Maid Strong: Stop Trafficking of Adolescent Girls

Our Centre is located in an underserved area in the sense that the children receive third rate education and most graduate from high school almost illiterate. The result is that the girls in the area spend years trying to pass the high school certificate exam and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board exam designed for entry into the university. They also have no skills. Therefore, they just roam the area jobless and vulnerable to trafficking or being recruited into the baby factory nefarious industry in which girls are paid to become pregnant, have a baby and sell to the industry. This is the syndrome we have been trying to check in our Maid Strong project.

First, we have been training the girls in various marketable skills. However, the serious handicap for those who became pregnant without finishing school or getting married is finding a place to leave their children while they are working to earn a living. Hence, in September 2021, we started a school that carters for creche, kindergarten, primary, and secondary schools. We charge minimal tuition while we engage top notch teachers at salary above that paid by other schools which give inadequate education because they focus on profit.

However, making sure we give quality education to our participants comes with a high cost: we are in constant struggle to make payroll. We need serious financial help. We have incredible teachers who adopt the tenet of friendly school where students are made to feel that their classrooms are a place to feel free, happy, and cared for. Our mantra is that since we do not know the conditions of the students’ homes, we must provide an ideal home away from home for all the students.

Since September 27, 2021 that the school started, we have been able to raise the performances of the senior secondary student from below 60% to 70% in chemistry, mathematics and physics, English Biology and many other subjects and we believe that before the end of academic year their performances would have been increased to above 90 percent in each of the subjects.

Our school motto is “Eye to the Future.” Our school Slogan is “Only the best is Good Enough.” As computer knowledge is the vehicle of success in this century and probably in the future centuries, in the secondary section, we pay serious attention to computer skills-- teaching students between age 14-17 basics of programming with the help of code combat. Code combat is a coding game for kids that teach Python and JavaScript coding using text-based programming. Kids get to play through different levels of an RPG (role-playing game) and, along the way, they will learn to code in Python and JavaScript. Courses.

We also teach Artificial intelligence and embedded system: teaching the basics of artificial intelligence and embedded systems using an Arduino IDE and Arduino microcontroller and teaching how to draw and troubleshoot electrical circuits using proteus.

In the primary section, we make sure the students and the teachers acquire modern and useable knowledge of computer. So far, we are sure that every child in the primary section can

• Identify the parts of a computer and its functions
• Use a computer (know computer safety and computer maintenance)
• Set up a desktop computer (from connection of power cables to connection of optical cables, mouse and keyboard)
• Identify a keyboard (hardware and screen keyboard ) and state the functions of the keys on the keyboard
• Type effectively, this keys (a, s, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, ;, t, u, v, n,) without looking at the keyboard
• Properly shut down of a laptop, knowing when to sleep a laptop and when to hibernate it.
• Check up for information on the internet, download pictures etc.
• Copy and paste files on the desktop screen.
• Eject files properly from the computer
• Read the instruction on the computer screen, understand the pop up instruction before clicking ( cancel or OK )
• Different the various types of files extensions ( exe, pdf, jpg, png etc)
• Create folders on the laptop

We do not stop here; we make sure that the students have something new to teach their parents and guardians every day they are back from school!

 As our practice has been since 2008, we not only impart academic knowledge, we broaden the horizon of our students and their caregivers through symposium. In January 2022, we held a symposium on the theme of “Changing mindset: Changing Lives.” We had three terrific presenters. A  seasoned educator presented on “The Human Mind: The Fountain of All Possibilities. A strong motivator and public speaker who has a huge following on the social media, presented on “Mindset: The Key to Unlocking Potentials. An alumnus of Inwelle Centre Skills and academic training 2017, who is now a student Human Rights activist, presented on a very live and burning topic in the Nigerian milieu, “Is School Really a Scam?” See photos.

In January also, we had a skill training for young girls to learn how to make smoothie and start their own smoothie business.

Links:

• School Children at the playground
• School Children Repairing Computers

The Work We Did

At all our centres, after school tutoring is on-going Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Satellite Centres are keeping it real with tutoring school children.

We keep on keeping it real at Inwelle Centre as we promote economic empowerment.August 7, 2021: It was the turn of our Inwelle Centre Enugu participants to be trained on skills to enable them increase their source of income. The training of Women at Inwelle Centre Amorji Nike Enugu went well. They made bar soap, disinfectant, and the bleach during the two-day project.

Economic Empowerment of Women and Young Girls Through Skills Acquisition

Our ongoing skill acquisition programme is to teach women (especially mother's) on how to produce household cleaning products with the aim of reducing high poverty rate among women in our community How? When they acquire the knowledge of producing disinfectant, liquid soap, bar soap and bleach, they can be self-employed and also save money used in buying those products at the market. For example a liter of hypo bleach in the market is N800 whereas N900 can be used to produce 10 litres of bleach. Also the aim is to control the spread of germs, bacteria, found at homes, schools, markets etc and reduction of diseases and infections that are common in women and children.

Just like at the training at Ogidi Satellite Centre, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, the participants at Amorji Nike Centre, Enugu East Local Government Area, Enugu State, were educated on the need for safety wears and measure, when dealing with caustic soda and other harmful chemicals. We made sure that they understood the seriousness of adequate protection while handling chemicals. They were shown the picture of result of careless handling of the chemicals for production and were also shown some safety wears, such as nose guards, hand gloves, lab coat etc.

They were taught how to produce disinfectant, which is important for use because it prevents skin diseases and kills germs when used for bathing and cleaning surfaces and floors.

Our next training will be for Women and young girls at Inwelle Satellite Centre, Ozalla Ezimo, Udenu Local Government Area, Enugu State.

September:

 Inwelle International Academy of Excellence opened on Monday, September 27, 2021. It is not a full house yet, but we are making progress. We are teaching classes from Kindergarten to Junior Secondary level. We are teaching all the academic subjects as well as skills acquisition. The idea is to give the young people in our school the skills earn money as they go to school. This way, they take care of their personal need.

 Inwelle International Academy of Excellence is keeping it real with not only classroom teaching but also making sure that both the teachers and the students are computer literate.

Links:

• Economic Empowerment Skills Acquisition Class in Progress