Kids & Teens Resource Centre ( K&TRC) in partnership with First Electric is to equip students living with disabilities and students from economically disadvantaged home in it’s solar solution project in communities across the three senatorial districts of Ondo State with the aim to ultimately improve educational standards of students.
Speaking at the launch of the project tagged: “Illuminating the Future” in Akure the Executive Director, K&TRC, Mrs. Folashade Bamigboye said children with disabilities faced more challenges accessing basic necessities to make extraordinary success in their educational pursuit.
Mrs Bamigboye said unstable power supply in Nigeria had compelled most Students Living with Disabilities to lag behind in their studies .
The Executive Director noted that the focus was to distribute solar lanterns to young people with disabilities and students from economically disadvantaged families with the goal to improve their educational standards.
She stressed that no fewer than 100 hearing impaired students and 80 vulnerable children from disadvantaged families across the 3 Senatorial districts would benefit from the initiative, Mrs. Bamigboye also said that the beneficiaries will be trained on maintaining the solar lanterns.
In his submission ,the Project Manager, First Electric, Mr. Gbenga Alomaja said First Electric is committed to impacting lives as a social investment in order to make it possible for people to take advantage of social amenities.
Mr. Alomaja restated that in weeks to come, K&TRC would begin the process of distribution of the solar lanterns to the schools.
He advised school administrators not to clog the process as there are set criteria for the selection of the beneficiaries based on baseline assessment and the use of the child vulnerability index.
Some identified features of the solar lanterns according to Mr. Alomaja include the fact that it can provide light for 5-7 days, comes with a charging port, a radio and can be charged through electricity and solar energy.
In their remarks, the representatives of the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development commended K&TRC and First Electric for the great initiative that would improve students educational standards in the state.
Selected schools for the project include Owo High School, Igbobinni High School in Ese-Odo, School of the Deaf Akure, and Akure High School.
“The light from the solar lantern will help us to read at night, engage in our evening chores and charge our mobile phones which means we are regularly in touch with our friends and family.” – One of the potential beneficiaries of the solar lantern project from the school of the Hearing Impaired said this with sign language.
