•How 20-year-old foundation is lifting up indigent Nigerian students
Since its establishment 20 years ago, Tunde Lemo Foundation, (TLF), a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), has lifted up many indigent students through its annual scholarship awards.
TLF is in collaboration with the Peter Akinola Foundation (PAF), Youth Centre for Industrial Training in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Through this, many students acquired and graduated in varied vocational skills. Most Revd. Peter Jasper Akinola, is the visioner of the vocation centre. TLF is founded by former deputy governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Tunde Lemo and wife.
TLF’s philanthropic gesture is not limited to Ogun State indigenes alone as its beneficiaries caught across states of the federation and beyond religious and sex barriers.
The youths are usually trained in auto-mechanics, masonry and other construction skills, agriculture, catering, fashion designing and key information technology capabilities among other specialties.
So far, the foundation has trained over 500 youths in different vocational skills in Lagos and Ogun states. The targe is to train 100 youths yearly and since the inauguration of the ‘’Lend A Helping Hand’’ programme, it has trained hundreds youths spread across Ogun and Lagos states.
At its recent graduation, Lemo represented by a member of the foundation, Chief Reuben Sogaolu, charged graduands to be self reliant and engage themselves in programmes that will develop them as well as satisfy the country’s manpower needs:
“The students have been given uncommon skills and talents which must not be allowed to be wasted without being used for the benefit of mankind.” Akinola said: “It is all about raising youths, giving them opportunities to acquire skills that would help them earn a living without being a liability on the society.
“Our youths, many of them do not even know what to do with their lives as a result of which they go into crime. What the centre is all about is to raise many of them as we can, give them opportunity to acquire skills.
“When they have skills, they can go back to the world to work with their hands and earn a living. In that way, they will not longer be a bility on the society.”
Dean, Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Blessing Enyindah, urged students to always put into practice all that they have learnt as well as be good ambassadors of the centre.
Director of the institution, Canon Tunde Awolana, described PAF as a unique vocational centre that has trained thousands of Nigeria youths with technical skills since inception.
One of the students, Oladeji Favour Adesola, from Osun State, who emerged overall best student charged students irrespective of their level of education not to always relent in their academic curriculum.
Adesola of the Fashion Design & Creative Arts Department, said: “The memories of my stay at Peter Akinola Foundation will forever linger not only for its academic advancement, but its spiritual upliftment which always restores hope in the hopeless.
«PAF is an institution of learning where emphasis is not just placed on their but on practical which exposes them greatly to their fields of interests
«I am happy. I am elated. It is a privilege emerging the best among my co-students with whom we both studies. It is not by my power or might, but by His grace that saw me through the many challenges that came along the path of success.
“I must confess that it was not joke being trained at PAF. It is not only challenging, but demanding. It is not for the lazy ones. I thank God for seeing me through the vocational one in town programme.”