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By Kehinde Aderemi
Lagos-based non-governmental organisation, Goldcrest Family Centre, recently held its annual educational programme for vulnerable children.
The teenagers were of different age brackets gathered at the venue to learn from the elders and also share in the joy of being in the midst of their age-mates
The event, held at the God’s Mercy Baptist Church auditorium, Oworonshoki, Lagos, was aimed at educating the teenagers and also impacting the society in order to build the future of the children from their teenage years. The theme was ‘Difference-Making Generations.’
The annual event lasted for three days, with special sensitization programme for community leaders, parents, and youth, and it was climaxed with the children’s programme.
The teenagers were excited as they participated in various activities, including question and answer sessions, quiz and debate competitions, current affairs, as well as dancing competitions, and pep talks from different speakers.
GCFC President, Reverend Agatha Chukwura, said the programme was dedicated to the teenagers in order to educate them on the need to be useful to the society.
She also harped on instilling moral societal values in the children, maintaining that the Nigerian society has failed to train her young generations.
According to her, the failure of the society was as a result of many factors, including poor parenting, lack of government support, poor educational curriculums, and moral decadence.
Reverend Agatha noted also that a nation that trains and builds her youth builds the future of the nation. She expressed worry at the rise in social vices, regretting that a large percentage of the Nigerian youth are involved in drugs, yahoo-yahoo, and other immoral acts, making it difficult for Nigeria to have leaders that are truly blessed with the fear of God and that are also ready to transform the society.
“We are all a product of our society. It is a challenge when our youth have no moral values. It is a big issue when the youth have no role models that can inspire them to greatness. How do you rescue a perverse society where the youths are the endangered species?”
“I feel sad that many of our youth are not well-trained. The school is failing to restore sanity in the lives of our youth. There is no moral instruction in the school curriculum as it was taught during our days.
“If you look at the Nigerian society today, you find out that many of our youth are involved in yahoo-yahoo and drugs. It is unfortunate that the government is not doing enough to curtail the menace.
“Goldcrest Family Centre is trying to correct the ugly trend. We want to change the ugly narratives by giving the youth a little degree of hope that the future belongs to them and that as teenagers, there is a need for them to learn more on how best to be good ambassadors of the society.
“This is what we have been doing for over two decades. This year, we are in Oworonshoki community, and I think the community leaders have been supportive in ensuring that we achieve our goals,” the GCFC founder stated.
The wife of the Oworonshoki monarch, who represented the monarch, Olori Omolara Lasisi, expressed delight at the attendance of the children in the community. She praised the leadership of Goldcrest Family Centre for the community-based initiative.
Olori Lasisi urged the Lagos State government to assist and support the lofty initiative of the NGO, noting that members of the community had benefited greatly from the three-day programme.
Part of the successes recorded at the programme, according to her, were the youth enlightenment scheme, the community stakeholders’ development activities, and children’s educational programme.
“This programme has really helped in changing the thinking of many of the youths in our community. They are more confident, determined, and focused now, and they are ready to be good ambassadors of this community.
“I want to appeal to the Goldcrest Family Centre not to relent in their efforts to impact the society positively,” she stated.
A teenagers’ coach and one of the speakers, Salu Adekunle, spoke about mentorship and the importance of youths choosing a career that can impact the society. According to him, Goldcrest Family Centre has created a veritable platform that helps teenagers to learn and discover their unique talents.
This is what is called the ‘Catch them Young’ strategy, and that is why there is a need to enlighten the children on the need to choose a career that impacts the world.
“As a teenager’s coach and motivational speaker, I have decided to dwell more on mentorship for the children because I noticed from the session we had with the parents and the youths that the teenagers had no understanding of who a mentor is.
“Therefore, it is pertinent to take them through our past history, the core values of life, including hard work, honesty, love, patience, and ability to inspire them to greatness. It is very sad that we have lost touch with our history and societal values; that is why we have been finding it difficult to set quality standards that can impact the society positively.
“That is why it is very important for us to tell them about our history for them to learn more and choose their mentors carefully.”
“In the same vein, it is important for the government to encourage non-governmental organisations like the Goldcrest Family Centre to support the initiative. This will boost their morale and help in driving the initiative,” he said.
The event later became lively as many of the children participated in a dancing competition. Winners of the various competitions were rewarded with various gifts, such as school bags, textbooks, and other educational items.
