A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Onelife Initiative, has unveiled a new education project: ‘Standing School’, targeting children who combine schooling with street trading and other income-generating activities.
The project, which forms part of the efforts of Onelife Initiative to improve literacy and numeracy among vulnerable children, was unveiled during the inauguration of the organisation’s permanent office in Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State.
The Executive Director of Onelife Initiative, Sola Fagorusi, said the project is meant to kick off with a donation of 30,000 naira from individuals who wish to train and impact young minds in areas such as youth development, education, sexual and reproductive health, agriculture, and civic engagement.
Fagorusi said that the new facility is expected to strengthen the organisation’s interventions in youth development, education, sexual and reproductive health, agriculture and civic engagement.
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He described securing a permanent office as a significant milestone in the organisation’s 10-year journey of working with young people and adolescents.
He said t would provide a stronger institutional base for expanding its interventions and partnerships across critical development sectors.
Fagorusi noted that the new office would improve the organisation’s operational sustainability by reducing recurring expenditure on rent which he identified as one of the major financial burdens facing non-governmental organisations.
Organisations Intervention
The Executive Director highlighted some of the organisation’s interventions across education, healthcare, agriculture, and governance.
He said on sexual and reproductive health, the NGO had provided age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education to 6,487 in-school adolescents, while another 12,640 adolescents and young people had been reached through community-based programmes.
Fagorusi reported that 67,714 girls and women had been directly linked to sexual and reproductive health services, while 128 healthcare providers had received specialised training across Oyo, Ekiti and Akwa Ibom states.
In agriculture, he noted that the organisation had established 27.5 acres of learning and pilot plots and mobilised 3,955 smallholder farmers for cassava production in Ekiti State. The beneficiaries included 1,534 women and 1,105 young people.
Fagorusi said Onelife Initiative had trained 1,919 horticultural farmers in good agronomic practices and agricultural innovations, while 918 farmers had been equipped with knowledge and skills to address aflatoxin contamination in maize production.
He revealed that the NGO had completed 37 projects, produced 36 radio drama episodes in Yoruba and English, reached an estimated 8.6 million people through radio and television broadcasts, and had engaged 289 staff members, volunteers, interns and externs in its activities over the years.
On civic engagement and accountability, Fagorusi stated that it had developed 11 election briefs, submitted 15 Freedom of Information requests to government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and instituted five reproductive justice cases before the ECOWAS Court and various high courts.
Collective Responsibility
The representative of the Oyo State Agency for Youth Development, Muyiwa Oladoja, commended the organisation’s contributions over the past decade, stressing that youth development required collective responsibility beyond government interventions.
He urged other non-governmental organisations to emulate Onelife Initiative’s efforts in addressing challenges confronting young people.
The Permanent Secretary of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Mrs Yinka Shotonwa-Roagess, welcomed the organisation’s involvement in agriculture, noting that greater participation of young people in farming was critical to strengthening food security.
Similarly, Hadi Olanase from the Oyo State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning commended the efforts of Onelife Initiative, emphasising the need for stronger partnerships between government, civil society organisations and non-governmental groups.
He called for increased attention to social protection, poverty reduction and inclusion, particularly for young people, women, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.
