The Nation Newspaper

Tag: teens

  • ‘Teens tell me what they don’t tell their parents’

    ‘Teens tell me what they don’t tell their parents’

    For Ngozi Eze Social work is a passion that runs in the family. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, the entrepreneur , interior decorator and Event management consultant talks about life working with young people, their challenges and more.

    Why are you passionate about touching the lives of young people?

    It started with three individuals who came together with a vision. We all liked taking to young people and we found that there was a need and we have to reach out to them. We all have teenagers and you find that your kids cannot really talk to you and they are usually talking to some other persons and if you don’t find a way to reach them, they might talk to someone who may not give them good advice. So we basically came together to be able to reach these young people growing into adulthood.

    Why are you interested in charity?

    It is an organisation that has compassion on women and the youths. Just like what happened today at the Lagos Business School. We are helping them to create awareness about how they can start up. How they can thrive in a difficult society and a couple of ways to survive unemployment. So that was how we started the start up thing; developing entrepreneurial skills in young people. You can actually do something apart from working for somebody. First, you must know what you have a passion for, then we let them know that they must work for it to be successful. Also, for a woman, you must know how to carry yourself. How do you fit into a society that looks like it is all for men? How can you start from nowhere?

    All this has to do with your mindset. So we work with youths and help them to transform their mindset. We help them to unlearn the things that they have been taught through the environment that they live in while growing up. We tell them that they can make it and that they can reach their goal as a woman.

    What was the initial reaction?

    I think we found it funny, especially with my half daughters. They said, ‘mummy, why are you taking my friends from me? Why are you so with my friends?’

    Now I have quite a lot of young people coming to talk to me when they have issues. Most times they see me as a big aunty not mummy and they talk to me about the things that happen in their lives.

    What are some of the projects carried out by your organisation?

    We have done seminars where we teach them self esteem, relationship management, fears from friends, their image, what people say about them, their careers and what to focus on.

    What are some of the things that you discovered along the line?

    We discovered that a lot them want to talk to someone but they do not know how to go about it and who to talk to. They are, therefore, happy that there is this aunty that they can go to. We also try to introduce an alumni magazine where they can talk to us without having to see us one on one.

    Interestingly, what you get to hear a lot is a friend of a friend but they are basically talking about themselves. It is therefore very important for somebody to always be there for them.

    Let’s talk about one or two cases that make you happy when you look back now

    We had this young girl who was going to be abused and she kept resisting it. We talked to her and told her what to do. So, she eventually faced the young man and he stopped initially, she did not know what to say to him.

    Right now, what we also do is to have scholarships for some of the young ones. We also pay for accommodation for some street kids. Ideally, we would love to have a halfway home where kids who are out of the home can have some vocational training and then they move on to better themselves.

    Are there challenges doing some of these things?

    Yes, there are challenges, especially finance; there is never enough. This is because there are so many people out there who actually need help.

    Corruption is one issue that the country is faced with, how can we let the young ones know that money isn’t everything?

    We have been working on their mindset. We are also trying to bring back the old values. For us, there is a lot of emphasis on education; bettering yourself. If you are not academically inclined, then you have some kind of life skills. You should learn, especially the girls, and we make them know that you have a head that is as good as the boys’. They have the same opportunities even though they have to work harder to prove themselves.

    Is there a way you have shown success stories to inspire others?

    Yes. But we have to do it with their permission, especially if they are under eighteen years. We need permission from their parents as well.

    Let’s talk about the other things that you do

    I do interior decor. I also handle events management and then I do customer care and hospitality training.

    How did you get into the area?

    I am one of those people who love to see the before and after of things, people and events. I am like a vision builder. If you come to me with your vision and I like it, I would actually help you build it. If I get into a place and everything was looking horrible, the first thing that comes to my mind is how I can transform the place and make it beautiful. So, that was how I got into interior decorating.

    How did you find the experience?

    It was really rewarding. The first job I did was in 1993. That was over 20 years ago. However, it has been by the side because I do other things. It can be interesting as well as challenging. I had a case at the beginning and the client wasn’t happy with my choice. They wanted something traditional and I was doing something contemporary but I have since learnt from that experience. Now, I ask a lot of questions and I am in tune with the client.

    Is there someone who inspires your drive for social work?

    My mother. She is the founder of Arrows of God Orphanage and I think we all basically have it in the family. No matter what we do, we just want to help others.

     If you had to advice the average Nigerian woman, what would you tell her?

