Kingsley Alumona reports that some Corps members serving in Ibadan South-West Local Governments of Oyo State recently donated some furniture to some schools in need in order to make learning easier.
Young Nigerians serving the nation through the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area of Oyo State, recently donated desks to a school in the local government.
The corps members, through their ‘Operation Sit a Child’ community project, gave back to the community by donating the 40 chair-desks and some sanitation items to Community Grammar School in Oke Ayo, in Odo Ona area of the city.
The out-going president of the Charity Community Development Service (CDS), Mr. Akinrodoye Joshua Emaayo, during the exercise, explained that members of the group were motivated to execute the project because some schools in the local government either lacked good chairs or do not have enough chairs to sit on.
He said the corps members noted that this often made many of the students to sit on the floor while learning.
Emaayo commended the Oyo State government for doing the best it could by supplying chairs to the schools. However, he said the intervention by the government was still far from being enough, saying that was why his CDS group stepped in to help with the chairs and other items they donated to the school.
According to him, their aim was to donate 400 chairs to 10 schools in the local government, and that a single-sitter chair costs N4,500, while a double-sitter costs N9,000. The project, he explained is periodic, noting that other presidents coming after him would carry on from where his group stopped.
“It does not matter how long it will take to complete the project. Before we witness 10 presidents, we will be able to complete the distribution of the 400 chairs to the 10 schools,” he said.
On how the project was funded, Emaayo said funds were sourced from members and other donors.
While he commended the Seyi Makinde-led government for the work it has been doing in the state, including the education sector, he stressed that there is room to do more. He advised that while the government is building new schools, it should remember to renovate and equip the existing ones.
“My advice and appeal to the governor is for him to intensify efforts in making education better in the state. There is no way a student can learn in discomfort and produce his or her best,” he said.
The in-coming president of the CDS group, Ogundaade Adedoyin Oluwafunmiloye, said though he had his own vision and projects to execute when he assumes office as president, he assured that he would ensure that ‘Operation Sit a Child’ project continues.
“The project will continue, even after my tenure, until we have completed the donation of the 400 chairs to the 10 schools,” he said. He noted that his own projects will centre on helping indigent students in the local government area by making their schooling easier for them through donation of school materials, among other things.
Oluwafunmiloye urged the CDS members to also give him the kind of support given to the out-going president so that they can achieve more success in their services to the people.
The vice principal of the school, Veronica Alabi, who represented the principal, commended the corps members for donating the chairs to the school, saying it was the first time the school was experiencing this kind of gesture. “We were not expecting these donations from them. They really surprised us,” Alabi said. “They have tried for us, and God will bless them,” she prayed.”
She noted that the school has about 20 classroom blocks that are currently in use, and that it is the duty of the government to provide chairs for students. She added that through the government provided the chairs, but they are not enough.
Asked why many of the classrooms do not have chairs or have broken chairs, Alabi blamed it on the students. She said students would always be students, and often handle things like children. However, she said the donated chairs would be handled with care.
Asked if the government was aware of the many dilapidated classrooms in the school, she said yes, but hinted that the government was planning some interventions for the school.
Apart from the chairs, the other items the corps members donated to the school include brooms, waste bins, and packers.
A member of the CDS Group, Gbemisola Obasaiki, while speaking on the ‘Sit a Child’ project, said about 110 corps members in the CDS group donated varying amounts of money from their monthly allowance for the construction of the desks.
“The donations were made according to the strength and willingness of each donor, not a levy per se. Some of us donated N5,000 while we have those who gave as much as N20,000,” she said.
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