In May 2017, I started the campaign “Help Nigerian Kids Code” to teach kids programming for kids as young as 9-17, it’s been fun filled but I must say, it hasn’t been easy because it is also filled with ups and downs and it promises to remain so, I better be continuously ready. Being a programmer is becoming a very sought after job in our ever evolving world due to the our technological advancement over the last ten years, so it is very important, like I stated in my previous post that we start making calculated efforts to encourage our kids to see the field of programming as a viable option when choosing career paths.
In this post, I will be sharing how it has been like since it all started, the progress I’ve made, the constraints I have experienced and still experiencing, my little achievement and the position where I see the project being in the nearest future, so enjoy the story.
It all started while I was studying, actually I started learning programming in 2016 (I’m saying this so that no matter the level you find yourself in this field, note that you can transfer that knowledge to someone else, don’t wait till you’re a master in the field before you start impacting), I saw the capabilities of someone who has the skills of coding, what He or She could offer and how this could change the lives of those living in His or Her immediate environment, so I decided to do something by impacting younger kids.
My first line of action was to visit schools, talk to them about teaching their kids after school as an extra-curricular class. In selecting these schools I laid down some criteria
- It needs to have a computer room of about 10 computers in it.
- It needs to be close to my place of primary assignment (PPA) to make it easy for me to get there immediately after my normal days work
Let’s see how the schools around me faired on this criteria,
- Public schools didn’t meet this criteria because they do not have a computer room, a very sad development.
- My PPA , which is a school do have a computer room, but at the moment it isn’t functioning because the building in which the room is located is under renovation.
I was left with just private schools that are around me, I randomly chose about three schools and then wrote proposals to them, unfortunately their response was a let-down also, for the first school they bought the idea of letting their kids learn such an important skill, but I told them it comes at a price, wait, before asking what the price is for, let me explain, I wasn’t planning of doing all the heavy lifting alone, I was going to have someone who could share the work with me and teach some other languages that I’m not good at, also to get proper teaching aid like a projector was also factored into the price. Hence my first lesson, the class needs to be cheaper, if possible free for these kids.
For the second school, I submitted the proposal to the Principals office, unfortunately the Principal retired that same week that I came to submit the proposal, so I was to expect a reply from the new Principal whenever He or She resumes. I also met the Vice Principal of the schools, here is what she told me, she was concerned about the fact that the school closes at 4pm, that is after normal classes and a compulsory extra lesson and the students will be too tired to learn coding after such a long day. I called the secretary to the office of the Principal about a week later but she said they’ve got not a new Principal and she wasn’t sure when she will be expecting the new Principal
For the third school after visiting to submit the proposal they refused me to see the Principal of the school, there was no way I could book an appointment seeing that I didn’t have the number to the office of the Principal, that coupled with the fact that is was farther than the other two, it then looked impossible that I would be able to meet up.
I also spoke with my CDS coordinator, and she was frank with me that, almost no school will allow their students pay for such a program, I believed her since she is in the system and has had one or two encounter with these schools I came to the conclusion that
- the project needs to be very affordable(almost free)
- And the project needs to accommodate students from public schools and students from schools who closed on or past 4pm.
Based on these lessons, I concluded that the project should run through the week for students who close earlier than 4pm and Fridays and Saturdays for those who close by 4pm. The Saturday classes had to be longer in order to make the learning time 4 hours weekly.
More so, I needed to source for funds myself to provide an accessible place for the kids, where they can come to learn how to code comfortably, hence I decided to crowdfund the project, I created a Gofundme campaign to actualise this but the response to the campaign has been so poor that it almost discouraged me from carrying on with the project. Some people considered the campaign a fraud since I am a Nigerian and Nigerians have a bad reputation when it comes to cyber activities. Then I started talking to people who I considered could help especially giving advice that can be very helpful in such a situation, some bought my idea and assisted with advice while others didn’t.
I was labelled a fraud because I’m a Nigerian
I was labelled a fraud because I’m a Nigerian
From their advice, I gathered that I needed to start from somewhere no matter how crude it might be, so I started talking to some students at my PPA, SS1 and SS2 students, I ruled SS3 out because they were writing their final exams. Luckily some of them had laptops so I had to offer my laptop, my dad’s and other Corp members’ laptop to those students that didn’t have. I have since stated teaching them programming every Monday-Wednesday after school, gradually introducing them to python programming language.
It has been fun teaching them, some of the students have been regular, others not so regular. The most interesting thing I’ve done since then was convincing a female student who wants to be a doctor to attend the class and she has been very receptive, her name is Ivie, her picture is the header of this blog. I’ve not been able to get more female students for the class, I hope to do so soon.
With this success, it only means that only kids from my PPA are benefiting from this project and I am worried over the sustainability of the project after my service year. Therefore, I am soliciting for funds no matter how small from anybody, just to make this project continue after my national service. If you can’t donate cash, you can decide to donate in kind by helping with laptops or any other items as listed in the Gofundme page to facilitate the project. I’m currently working towards getting a respected body to help make the funding realised from the campaign as transparent as possible.
If the funding process goes on well, the project can then admit kids older than seventeen(17) so that they too can learn how to code especially those who are waiting to gain admission into the university, this will cost more for the older kids but the amount will be affordable enough. Invariably, more parents will be pumped to encourage their children into pursuing careers in computer programming and at the same time ensure the self-sustainability of the project
To support the campaign you can do so via
The Gofundme page
Directly to a bank account: Account name => Amaefuna Theophilus Ikenna
Account number => 0724355583
Bank => Access Bank
If you do want to support in Kind, you can easily call +2348182582700 or email: amaefunatheophilus@gmail.com
Thank you as you donate, you will be changing lives
Help Nigerian Kids Code 