    I would tell her first of all to discover their passion. They also need to realise, like they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Overtime, you would grow. Once you discover that this is what you want to do, just keep at it. While you are doing this, if you have a home, always strike a balance.

    What does style mean to you and what’s your beauty routine like?

    I wear what makes me comfortable. I do not go with the flow.

  • TALENTED KIDS AND TEENS COMPETITION MAKES A DEBUT

    PREPARATIONS are in top gear to host the maiden edition of the ‘Talented Kids and Teens’ competition, where kids and teenagers aged between five and 20 would be tested on four different skills – singing, dancing, playing of instrument and comedy.

    The competition, according to the organiser, D-Global paramount kings, will provide a platform where the skills of the Nigerian children can be harnessed and developed when they are still young as obtained in developed countries.

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of D-Global paramount kings enterprises, Prince John Okogie, said he got the idea while he was abroad. He will disclosed registration for the competition which comes up by May 2016 hold between December and February, 2016, after a nationwide screening that would take place in 15 states across the country.

    Okogie cited insecurity as a reason for some states being excluded but promised to make it national in the Season 2. Among entertainment personalities who have declared support for the initiative and would be judges include Eedris Abdulkareem, AY Makun, Helen Paul, Denrele, Ronke Oshodi-Oke and Boy Alinco amongst others.

    Interested participants are to pay N3, 000 per person or N5, 000 per group into the company’s First Bank account as the teller is means of admittance to venue of the screening. First prize winners in the four different categories will win one million naira each and a two-week shopping trip to Dubai with a guardian.

  • Arming teens against blackmail

    Rape and sexual abuse of minors is on the increase. There are more reports of such abuses against babies, toddlers and teenage girls nowadays than in the past.  The perpetrators are usually much older men who have carnal knowledge of them, robbing them of their innocence, and perhaps scarring them for life.

    The latest victim is a 13-year old JSS3 pupil (name not supplied), who unfortunately got pregnant.  She recently gave birth to a baby boy.  Her son is fathered by a 41-year old church member, whose family were friends with hers. Unfortunately the confidence, on which that friendship was built, supported by a spiritual platform, has been destroyed. It was that confidence that made her mother, Mrs Oboh, to accommodate the rapist’s family’s meals in her freezer. (The man’s wife used to cook and preserve in their freezer for future use.)  It was that confidence that made Mrs Oboh send the 13-year old to his home to drop food on the day she was raped.

    As rapists are wont to do after their cowardly acts, he threatened her with death so she did not report the matter.  It was over five months later that her mother found that she was pregnant. Being in the early stage of puberty, the teenager had to be delivered by Caesarean Section.  What business does a 13-year old have with motherhood? What does she know about breastfeeding and a newborn’s constant demand for attention when she is still a child herself? Sadly, that is the fate she is resigned to and has to live with for the rest of her life.

    This story raises a lot of questions: how come her mother did not know on time? How well do the home and the school prepare pupils to be streetwise?

    As the first teachers, parents cannot leave sexuality education to the school alone, or to chance.  They must be involved.  Gone is the era when talking about sex with children was a taboo.  Gone is that time too when our mothers told us that once menstruation starts you get pregnant if a man just touches you.  It was terrible misinformation that had negative consequences.

    Today’s parents have to educate their wards about how to manage advances from the opposite sex.  Minors should be made to understand that there are more important and exciting things they could do with their time rather than getting entangled in amorous relationships that would likely hurt them at the end of the day.  They should be taught how to be assertive, sensitive to danger, and deal with blackmail.

    Regarding assertiveness, young people should be able to politely voice their objections to advances from the opposite sex.  If, for instance, a male teacher, neighbour or older relative asks a young girl to spend time with him alone, she should politely decline.  Parents/teachers can role play various kinds of situations so that youngsters know how to deal with them.  It could be a class activity in school where pupils are told to come up with likely uncomfortable questions that adults ask as well as appropriate answers to them.

    When it comes to being sensitive to dangerous situations, teenagers should be advised to avoid risky behaviours such as moving at night, walking in lonely places unaccompanied, giving strangers too many details, and generally acting against their instincts.  They should learn to be very observant.  If something looks out of place, they should become alert; and if trouble is brewing wherever they are, they should get out as fast as possible.  They should also learn that they are safer when their families know where they are and what they are doing at any point in time.

