more importantly, a sustainable model for implementing and executing social development ideas in quite challenging environments.
I believe we can understudy the path taken by Ajegunle.Org, and replicate similar projects in other locations, across the developing world.
my name is Dorothy, I am one of the benefitiary of the Ajegunle.Org project, I was part of the first Ajegunle.Org project.
we were train on some microsoft applications and enterprenuership skill after which we were given opportunity for internship in some firms via the Ajegunle.Org project, I still work in the firm were I did my internship and must say this has really adversely improve my skills and better my life and has also giving me a career opportunity that would have taken years of vigorous effort to achieve.
This is a life transforming project weldone Ajegunle.Org, weldone Gbenga Sesan.
Thanks for posting a comment, Dorothy. You, and the other graduates, are the reason we spend each possible moment working on how to make sure as many young people as possible benefit from the life-changing experience you guys have had.
Thank you for doing all of what you do to inject life and hope into the minds of young Nigerians.
Seeing how you are rewriting the script of Social Entrepreneurship in Nigeria and across the world, may i use this opportunity to suggest you look into the creation of platforms that would bring together more social entrepreneurs from other fields so that collectively there can be a stronger statement for change particularly focusing on young minds in Nigeria.
Thanks for the kind words. I more-than-agree (allow that word) with you on the need to work together! I'm fortunate to enjoy the comradeship of other Ashoka fellows in Nigeria and understand the need for an extended platform for social entrepreneurs and other change agents working towards the same goal. I am very open to working with others on this! Please let me know if you have any leads.
I'm sorry to be replying a bit late. May i first congratulate you on the launch of your book. I hope i get to read it soon.
Unfortunately, i do not have any leads at the moment. I am just an advocate of synergy and direction. I am imagining platforms for the different aspects of our modern life that would help re-engineer the present Nigeria to what we pray it becomes. You are making a very strong case for IT and it's yeilding results. We need strong cases for SMEs, Music, Design, Writing, innovation etc.
To me, we need proven social entrepreneurs to provide leadership in aligning and organizing individuals, NGOs and corporate institutions working in related areas to leverage each other's competencies and resources and help build a strong knowledge and human capital base for our present and future Nigeria.
I am thinking of a 'Christian Association of Nigeria' Model where groups, individuals and institutions with common 'creed' (eg Software development, Arts, Design etc) would collectively push an agenda even while each constituting element might still have its guiding and perhaps a bit different working ideology.
A new generation of Nigerians are emerging and if we do not 'catch them young' and help key them into a firm social and developmental structure, we might loose them. I'm so proud of your achievements in these areas and i pray that God will never leave you.
By the way, thanks for always using your Green-White-Green mufler. I love it.
I want to sincerely thank the organizers for this opportunity and for the few comments that I have read from colleagues even outside Nigeria, I feel so honored and I am humbled and will continue to do my best as a champion of quality education in Africa. I want to thank everyone for the very positive remarks that you have made and pledge to truly live up to your expectations and serve as a Champion of Quality Education in Africa. As a teacher leader and motivator, I will raise more champions in Africa and all over the world for quality education. I also want to congratulate my other colleagues who have been selected as finalists. I believe we are the ones that Africa has been waiting for and this is an opportunity to make a new determination and offer a new vision for quality education in Africa.
Also, I see this rather as a recognition that commissions you and I to a higher service to humanity and I pledge to live and work with other colleagues to bring the dream of qualitative and quantitative education for the millions of children in Africa and around the world to reality. Thank you Ashoka Changemakers for the recognition and thank you colleagues for your VOTE, which is not just for me, but for the 59 million teachers around the world who have never been recognized enough for the contributions they make and for the hundreds of millions of children who look up to us as teachers for their future. I hope that this will inspire many more to join the 14 of us who have been selected to work for quality education in Africa. I urge my colleagues who have emerged finalist to see this as a moment to truly give a new direction to education in Africa. Let us become the champions of champions for quality education in Africa. While governments in Africa and the UN are making effort to ensure education for all children (quantitative), let us use this recognition to serve as advocates and changemakers for quality education, so that the education of children in Africa will be both qualitative and quantitative.
For the 14 of us selected as finalists, instead of seeing each other as competitors, I will rather request that we work cooperatively as the people chosen at this time to promote quality education in Africa. Let us become the embodiments of quality education in Africa, and let us work to raise more champions of quality education and eventually produce qualitatively educated children who will address and overcome the many critical challenges (corruption, HIV/AIDS, poverty, etc) facing Africa even in the 21st century.
