Today was so productive and interesting, I thought I'd share all about it with the Steemit community. Today launched the start of my Community development service, but before I go into that, I think I'd give a nice little intro into all of that.
In my Country, every graduate has a mandatory service year to the government. It's a popular scheme known as National Youth Service Corporation, it was decreed into the Constitution in 1973, after the Nigerian civil war, with the aim of reconciling and rebuilding Nigeria.
So here is how it works, we have 36 states in the Federation and over 400 tribes, and during that service year, University or Polytechnic graduates from all over the 36 states are swapped into the others states.
Say, I'm from an Eastern state, during my one year service, I'd have to serve in either a Northern or Western state (cardinally speaking).
I, for instance, am from Edo state, which is located in the South-south, and was posted to Ogun state, which is in the West. The service you render can vary depending on the institution/ industry you are assigned/ posted to, and your course of study has a factor to play in it. You can be posted randomly into any of the industries willing to accept in whichever state, but about 80% of the population is assigned to teach in secondary schools, I teach.
This Scheme is/ was carried out, to encourage brotherhood and create a kind of unity-in-diversity bond between indigenes of the various states of the federation.
That being said, CDS is one of the core programs in NYSC, poised to encourage development and meaningful impact in the society by the corps members. Each corp member is distributed into various CDS groups, and the members of each group work together to positively affect the lives of the community they were assigned to.
I belong to Gender Vanguard, a group concerned with gender equality and promoting of equal opportunities between male and female. We meet once every week to discuss and plan out different projects which would improve the lives of our host community.
Due to our subsequent meetings this month, we decided to visit any of the secondary schools located in the LGA.
A topic was chosen to sensitize them on, and preparations were made. Premier Grammar School, the first Government school in Abeokuta North of Ogun State was unanimously chosen thereon, the Principal of the school was contacted. And a date was fixed.
It was Today.
Since they didn't have a hall big enough to accommodate all of them, the meeting was held on the assembly ground and a sound system was put in place to facilitate hearing amongst the students. The school has a massive population and the turnout was huge -and it was just a fraction of the school.
A selected few of us took turns to enlighten the students on the need to plan their future and see pass their current status as students. Encouraging them to be focused on their studies as that had a part to play in the life’s process of career development. I explained Holland’s theory of vocational types as a medium for choosing a career. I even chipped Steemit into the conversation, but this required more time than we were allocated.
The students were super cooperative and responsive. I was really impressed. Our paramilitary regalia, seemed to inspire them more as they hailed and cheered when told they’d someday be decked out in one as ours.
The NYSC uniform, popularly known as 7/7 (when worn in full, cap, crested vest, khakis and jungle boot) having similar appearance to those worn by the military, evokes a lot of respect and admiration in the locals, as we are seen as 'Government pikins.’ We held a question and answer segment and gave out pens and exercise books to both participants and standers by. It wasn’t much- it wasn’t anything really, but it was great to see the smiles they wore as it was being passed around.
P.S Notice we aren’t all putting on the complete uniform, that’s because this wasn’t an official ceremony. The crested top was swapped for plain white.
After the meeting, we took general pictures, us with the students, and us as a team.
I even met a new friend. The little cutie kept following me around, so I took a selfie with her too.
And that’s pretty much it. We are still working on so many projects, this is a start. We hope we can touch and inspire as many as we can reach, trying to reinforce positive thinking, and opting to utilize this service period, instead of waving it off as a waste of time.
Personally, today was an eye-opener. With Steemit in the picture, there is so much potential. I can’t say anything now because I still have to pen it all down and draw a road map.
Thanks for stopping by!
Photocredits: Seun, Bamz and Me!