50 students from five secondary schools in Idah, Kogi State, were given a one-year scholarship, and the Makoji Kelvin Ibrahim Foundation trained over 300 students in various skills.
The NGO’s founder,Mr Makoji Kelvin Ibrahim, disclosed this during the Bridge Nigeria Summer boot camp organized by the Foundation, which was held from August 19th to 24th in Idah.
Ibrahim said the reason the foundation was created was to empower young people to be educated and to the guide them to right mentors in any field of their choice.
“At the Bridge Nigeria Summer Boot Camp we’re trying to get these young people, mostly teenagers from one point to the other. There is a lack of mentors in our society and a lot of young people are getting motivation from social media or their peers and there is no one to look up to in terms of how to model their lives. So we are bridging that gap by guiding them to mentors and people they can learn skills from.
“We trained them in Computer Literacy, Financial Literacy, and Software Development and also taught them not to rely on white-collar jobs.So,we partnered with local businesses here in Idah,like mechanics, makeup artists, barbers, people who do small chops, bakers, and fashion designers, to teach them those skills.
“We partnered with five key schools this year: St Peters College, St Kizito Seminary Secondary School, Polytechnic Secondary School, Government Technical College, and Holy Rosary Secondary School, all in Idah.
At the end of the boot camp,we have given certificates to over 300 participants, and the MKI Foundation has also given 50 students from this camp a full-year scholarship, ” he said.
In one of the training sessions, Deputy State Commander on Drug Demand Reduction Unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) Abdullahi Zuwaira enlightened the teenagers about the dangers of drug abuse.
One of the participants, Francis Chinemelum from St Kizito Seminary School Idah thanked the MKI Foundation for giving him the opportunity and spoke of what he learnt at the bootcamp. “At this camp,I learnt how to barb hair and other hand skills and the need to have mentors,” he said.