Dear Colleagues, this is a win-win situation for all of us. Let us work more collaboratively to ensure that quality education in Africa is realized. Whether we emerge as final winners or not, let us maintain this momentum and quickly forge a common ground for the sake of education in Africa. I propose that the organizers create a G14 group and a G300+ group for both the finalists and other colleagues who were not selected but passionately believe in quality education in Africa to work together as the new champions of quality education in Africa who will raise many more champions for quality education in Africa. In this way, we shall all be able to work transcending the borders of finalists and non-finalists to bring quality education to Africa. Thank you all for being a part of this and let us mobilize others to join this initiative.
Thanks for this! I agree with you on the need to work together and wonder if you remember our earlier conversations (must be over 5 years now :). I'm doing some work around teacher training (especially in the Niger Delta region) in Nigeria and will be glad to know how we can work together on that. Please advise on your contact details. I'm glad this platform provided an opportunity for reconnection.
On July 28, 2009 the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers “Champions of Quality Education in Africa” competition and would like to pass on the following feedback (listed below) for your entry. Thank you for applying and for your hard work in the field. We are excited to archive your entry to serve as a leading solution for the worldwide community of innovators. We wish you continued luck with your innovative, sustainable, and socially impactful initiatives.
All the best, The Changemakers Team
“This idea is highly innovative, and I appreciate that it has a public/private partnership where well-known private sector businesses and partnerships can establish relationships, and can get internships for youth. It’s a very impressive organization with a great deal of clout and capacity behind it, and I think they can make this successfully work.”
“This is a youth training entrepreneurship model, and an important issue for rethinking learning. While this approach combines technology, community, individuals, and the business sector, I am also interested in learning more about how this would impact education, specifically. It clearly has a significant amount of social impact through the creation of jobs and enabling entrepreneurship, but I would also suggest that the initiative’s leaders tie this into the quality of education, so that the learning is relevant.”
- Changemakers “Champions of Quality Education in Africa” Judges: Escuela Nueva, Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts, Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, CARE (United States), African Leadership Academy, UNICEF
Commentaires
Please see project video on CNN iReport at http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-14359.
Thank you.
Stumbled on this. well done guys.
"Change twenty-five people, change a community" to me, sums what Ajegunle.org is about.
Ajegunle is one of the poorest communities in Lagos, Nigeria and it is obvious that youths who live in such a community have limited opportunities. Ajegunle.org has given youths who have taken part, the opportunity to meet people and go places they never would have dreamt possible. I remember a blog written by the programme manager a while back "From Ajegunle to Abuja" about a youngman that had graduated from the programme and was working with a department of the British High commission in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city.
I have been priviledged to be one of the volunteers in the past and it was a moving experience meeting the youths and hearing their stories. Since then, I have come in contact with some of them mostly by coincidence and I can say they have indeed risen above their circumstances.
The graduates have not only risen above their circumstances but are helping other youth in their community do same. The unique structure of the programme allows them to contribute part of their income and mentor those that come after them. Indeed they are also helping transform their community by helping change twenty-five people at a time.
Thanks for the kind words, Obinna.
Volunteers like yourself add immense value to the project and as we walk towards replication across different locations, I'm sure we'll be able to tap from your wealth of knowledge regardless of location, using online tools.
Our volunteers are not just a lecturers, but mentors -- and I trust that the inspiration that volunteers like you continue to provide will motivate the participants.
Regards,
This is a great project. I think sustainability is very important and I like that this has been well-thought through and built into the project. It is very important that young people from economically-disadvantaged areas have access to opportunities such as these to get information technology training, as well as support afterwards in their respective career development.
I look forward to this Ajegunle.org model being replicated in other communities.
Thanks Ore,
We are increasingly excited about the revenue generated by the project participants. Their 10% return may look small when you consider 'temporary volume' but when we consider the fact that these are kids who'd probably not earn an income otherwise, we are glad that sustainability plan was built into the project. It serves the purpose of revenue generation and measuring their growth.
We're also excited about replication opportunities and even though it's not a 'cut-and-paste' solution for every new community, we are glad to overcome even new inertia.
Best regards,
Ajegunle.org is a true story of how any idea that is trully pursued can transform the lives of people in a community. This project has been a success till now but it needs to be sustained. Hope needs to be given to more people. So, there is a sense of urgency to replicate this model in other communities and ensure its sustainability.
Ajegunle.org is more than a mere project. It does not only equip our youths to take charge of their lives but it also creates a platform for them to affect their immediate community. Now is the time to join hands together to push this project forward. Will you join us on this crusade?
Thanks for the call for support, Emmanuel.
As a founding member of the Friends of PIN group (and moderator of the group on FaceBook), I'm sure you know how much value we place on partnerships. Through partnerships, we have been able to introduce the internship component of the program; and same goes for the recently introduced Graduate Loan Scheme.
