It was yet another thrilling moment as Caleb University Club 200 members hosted their end-of-the-year hangout session.
The event was set for the governing team to strategize on the way forward for the club.
The Club 200 initiative was founded in 2017 when a Caleb University undergraduate Oluwaseun Obadan, conceived the idea of raising funds from students to pay the tuition fees of underprivileged Nigerians looking at furthering into tertiary institutions.
So far, some of the beneficiaries have been able to achieve their dreams of learning within the four walls of the universities.
The club has also set up centres across some other private universities like Afe Babalola University (AFUAB).
Obadan said: “The idea came to me after a competition I had been part of with Unilever Plc. Being in that environment practically changed the way I thought.
“I went home that day and right on the floor, I began to think to myself about what I can give back to my community and the idea came up. I charged my close friends and they ran the vision with me.
“What we did when we began was to move around school from class to class asking students to donate at least N200 for the cause hence the name Club 200.
“The result was massive. From this, we were able to sponsor students to school. We had intentionally planned to sponsor people to expensive private universities, but we realised that we could just start from the public schools which were easier for us.
“We are looking into widening our horizon into different Private and even public universities across Nigeria. Our main goal has been to give.”
Among the volunteers present for the event were two beneficiaries of the club: Sunmi Misturah who attends Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and Olarenwaju Nuirain who attends the Lagos state University studying Pharmacy.
Nuirain, an ND 2 student gave a detailed summary of how she found out about the club and benefited from the club.
She said: “I couldn’t get sponsors to further my education after secondary school but then I was lucky to have been noticed by club 200 and now I am in my final year in the polytechnic.
“I will definitely further my studies immediately after I am done and I am grateful to the club for giving me a head start in the right direction.”
On the importance of volunteering, guest speaker Omolara Lipide, a Ph.D. student at the University of Ibadan, spoke about the three set skills that are important to youths making an impact.
They are mentorship, ideation and lending one’s voice.
“It is very important to get the support of people who have gone ahead of you in this area to give you the pros and cons of what you are getting into.
“You also need to generate new ideas and concepts, know what you want to do and develop the necessary skills needed and finally, do not be quiet about the help you offer. Make it loud.”
