By Ruth Oketunde

Data-Lead Africa, a consulting firm,  has trained 20 deaf children on various digital skills in the FCT.

The organisation said this at the graduation ceremony for the participants of its Summer Boot Camp tagged Digits and Signs for Deaf Kids, in Abuja.

Ms Ojone Akor, Programs Manager and DEI Coordinator, Data-Lead Africa, said the four the  week-long boot camp focused on improving the digital skills of the children.

She said the training focused on creating change in the deaf community by introducing the participants to cross-cutting issues around inclusion and social initiatives.

She said that the training focused on improving the IT skills, knowledge of mathematics as well as programming skills of the children to equip them for the future.

“When we started, we noticed that some of them struggled with things like greater than and less than, two-digits addition, they also had no experience using computer, but we have been able to educate them on these things.

“I am very much excited about the fact that we have been able to empower the deaf kids through digits and signs programme on the use of mathematics and computer in this digital age.

“For the digit and signs programme, this is our pilot programme as we wanted to see how we will reach out to deaf kids and how we will be able to empower them and catch them young.

“So we partnered with the Abuja School for the Deaf and we got the participants to come in for the training, so subsequently, we will be organising more programmes like this and increase the number of participants to be able to reach out to as many as possible,” she said.

Akor said that the organisation would be deploying some of its trainers to follow-up with the children and mentor them for the next six months, in a bid to improve their academic performance.

“We are in a digital age and everything is driven by data and everything you are doing is driven by IT and information, so being able empower them while they are young is a thing of joy to us.

“We have modern aid tools used for analysis, programming among others, so bringing these children into this type of training gives them an edge among their peers,” she said.

Also speaking, Mr Bamidele Olaitan, the Assistant Head Teacher of Abuja School for the Deaf, appreciated the organisation for the training, adding that the new skills learnt would place them aper with their peers in other climes.

“Engaging the children during this holiday is a kudos to the organisers and I know that what they have learnt today will be meaningful to their future.

“This is not about learning it alone, they can as well practice it, especially the less privileged among them loves any thing that has to do with skill acquisition.

“I believe that what this organisation have done for them will not be the end of it, we will want to have more partnership with them so that they can train more students during their long vacation,” he said.

Miss Gami Nanring, a participant who spoke through an interpreter, appreciated the organisers for the training, adding that her desire is to work as a computer technologist in the future.

“I always want to learn new things, all I need is to do more training and learn more things about computer and I know I can develop better.

“We were taught PowerPoint, Microsoft word and many more things, they made it more easy to understand and comprehend,” she said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Sadiya Hamza

By EricJames Ochigbo

President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Chris Isiguzo, has advised members to engage in regular exercises to promote health alertness and fitness among practitioners.

Iziguzo made the call at a Walk for Health” and medical outreach for journalists, facilitated by the NUJ-FCT Council in partnership with Zeberced Group on Thursday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that over 150 members of the NUJ-FCT engaged in the exercise from Berger junction at Utako District through Jabi District, Abuja.

The walk has Isiguzo and the Managing Director of Zeberced Group, Adil Kurt walking for about five kilometers.

Iziguzo described the walk as a ‘wealth package’ as exercises as a natural way to promotes healthy living.

He said that the exercises which aimed to promote healthy living, fitness and mental alertness among journalists would be accompanied by medical checks.

“Medical checks will be carried out on members to expose them to routine health engagements.

“Part of the packages of this engagement is of course the health walk which we had from Berger to the council office,” he said.

The Managing Director of Zeberced, Kurt, in his remarks said that health walk was good for all especially journalists.

He said that the type of work journalists do which was round the clock, as a result of the birth of new media, requires regular exercise.

“Sweat is good for us all especially from the walk as it promotes good health, burning calories,’’ he said.

Kurt said that Zeberced was committed to the development of the country through its services.

He said that the health of the people was important, adding that only a healthy people `can promote wealth distribution’. (NAN)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Isaac Aregbesola

By Oluwafunke Ishola

The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) has urged non-profit organisations to reduce dependence on funding from foreign governments and institutional donors to strategic financing of their projects.

Ms Nana Afadzinu, Executive Director, WACSI, made this appeal during the West Africa Civil Society Week on Thursday in Lagos.

The WACSI director said this during a panel discussion titled, “Reimagining the Role of Civil Society in a Closed Civic Space in West Africa: Policy, Capacity, Tools, and Resources for the Future”.

Afadzinu urged Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to develop sustainable strategies that would provide them with more funding for injection into response to social issues.

According to her, Africans are generous, therefore, CSOs can leverage the liberality to solve social justice, poverty, inequality, discrimination, and depression, among others.

“People are giving a lot using crowd sourcing. We need a mind-shift as CSOs. Some CSOs offer services that could be commercialised such as consulting.

“Some have guest houses that they generate funds from to support their non-profit work,” she said.

Afadzinu called for collaboration among CSOs, saying that they could leverage each other’s strength to deepen impact rather than competing among themselves.

Similarly, Mr Oyebisi Oluseyi, Executive Director, Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO), said that CSOs must balance confrontation with collaboration to strengthen impact.

Oluseyi noted that there had been concerns about self-regulation of non-profit organisations, adding that robust engagement with the government was ongoing to ensure a clear and favourable space.

Also, Ms. Denise Mubaiwa, Shared Learning Officer, Programme Support Unit, Open Society-Africa, said the organisation supported progressive economic and social norms, policies, and practices that created opportunity and promoted equality and rights.

Mubaiwa said that Open Society-Africa was implementing a ‘future thinking’ research that would strengthen understanding and factors responsible for certain issues in Africa.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the week was organised by WACSI in collaboration with the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) and the Ford Foundation.

The conference sought to deepen understanding of the evolving landscape and redefining the role of civil society in countering the decline of democracy, coup attempts, and encroachments on civic freedoms in West Africa.

It tackled the connection of shrinking civic space and constraints on gender equality; freedom of expression, association and assembly and human rights.

It also sought to tackle constraints on press freedom; digital security and protection; regional security and youth activism among others.

The three-day event which began on Aug. 29 had more than 100 civil society leaders, activists, and development partners from West African countries in attendance. (NAN)

Edited by Dianabasi Effiong/Oluyinka Fadare