We are glad to talk to new partners, and appreciate our existing partners. Thanks!
Ajegunle brings to mind the definition of squalor and abject poverty, while this is true of the living conditions, it is also true of opportunities available to its dwellers.
The Ajegunle.org project equips young Ajegunle dwellers with important life skills and experience needed to succeed in Nigeria and the world of today.
What is very unique about this projet is that PIN "select(s) the young people who need help most – and who will in turn be able to pass on the baton of positive change to their colleagues and community."
It will be great to see more support for this project that has recorded such an high success rate so that more of these one-in-a-lifetime opportunities can be provided and 'fate' changed.
Thanks Yinka,
One of things we hope the project will achieve in each community where we work is community awareness. Most people think of such communities as Ajegunle as no-go areas but having worked in such areas across Nigeria (and other developing countries), I see that there are a lot of assumptions. As we work in these communities, we are excited to see new online content that tell the other side of the story of such people-groups, e.g. Ajegunle's page on wikipedia. Thanks for yoour continued support.
Best regards,
I have had the privilege of interacting with a set of Ajegunle.org students. Just knowing that knowledge that I take for granted can make a huge difference to someone else is truly rewarding, and makes me want to do more. It seems to me that PIN has created a platform to retrain young Nigerians for a bright future, one mind at a time. Awesome work!
Thanks Temilade,
Your mentorship support for the project beneficiaries is appreciated, and I'm sure the students are better for it. I also personally appreciate your honest (and advice) feedback on the project each time we discuss how to improve what we're doing and the next steps.
Regards,
Congratulations Sesan for being selected as one of the finalists of Champions of Quality Education in Africa! I like your idea because it talks about TELECENTRES, something that we are also setting up in Kumi. I would like us to keep in touch for more exchange of ideas. Congs!
Thanks Samuel,
For communities that have come to know sharing as their gateway to access, telecentres are a natural response to the need of getting connected to knowledge, resources and infrastructure. I look forward to the opportunity of discussing your project in Kumi sometime.
Best regards,
To be interested in the society and a comunity that id left to rotten, whereby the populace believes that nothing good can come out of and where a project that is applauded by great minds in Nigeria as a wonderful phemenenon that integrates ICt as a tool for economic developement...Ajegule.org initiative by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) should stay and the efforts and the achievement of the complemented. To inifinty and beyond
This project has presented us with a successful, and more importantly, a sustainable model for implementing and executing social development ideas in quite challenging environments.
I believe we can understudy the path taken by Ajegunle.Org, and replicate similar projects in other locations, across the developing world.
my name is Dorothy, I am one of the benefitiary of the Ajegunle.Org project, I was part of the first Ajegunle.Org project.
we were train on some microsoft applications and enterprenuership skill after which we were given opportunity for internship in some firms via the Ajegunle.Org project, I still work in the firm were I did my internship and must say this has really adversely improve my skills and better my life and has also giving me a career opportunity that would have taken years of vigorous effort to achieve.
This is a life transforming project weldone Ajegunle.Org, weldone Gbenga Sesan.
Thanks for posting a comment, Dorothy. You, and the other graduates, are the reason we spend each possible moment working on how to make sure as many young people as possible benefit from the life-changing experience you guys have had.
All the best!
Hi Gbenga.
Thank you for doing all of what you do to inject life and hope into the minds of young Nigerians.
Seeing how you are rewriting the script of Social Entrepreneurship in Nigeria and across the world, may i use this opportunity to suggest you look into the creation of platforms that would bring together more social entrepreneurs from other fields so that collectively there can be a stronger statement for change particularly focusing on young minds in Nigeria.
Goodluck..
Dear Kayode,
Thanks for the kind words. I more-than-agree (allow that word) with you on the need to work together! I'm fortunate to enjoy the comradeship of other Ashoka fellows in Nigeria and understand the need for an extended platform for social entrepreneurs and other change agents working towards the same goal. I am very open to working with others on this! Please let me know if you have any leads.
Best regards,
Hello Gbenga,
I'm sorry to be replying a bit late. May i first congratulate you on the launch of your book. I hope i get to read it soon.
Unfortunately, i do not have any leads at the moment. I am just an advocate of synergy and direction. I am imagining platforms for the different aspects of our modern life that would help re-engineer the present Nigeria to what we pray it becomes. You are making a very strong case for IT and it's yeilding results. We need strong cases for SMEs, Music, Design, Writing, innovation etc.
To me, we need proven social entrepreneurs to provide leadership in aligning and organizing individuals, NGOs and corporate institutions working in related areas to leverage each other's competencies and resources and help build a strong knowledge and human capital base for our present and future Nigeria.
