A non-governmental organisation, I choose Life Foundation has urged the Federal Government to recognise and celebrate young Nigerian talents as the country cannot get enough of celebrating extraordinary young Nigerians.
The group, aimed at working to promote the mental, emotional and physical well-being of young people in Nigeria, has over the years remained committed to investing in the health of young Nigerians.
At the second edition of the MyNigerianDream event in Abuja organised by the foundation, it reached out to secondary schools with support from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to boost the mental health of students and to also encourage them to stay away from drug abuse.
The colorful event which had in attendance several young stars, was also graced by the minister of youth and sports, Sunday Dare.
The foundation through its coordinator, Chijioke Obioma called on the Federal Government to channel more interest in harnessing young talents in Nigeria and to also support the development and encouragement of young people excelling especially in the areas of sports and in the fashion industry.
Obioma further explained that the foundation is creating new models for young people and their works to be in the spotlight to serve as an encouragement to others “to embrace life and stay away from illicit activities.”
At the event, the foundation awarded 3.4million naira to a total of 34 athletes who represented the country in the World Athletics under-20 world championship in Nairobi, Kenya where they finished third.
Also, 10 out of 30 top fashion finalists who participated in a creativity competition themed “Beauty, Brains, and Brawns: Mental Health and Coping Mechanisms” also gained recognition and commendations.
The young fashion designers, shoe and bag makers who exhibited their products at the event also earned the recognition of the minister of youth and sports, Sunday Dare as he promised them an inclusion in the National Investment Fund (NYIF) Scheme.
These 10 finalists will be awarded soft loans by the ministry of youth and sports.
The beneficiaries, in their various remarks expressed gratitude to the foundation for providing a platform to showcase their craft to the world.
The foundation, has had an impressive track-record of working actively to achieve its mission including sensitisation campaign of more than 400 secondary school students in Kano State on the importance of staying away from drug and substance abuse in 2019; a national challenge that engaged young people with over 200,000 participants in 2020; an Art and Tech exhibition also held in October 2020 and many others.