Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
18
Project title
Access2Create
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Access2Create is a youth-led initiative helping visually impaired children and young people build digital skills, confidence, creativity and entrepreneurship skills through accessible learning, mentorship and hands-on activities.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://elenii-shepherd.com.ng/ Supported by Elenii Shepherd
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
Growing up, I watched my older brother work with visually impaired people through Elenii Shepherd. What stayed with me most was seeing young people who were just as intelligent and ambitious as everyone else, but who often needed extra support to access opportunities that others could easily participate in. One experience that changed how I saw this was learning about visually impaired participants who were supported through an entrepreneurship fellowship. Once some of the accessibility barriers were removed, they competed alongside everyone else and some progressed through very competitive stages. I am now 18 and beginning my own journey as a medical student. It made me ask: what if visually impaired children received this kind of exposure much earlier? What if they grew up learning not only how to overcome barriers, but also how to create, solve problems and build their own opportunities? That question became Access2Create.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Visually impaired children and young people are often left out of digital learning, creative activities and opportunities that help other young people discover what they are capable of. The problem is not a lack of intelligence or ambition. Many learning activities, digital tools and youth programmes are simply not designed with accessibility in mind. This can affect confidence and reduce opportunities to learn useful skills, interact with other young people and explore future careers or entrepreneurship. This matters to me because these barriers begin early. If a child grows up with fewer opportunities to create, experiment and lead, that exclusion can follow them into adulthood. I want visually impaired young people in my community to grow up seeing themselves not only as people who receive help, but as people who can create solutions and lead others.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Access2Create will create an accessible learning and creativity programme for visually impaired children and young people in Jos. We will begin with 20 participants aged 10–20. Younger participants will take part in accessible activities focused on digital literacy, creativity, confidence and problem-solving. Older participants will also learn entrepreneurship, idea development, basic business skills and pitching. Sessions will be practical rather than just classroom teaching. Participants will identify challenges they experience at school, at home or in their communities and work individually or in small teams to develop ideas that could solve them. Activities and learning materials will be provided in accessible formats, including audio and screen-reader-friendly content. We will also involve young volunteers and mentors so that young people with and without visual impairments can learn and create together. Elenii Shepherd will support the project with accessibility knowledge, mentors and connections to the visually impaired community, while I will lead the youth team and programme activities. Our goal is to help visually impaired young people see themselves not only as people who need solutions, but as people who can create solutions.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Access2Create is a new idea, so we have not reached participants yet. Our first goal is to work with 20 visually impaired children and young people in Jos and build from what we learn with them. We want participants to gain practical digital, creative and problem-solving skills and become more confident expressing and developing their own ideas. For older participants, we aim for at least 10 to develop an idea addressing a problem they care about and at least 5 to test or present their solution. We will track participation, skills learned, ideas developed and feedback from participants. We will also look at whether participants become more confident creating, collaborating and taking leadership roles. I believe this can work because the idea builds on accessibility lessons and community relationships already developed by Elenii Shepherd, while creating a programme specifically led by and designed for young people.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Access2Create is different because it does not treat visually impaired children and young people only as beneficiaries of support. We want them to become creators and problem-solvers. Accessibility will be built into the programme from the beginning through audio and screen-reader-friendly learning, rather than adapting a mainstream programme afterwards. Younger participants will explore digital skills, creativity and problem-solving, while older participants can progress into entrepreneurship and developing their own solutions. We will also bring visually impaired and sighted young people together to learn and create. Our aim is to build a pathway from learning → creating → leading, starting at a young age.
How many people are on your team?
1
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
I currently lead Access2Create and will build a small team of young volunteers to support learning activities, participant engagement and outreach. Visually impaired participants will also help shape our activities, while Elenii Shepherd will provide mentorship and accessibility support.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next three months, I will speak with visually impaired children, young people and their families to better understand what they want from the programme. I will recruit a small youth volunteer team, develop accessible learning activities and work with Elenii Shepherd and local disability communities to recruit our first 20 participants. We will then run our first Access2Create sessions and use feedback from participants to improve the programme. Over the next year, I hope to build partnerships with schools, youth groups and disability organisations, bring in more mentors and gradually reach more visually impaired young people.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I will start by inviting other young people to volunteer their skills and time, particularly students in my university and other youth communities in Jos. We will also work with schools, disability organisations and Elenii Shepherd's network to reach visually impaired children and their families. I want participants to help spread the message too. As they gain skills and confidence, older participants can support younger ones, share what they create and encourage other visually impaired young people to join. This way, Access2Create can grow as a community led by young people rather than simply a programme delivered to them.