I am thinking of a 'Christian Association of Nigeria' Model where groups, individuals and institutions with common 'creed' (eg Software development, Arts, Design etc) would collectively push an agenda even while each constituting element might still have its guiding and perhaps a bit different working ideology.
A new generation of Nigerians are emerging and if we do not 'catch them young' and help key them into a firm social and developmental structure, we might loose them. I'm so proud of your achievements in these areas and i pray that God will never leave you.
By the way, thanks for always using your Green-White-Green mufler. I love it.
I want to sincerely thank the organizers for this opportunity and for the few comments that I have read from colleagues even outside Nigeria, I feel so honored and I am humbled and will continue to do my best as a champion of quality education in Africa. I want to thank everyone for the very positive remarks that you have made and pledge to truly live up to your expectations and serve as a Champion of Quality Education in Africa. As a teacher leader and motivator, I will raise more champions in Africa and all over the world for quality education. I also want to congratulate my other colleagues who have been selected as finalists. I believe we are the ones that Africa has been waiting for and this is an opportunity to make a new determination and offer a new vision for quality education in Africa.
Also, I see this rather as a recognition that commissions you and I to a higher service to humanity and I pledge to live and work with other colleagues to bring the dream of qualitative and quantitative education for the millions of children in Africa and around the world to reality. Thank you Ashoka Changemakers for the recognition and thank you colleagues for your VOTE, which is not just for me, but for the 59 million teachers around the world who have never been recognized enough for the contributions they make and for the hundreds of millions of children who look up to us as teachers for their future. I hope that this will inspire many more to join the 14 of us who have been selected to work for quality education in Africa. I urge my colleagues who have emerged finalist to see this as a moment to truly give a new direction to education in Africa. Let us become the champions of champions for quality education in Africa. While governments in Africa and the UN are making effort to ensure education for all children (quantitative), let us use this recognition to serve as advocates and changemakers for quality education, so that the education of children in Africa will be both qualitative and quantitative.
For the 14 of us selected as finalists, instead of seeing each other as competitors, I will rather request that we work cooperatively as the people chosen at this time to promote quality education in Africa. Let us become the embodiments of quality education in Africa, and let us work to raise more champions of quality education and eventually produce qualitatively educated children who will address and overcome the many critical challenges (corruption, HIV/AIDS, poverty, etc) facing Africa even in the 21st century.
Dear Colleagues, this is a win-win situation for all of us. Let us work more collaboratively to ensure that quality education in Africa is realized. Whether we emerge as final winners or not, let us maintain this momentum and quickly forge a common ground for the sake of education in Africa. I propose that the organizers create a G14 group and a G300+ group for both the finalists and other colleagues who were not selected but passionately believe in quality education in Africa to work together as the new champions of quality education in Africa who will raise many more champions for quality education in Africa. In this way, we shall all be able to work transcending the borders of finalists and non-finalists to bring quality education to Africa. Thank you all for being a part of this and let us mobilize others to join this initiative.
Dear Mr Oko,
Thanks for this! I agree with you on the need to work together and wonder if you remember our earlier conversations (must be over 5 years now :). I'm doing some work around teacher training (especially in the Niger Delta region) in Nigeria and will be glad to know how we can work together on that. Please advise on your contact details. I'm glad this platform provided an opportunity for reconnection.
Best regards,
Gbenga,this is Taiwo from COPINE,i wish u all the best in this contest.
I have dropped my vote for ajegunle.org.
keep it up man,when is the microsoft NGO academy coming up?
All the best.
Your contribution is a worthy venture. God bless your efforts, Gbenga !
On July 28, 2009 the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers “Champions of Quality Education in Africa” competition and would like to pass on the following feedback (listed below) for your entry. Thank you for applying and for your hard work in the field. We are excited to archive your entry to serve as a leading solution for the worldwide community of innovators. We wish you continued luck with your innovative, sustainable, and socially impactful initiatives.
All the best, The Changemakers Team
“This idea is highly innovative, and I appreciate that it has a public/private partnership where well-known private sector businesses and partnerships can establish relationships, and can get internships for youth. It’s a very impressive organization with a great deal of clout and capacity behind it, and I think they can make this successfully work.”
“This is a youth training entrepreneurship model, and an important issue for rethinking learning. While this approach combines technology, community, individuals, and the business sector, I am also interested in learning more about how this would impact education, specifically. It clearly has a significant amount of social impact through the creation of jobs and enabling entrepreneurship, but I would also suggest that the initiative’s leaders tie this into the quality of education, so that the learning is relevant.”
- Changemakers “Champions of Quality Education in Africa” Judges: Escuela Nueva, Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts, Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, CARE (United States), African Leadership Academy, UNICEF
Poster un nouveau commentaire