The 2023 Easter Career Counseling Forum (ECCF) held on April 7 to 10th, being Easter break by Children Academic and Vocational Support Initiatives (CASVI), a nongovernmental agency, was concluded with remarkable success. Lots of winners and ambassadors among the participated children emerged. The empowerment and career counseling exercise carried out at the foundation’s base in Sango-Otta, Ogun State was a great success according to the participants at the conclusion of the programme.
The event with the theme, “My Passion and my Future” focused on bringing out the best in participants through counseling, to make proper career choice, testing and encouraging intellectual quotient (IQ) level, and as well, exposing to them the importance of academic education in their lives.
According to the organisers, ‘My Passion and my Future’ goals, was a valuable opportunity for children and even volunteers to explore their interests and aspirations, and by providing guidance and support to help the children make informed decisions about their future and set them on a path towards success.
Speaking with the CASVI founder, Mr. Hakeem Ariori, he said, “The three-day event featured various career development oriented activities facilitated by two seasoned trainers, career counselors, Mrs Adeboye Olagunju, Temitope Adeyemi and volunteers. During our career counseling session attended by 72 children, the main focus was on helping children identify their passions and interests, and how they could translate those interests into potential career paths. The goal was to provide guidance and support to help these children make informed decisions about their future.”
“Our expectations going into the session were that we would be able to engage the children and help them explore their interests and aspirations. We hoped to create a safe and supportive environment where they could feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas,” said Ariori.
Speaking further, he noted that the children who participated in the session were very involved and enthusiastic “as they sang, danced and even shared personal testimonials of previous career counseling sessions,” saying that they were eager to share their passions and ask questions about how they could pursue different career paths. “We were impressed with their level of engagement and the thoughtful questions they asked,” he noted.
The responses from the children were varied, with some expressing a strong interest in particular careers, while others were still exploring their options. However, all of the children showed a willingness to learn and were open to considering different possibilities
“Overall, the children demonstrated a good understanding of the theme of the session and its relevance to their future. They recognized that identifying their passions and interests was an important first step in pursuing a fulfilling career and were grateful for the guidance and support provided,” he said.
Ariori further stated, “At this year’s ECCF, there were 44 students in upper primary, 21 Junior Secondary School and 16 Senior Secondary School students that registered. We had students from various schools within the Temidire and Iloye axis in Ota that include Mother’s Joy School; Providence School; Future Foundation; Sango Ota High School; Genius Breed; Quine Unic Community High School among others. Large numbers of the participants were girls.
Two speakers who facilitated the counseling programme expatiated during chat with the press, on the need to discover their passion and identify a good mentor. “It was an interactive session with the learners. On the second day, children answered questions on what they did on the first day and some numbers and word puzzles were solved,” they said.
Ariori also noted that on the third day, the project ambassador and now an environmentalist, Samuel who won the 2015 ECCF edition taught the students on the need to protect the Ozone layer and need to keep the environment clean.
He mentioned that at the end of the event, 13 winners from upper primary classes, five from JSS classes and four from SSS classes emerged which also had eight previous ambassadors and another eight volunteers in attendance.
“In all, 72 students, five ambassadors, four volunteers including the coordinator and a mother participated in the program. The star prize for both JSS and Upper primary winner is N5000 each while four SSS students UTME fees would be sponsored under ‘NOM Award’ by one of our project supporter, Mrs Noimot Olarenwaju Mohammed, made possible by her son Rilwan Mohammed, the CEO of RIDIC Ventures. There were also lots of consolation prizes like reading lamps, skipping rope, motivational books,” he said.