Children’s prospects in life begin to take shape before they are born, while the circumstances of their earliest and most vulnerable years have a critical impact on their ability to survive, grow and develop to their full physical and cognitive potential.
Imagine a society where children living in orphanages and welfare homes are not pitied but admire for their skills and creative capacities. A society where orphans have access not just to education but also to skill acquisitions for their self-development and sustainability and most importantly protect them from all forms of child trafficking and abuse.
To address this challenge and protect children from abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and violence. I and four other friends of mine were inspired to embark on a change project which we tagged “Skill up!” Skill up is a change project that aimed to empower and support young ones to live a quality life through early capacity building and coaching, providing them with vocational skills and tools for personal development and transformation. We aim to reduce child trafficking, child labor, and sex trafficking, which is in line with the Target 2 of Sustainable Development Goal 16.
For the proper planning and effective implementation of the project, several meetings were held by my team. A-6 step process was tabled down and I will love to share how this was achieved.
Step 1: Identification of Targeted beneficiaries.
Our plan was to reach out to skill-able children in orphanage homes. The survey task was carried out and from our research, we were able to identify three orphanage homes in Ife town which was our focus. We made our plans and innovations known to them and sought their approval. Each orphanage home was receptive and showed a positive reaction towards it.
Step 2: Identification of Skills.
Following the positive response from our recipient stakeholders, we made a proper inquiry on the skills the children showed interest to learn. This helped us to identify the skills to focus on, These skills include Baking, bag making, Tye and dye-making, and soap making.
Step 3: Call for volunteers.
For the effectiveness of this project, one of the criteria set was to get expert tutors and professionals for each skill. In achieving this we ran a social medial campaign to request volunteers around.
Step 4: Budgeting.
In implementing this project, we understood the importance of budgeting and proper financial planning. We requested for budget proposal from each tutor, which we collated and worked with.
Step 5: Fund Raising.
We had a little bit of challenge at this stage as we were on zero accounts for the project no sponsor, just us, we were forced to Levy ourselves some certain amount of money and later we ran a social media campaign requesting donations from friends.
Step 6: Project implementation.
After achieving all the logistics needed for the success of the project, we set a date and time for the commencement of the project and also informed the recipient stakeholders. Unfortunately, one of the orphanage homes was closed down during this period by the government for some reasons, which restricted us to just two orphanage homes and a lesser number of children. Nevertheless, we did not allow the setback to discourage us, we had to move on to the execution of the project as planned.
We had four weekends of intensive training on tye and dye, bag making soap making (both liquid and solid), air freshener making, perfume and deodorant making, and Baking. It turned out to be an educative and impactful program than we thought. The beneficiaries were receptive to learning and the tutors were calm and explanatory. Our practical session was very impactful as all students were able to practices what they have learned. In addition to this, we also educate them on how to monetize their various skills.
Step 7: Project review.
At the end of the project, we were able to impact lives and at the same time solve a problem in our environment. we had positive feedback from our beneficiaries and volunteers.
In conclusion, social change is not a government project or a private-sector project. Social change starts from me and you, it starts from our day to day activities, how we have been able to solve the little problem in our community. I believe in collective actions for systemic change, we cannot neglect the importance of collective strength, responsibilities, and the power of partnership. Through this more can be done.
Thank you.