    For blackmail, the best remedy is to speak up.  Many rape victims suffer in silence, sometimes for years, because the rapists threaten them.  However, if educated about how blackmail works – that a blackmailer will come back for more; that he/she is unlikely to carry out the threat once their victims cry for help – they will be better equipped to take informed decisions about their safety.  I say this from experience.  I would have been a victim of serial sexual abuse at about the same age but for the fact that I recognised how blackmail worked – because I had read it from books – and not because my parents told me.  However my mother was the one who saved the day.  She saved me by noticing that something bothered me.  She probed until I opened up.  I do not know what she told the blackmailer, but I know that he never bothered me again.  If I did not speak up, perhaps I would have ended up like the poor girl that inspired this piece.  Children must be taught to speak up; and when they do, adults must help, not shut them up.

    While parents must be alert at home, investigating every change in attitude and behaviour, teachers must not be complacent in school.  They should be concerned if they notice changes in their pupils or students. And if they are unable to help, they should get the guidance counsellor, parents or other relevant professionals involved.  That way, they help to bridge the gap between the home and the school.

    To any teenager reading this piece and facing similar problems as Mrs Oboh’s daughter, I advise you to speak up.  Seek out a trusted person to talk to.  If you are not the victim but know someone who is suffering in silence, help the person by reaching out to the authorities.  Perhaps when more people speak out, the incidence of rape will drop.

    First published February 2, 2015

     

  • Fanta thrills teens at RCCG camp

    You can’t underestimate the excitement on children with soft drinks; the mood got a notch higher, having them share several fun and exciting games with peers.

    This was what Fanta, Nigeria’s fruit flavoured soft drink provided for kids at the just concluded 63rdAnnual Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

    Thrilling over 6,000 tweens and teens who recently attended the RCCG summer camp program, Fanta provided them with the right ambiance of expressing themselves and connecting to their friends through many fun and playful activities.

    According to Assistant Brand Manager, Flavours, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Jumoke Oyewole, “Fanta’s outing at the RCCG annual convention is part of our ongoing mission to create more play and fun moments in the world. We are leveraging this opportunity to show Nigerian Tweens and Teens just how much we care about and appreciate them, and to reiterate to them that we are committed to helping them express their youthful passions.”

    Commending the brand for its various initiatives at the camp, Mrs. Franca Akinsanya, one of the parents of the children present at the event, remarked that Fanta did a good job by bringing excitement to the summer camp as her children were thrilled and excited throughout the week.

    “Every day, my children look forward to  enjoying the delicious taste of Fanta. I am not surprised at this fact, because despite being an adult, I am also having a great time being with my excited children at this convention,” said Akinsanya.

  • Arming teens against blackmail

    Rape and sexual abuse of minors is on the increase. There are more reports of such abuses against babies, toddlers and teenage girls nowadays than in the past.  The perpetrators are usually much older men who have carnal knowledge of them, robbing them of their innocence, and perhaps scarring them for life.

    The latest victim is a 13-year old JSS3 pupil (name not supplied), who unfortunately got pregnant.  She recently gave birth to a baby boy.  Her son is fathered by a 41-year old church member, whose family were friends with hers. Unfortunately the confidence, on which that friendship was built, supported by a spiritual platform, has been destroyed. It was that confidence that made her mother, Mrs Oboh, to accommodate the rapist’s family’s meals in her freezer. (The man’s wife used to cook and preserve in their freezer for future use.)  It was that confidence that made Mrs Oboh send the 13-year old to his home to drop food on the day she was raped.

    As rapists are wont to do after their cowardly acts, he threatened her with death so she did not report the matter.  It was over five months later that her mother found that she was pregnant. Being in the early stage of puberty, the teenager had to be delivered by Caesarean Section.  What business does a 13-year old have with motherhood? What does she know about breastfeeding and a newborn’s constant demand for attention when she is still a child herself? Sadly, that is the fate she is resigned to and has to live with for the rest of her life.

    This story raises a lot of questions: how come her mother did not know on time? How well do the home and the school prepare pupils to be streetwise?

    As the first teachers, parents cannot leave sexuality education to the school alone, or to chance.  They must be involved.  Gone is the era when talking about sex with children was a taboo.  Gone is that time too when our mothers told us that once menstruation starts you get pregnant if a man just touches you.  It was terrible misinformation that had negative consequences.

    Today’s parents have to educate their wards about how to manage advances from the opposite sex.  Minors should be made to understand that there are more important and exciting things they could do with their time rather than getting entangled in amorous relationships that would likely hurt them at the end of the day.  They should be taught how to be assertive, sensitive to danger, and deal with blackmail.

