Kaduna-Based NGO Equips 50 Adolescent Girls with Digital Skills and Virtual Learning

In a transformative initiative, the Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative (EWEI), a Kaduna-based non-governmental organization (NGO), has empowered 50 adolescent girls by imparting them with essential digital skills and granting access to virtual learning as a supplementary educational platform within Kaduna state.

The brainchild behind this endeavor, Mrs. Safiya Ibn-Garba, who serves as the founder and Programme Director of EWEI, disclosed that this empowerment initiative was carried out under the aegis of the NGO's Learning without Limit (LWL) project.

Speaking at the closeout event for the LWL project in Kaduna, Mrs. Ibn-Garba elucidated that the 50 teenage girls were carefully selected from eight public secondary schools in the state. These schools include Government Girls Secondary School (GSS) Kabala-Costain, GSS Babban Saura, GSS Rigachikun, GSS Television, GSS Doka, GSS Rigasa, GSS Goni-Gora, and GSS Barnawa.

The LWL project, spanning two years, received support from the Girls Opportunity Alliance (GOA), a program initiated by the Obama Foundation aimed at empowering adolescent girls worldwide through education. The LWL project's primary objective was to bridge the digital divide and reduce disparities in access to virtual learning for adolescent girls in Kaduna state.

Under this initiative, the girls were equipped with essential technology tools, including computer tablets, power banks, and earpieces, which facilitated their participation in supplementary education across five key subject areas. Additionally, the program offered capacity-building opportunities in digital marketing, graphic design, climate action, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and basic life skills, using UNICEF curricula.

The ultimate goal was to enhance the girls' performance in specific academic subjects while showcasing a community-inclusive approach to improving access to quality education for girls, involving both state and non-state actors, Mrs. Ibn-Garba explained.

She encouraged the empowered girls to stay committed, work diligently, and uphold the high standards they have demonstrated throughout the program.

Hajiya Sa’adatu Mahmud, the Director of Gender at the Kaduna State Ministry of Human Services and Social Development, urged the girls to remain steadfast in their pursuit of education. She also appealed to parents to create a supportive environment for their daughters, enabling them to have a brighter future.

Expressing gratitude to EWEI for empowering the 50 girls, Mahmud called for additional support to equip young girls with the necessary education and life skills required for a quality life.

One of the program's beneficiaries, Miss Bright Mathew, a student from GSS Kabala-Costain, expressed her appreciation for the digital skills and access to a wealth of textbooks she now enjoys. She thanked EWEI for providing her with the digital devices that enable her to access virtual learning platforms and materials.

Clearly elated, Miss Mathew pledged to study diligently to achieve greatness in the future, embodying the transformative impact of initiatives like EWEI's LWL project.