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By Gabriel Dike
A corps member, Soyinka Morounkeji John, recently put smiles on the faces of students, with the donation of school uniforms to Bioku Alaadun Community High School, Ona Ara, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Soyinka, with National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)state code OY/21A/7446, donated 50 uniforms to the students. His gesture attracted appreciation and commendations from parents, teachers and the principal.
Not done, the corps member also hosted the school’s first inter-house sports competition.
Soyinka, a graduate of Federal College of Education, Osiele, in affiliation with University of Ibadan, was posted to Bioku Alaadun Community High School as his place of primary assignment (PPA).
The Education Report gathered that Soyinka, during the course of his PPA, noticed a gap in the curriculum of the pupils, in addition to torn and faded school uniforms among the student populace.
He rallied round friends, family members and other corps members to facilitate the funding of 50 new school uniforms.
His words: “I noticed some of the pupils lacked some basic amenities, with a large class population. I was particularly concerned about some of the pupils’ appearance, with worn-out uniforms. I decided to make at least 50 uniform (25 females and 25 males).
“I am a fashion designer and needed the money to get the material done. I reached out to my contacts and I got some positive response and added the remaining amount from my pocket to produce the uniforms.
He disclosed that the principal of the school was surprised because she was not aware of the uniform distribution, adding, “I did not inform anybody, not even the beneficiaries.”
According to him, parents of the beneficiaries were surprised while the pupils were happy because it was the first of its kind in the history of the school.
On the inter house sports, Soyinka, said though the school is old and owned by the state government, the competition he put together was the first to be experienced by the students.
He added: “I am Physical and Health Educator, and I wanted my impact to be felt before I conclude my NYSC programme. Extracurricular activities are an important part of school activities.
“I informed the school about my intention, which was accepted but to make it intra House sports competition because of the issues concerning public schools using the opportunity to cause violent among them.
“The school has not hosted or done such but were concerned about funding and I told the school not to worry that I will bear the responsibility and organization. I needed there backing. And it was a success at the end.”
Soyinka who passed out on Thursday, April 28, said he had wished to carry out more projects because the school requires toilets, additional classrooms to cater for the large population of pupils, provision of books and text books.
A teacher observed that the sports competition brought joy amongst the students, which also fostered unity and healthy competition.
“The extracurricular activity made the students excited to continue with their second term with renewed energy and focuses.’’
For the community, they appreciated the contributions of the corps member and acknowledged that in his own little way, Soyinka helped to complete the curriculum of the school and brought honour to NYSC.
On outstanding projects, Soyinka said “You know I am a corps member. I did my part and signed out on Thursday, April, 28, 2022.”