    Regarding assertiveness, young people should be able to politely voice their objections to advances from the opposite sex.  If, for instance, a male teacher, neighbour or older relative asks a young girl to spend time with him alone, she should politely decline.  Parents/teachers can role play various kinds of situations so that youngsters know how to deal with them.  It could be a class activity in school where pupils are told to come up with likely uncomfortable questions that adults ask as well as appropriate answers to them.

    When it comes to being sensitive to dangerous situations, teenagers should be advised to avoid risky behaviours such as moving at night, walking in lonely places unaccompanied, giving strangers too many details, and generally acting against their instincts.  They should learn to be very observant.  If something looks out of place, they should become alert; and if trouble is brewing wherever they are, they should get out as fast as possible.  They should also learn that they are safer when their families know where they are and what they are doing at any point in time.

    For blackmail, the best remedy is to speak up.  Many rape victims suffer in silence, sometimes for years, because the rapists threaten them.  However, if educated about how blackmail works – that a blackmailer will come back for more; that he/she is unlikely to carry out the threat once their victims cry for help – they will be better equipped to take informed decisions about their safety.  I say this from experience.  I would have been a victim of serial sexual abuse at about the same age but for the fact that I recognised how blackmail worked – because I had read it from books – and not because my parents told me.  However my mother was the one who saved the day.  She saved me by noticing that something bothered me.  She probed until I opened up.  I do not know what she told the blackmailer, but I know that he never bothered me again.  If I did not speak up, perhaps I would have ended up like the poor girl that inspired this piece.  Children must be taught to speak up; and when they do, adults must help, not shut them up.

    While parents must be alert at home, investigating every change in attitude and behaviour, teachers must not be complacent in school.  They should be concerned if they notice changes in their pupils or students. And if they are unable to help, they should get the guidance counsellor, parents or other relevant professionals involved.  That way, they help to bridge the gap between the home and the school.

    To any teenager reading this piece and facing similar problems as Mrs Oboh’s daughter, I advise you to speak up.  Seek out a trusted person to talk to.  If you are not the victim but know someone who is suffering in silence, help the person by reaching out to the authorities.  Perhaps when more people speak out, the incidence of rape will drop.

  • Foundation empowers teens with ICT skills

    Foundation empowers teens with ICT skills

    In its quest to build the skills set of teenagers in the area of information and communication technology, Working to Advance Science and Technology Education for African Woman (WAAW), a nonprofit, nongovernmental organisation, organised a capacity building workshop for public and private secondary school girls.

    Justifying the need for the workshop, its Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mrs. Unoma Okoroafor, said the foundation is committed to ensuring that every young girl is adequately empowered through the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme, a one-week long camp meeting aimed at training, mentoring and inspiring secondary school girls to explore science-related careers.

    Besides, Dr. Unoma noted that the camp objective is to ensure that girls think of science and technology as a tool to innovate and enable real problem-solving in their respective communities.

    She further said that the foundation provides scholarships to girls in African schools who demonstrate verifiable financial need and maintain excellent academic records, so that when they become WAAW fellows, they would in turn give back to their respective communities either by launching a STEM outreach cell or organising outreach initiatives geared at mentoring younger girls.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Ms. Frances Sloun, the Operations Director from St. Thomas University Minnesota, said the STEM camp is specifically for girls for the advancement of science and technology in Africa, adding that the girls have been able to explore computer programmes on many different platforms like renewable energy and how it works, climate change and other science-related topics.

    Sloun also said Africa does not need to import to do technology because everything is right here for them to use, citing the story of a young Malawian boy, who through scraps and metals was able to build a wind turbine for his community without even attending school. She further urged the girls to share with others what they have learnt from the STEM camp.

  • Free summer camp for teens

    Insipring Aspiration Media invites children for the 2014 Summer of Dream Camp tagged the Talented and the Intellectuals. It is a mentorship class programme for teenagers in Nigeria.

    The programme is aimed at encouraging learning, expression and play.

    According to the Director Inspiring Aspiration Media, Marcellina Ehidiamen, said that we are looking at online reading and we will be given free books as well as certificates to teenagers.

    The summer camp will hold on 21st July-25th July, 2014 and 4th Auguts-8th August, 2014 at SMILE Resource Centre, 3, Titi Esho Close, Ramat, Ogudu, GRA, Lagos.

    The programme will feature

    •Craft with Ankara

    •Tech coding for kids

    •Mathematics

    •Financial literacy

    •Empathy for kids

    •Creative writing and story telling

  • Teens shine at competition

    Teens shine at competition

    The duo of Temitope Kolawole and Anthony Okoliko, both of the Odogbolu Grammar School, Odogbolu, Ogun State made their school proud last week.

    The Senior Secondary School III pupils emerged winner in this year’s essay/quiz/and debate competitions of the Mace Club of Nigeria, clinching the trophy and other prizes.

    Their school and five others – Iganmode Grammar School, Ota; Mayflower School, Ikenne; Omolaja Sodipo Memorial Anglican Schools, Abeokuta; and Abeokuta Grammar School, Abeokuta, all in Ogun State participated in the grand finale of competition at the Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta.

    Aside quiz that tested their awareness of the surrounding and current affairs, the participating schools slugged it out in a debate on the topic: Malaria or HIV/AIDS, which one is deadlier?

    The competition began in January with preliminary essay writing at the African Church Grammar School, Abeokuta featuring 38 participants across the state.

    Temitope and Anthony, both in the science class, told The Nation that they would not be contented as winners alone, but also aspire to address epileptic power supply and recurrent fuel scarcity- two nagging national problems.

    While Temitope is aspiring to become an electrical engineer in future, Anthony said he will study Petroleum Engineering.

    In his address at the event, President of Mace Club, Bayo Ajibode, said the programme is designed to “revive the almost dead reading culture, positive interactions and exchange of great ideas among students.”

    Ajibode explained that the debate topic was also chosen to draw attention to the twin health challenges of HIV/AIDS and Malaria and what could be done to prevent them.

    He said since Mace was established three decades ago, it has awarded scholarship to many indigent students up to the university level, made donations to special schools, among others.

    Also, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Segun Odubela, lauded the Mace Club for the topic of the competition, saying the participating “students will at the end of the contest, improve their knowledge on what to do to prevent Malaria/HIV disease.”

     

  • Thoughts for teens

    It is that time of the year when valedictory services are held for final year students of secondary and primary schools. Last Wednesday I was guest speaker at the Convocation Day of Ebenezer Comprehensive High School, Agbado, Lagos.

    I spoke on Youth Empowerment and Job Prospects in Contemporary World. I found the topic very apt considering the poor state of our economy, which makes it imperative for youths to wake up to challenges that lie ahead of them.

    For crying out loud, as the youths like to say, they need all the support they can get, but they must know that their destinies are in their own hands. Excerpts;

    Youth Empowerment

    Youth Empowerment simply put is empowering the youths. It’s not about physical power but knowledge acquisition which is greater than physical strength.

    As youths your knowledge is limited. Because of the exposure some of you have, you think you know so much, but the truth is that there is still a lot you have to learn from your parents, teachers and the society at large.

    You need to be willing to learn for you to be empowered. There are so many life lessons you need to learn so that you don’t make the same mistake many of us made. You need to know that life is a long race, hence get the necessary strength for the journey ahead.

    Those who have the task of empowering the youths must not fail in this crucial task. The Bible says teach your children the way to go, when they grow, they will not depart from it.

    Career Opportunities

    Career opportunities are the various opportunities that abound. You need to know them before making up your mind on what you want to be. As youths many usually aspire for some careers because of what they see around them. Some of you want to be like your parents or people you know. There is nothing wrong with that, but you need enough information to know not only what you want to be but what you need to do to accomplish your career dreams.

    Every career has its requirements in terms of subjects you have to pass at SSCE levels and personal attributes you must have to succeed in your chosen career.

    You need to know all the subject combinations and pass them excellently because of the stiff competition to get admission into higher institutions.

    Let me make it clear that there is no alternative to education if you want to succeed in whatever career you want to choose. Even to be a Pastor, you need more than the Holy Spirit to succeed. Footballers and Musicians who are not educated don’t usually end well as they have nothing to fall back to when they are no longer as popular as they used to be.

    One clear advantage you all have is that careers have become more diversified unlike before when it was only prestigious to be a Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, Accountant and a few other well known professions.

    My appeal, especially to parents is that we should not force our children to study courses they don’t have the capacity or passion for. They don’t have to study what we only think is good for them, but what they are excited about and can cope with. Of course we must guide them, give them the necessary information and prayerfully help them to choose careers of their choice.

    Contemporary world

    In our contemporary world, there are lots of challenges which the youths have to learn to cope with and overcome. This is why you have to be empowered not to be overwhelmed with the new world we live in.

    You simply must be the best to accomplish your goals.

    My advice is that at this stage of your life your academic pursuit should be your priority. Without education you cannot go far in the long run. Now is the time to acquire academic knowledge and other relevant skills that will help you. There is time for everything.