CHESSINSLUMSINITAITIVE

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NGO PROFILE NAME: CHESS IN SLUMS INITIATIVE (CIS)

FOUNDER: NATIONAL CHESS MASTER TUNDE ONAKOYA

ADDRESS: 1st floor Block C Adebowale House, 150 Ikorodu Road, Onipanu - Lagos

CONTACT: +234 80172792588, +234 8109000458

EMAIL: chessinslums@gmail.com

ORGANISATION STATUS: NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION

CAC REGISTRATION NUMBER: CAC/IT/NO 129117

ESTABLISHED IN: 1ST OF SEPTEMBER, 2018.

CHESS IN SLUMS INITIATIVE

2OverviewThe chess in slums initiative is a non- profit organization aimed at using the noble game of chess to help youngsters in slum communities realize their full potential by integrating principles of the game with management of daily challenges in life, enhancing abstract thinking, creativity and innovation.

About usChess in Slums initiative is a volunteer driven social development initiative which aims to transform impoverished communities by empowering their young ones to realize and unlock their full potentials using chess educational resource as a viable learning tool.

According to the United Nations, getting children to play chess is a valuable way to achieve the fourth goal for sustainable development; “Quality education for all”.

This initiative was founded by National Master Tunde Onakoya, a passionate chess player/coach who strongly believes that chess can be wielded as a powerful tool to change lives, raise a new generation of intellectuals from the slums and eradicate poverty across Africa.

Founded on the 1st of September 2018, Chess in slums has succeeded in empowering more than a hundred vulnerable children living in impoverished communities with leadership and critical

CORE VALUES

Compassion

Selfless service

Integrity

Accountability

Mentorship

3thinking skills through the game of chess. Some of these children have been accorded scholarships into primary and secondary schools.

The organization has developed a number of strategic programs through which it strives to achieve its mission. These programs include CHESS BEYOND BORDERS, CHECKMATING TEENAGE PREGNANCY, MENTOR ME AND SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT.

It is often said that success is a combination of thoughts, words and actions, and that chess is a tool that helps equalize the playing field.

We firmly believe this is evident in the Chess in slums strategy in engaging young people.

Together with all our potential partners and donors who care deeply about the future of our country, this initiative will breed inspiring stories that will put us in positive light on the map of the world. It is a big step towards the reformation much needed in Nigeria.

Our Board members Barrister Tunde Onakoya, (Board chairman) Chess in slums initiative, (Founder) I am mindful Africa.

Mr. Tunde Onakoya, (Founder/CEO) Chess in slums initiative.

Mr. Obinna Ogbonnaya, International chess Arbiter, FIDE Technical Adviser.

Mr. Daniel Anwuli, International chess master and West African chess champion.

Mr. Kabir Ahmed, (CEO) Hydeashub Limited.

PHOTO: NATIONAL MASTER, TUNDE DANIEL ONAKOYA (FOUNDER)

4Problem statement Enlisted herein are some concise issues that need to be addressed by the chess in slums initiative team:

Illiteracy Slum denigration Criminal vices Teenage pregnancy Poverty Violence

The most marginalized and affected group of people are children who live in urban slums. Life in urban slums is worse than we imagine. Our primary focus is aimed towards promoting learning and unleashing the potential in every child through chess and mentorship.

One such urban slum is Majidun in Ikorodu Lagos with over 5000 inhabitants. Here, a majority of the people live in wooden houses. Kids that live in these slum communities have to deal with a lot of challenges all day long, from what to eat, what to drink, where to sleep and basically how to survive in a crime infested community.

Nigeria has over 10 million out of school children, the highest number in the world. According to the UNICEF, 30% of pupils drop out of primary schools and only 54% transit to junior secondary schools. According to the World Bank development report (2018), only 20% of young Nigerians who have completed primary school education can read. This means that we have millions of children and young people without the necessary literacy or cognitive skills required, entering the workforce year after year.

To attain national prosperity and encourage innovation, we must build and maintain an inclusive and functional learning system. That means more than just new school buildings, it means relevant educational materials and dynamic initiatives that ensures every Nigerian child that passes through our educational system can compete with his or her counterparts around the world. It means teaching young people not just to read and regurgitate, but to ask the questions “why”, “why not” and “how” in order to encourage innovation and invention.

This is why chess which is compulsory in the academic curriculum of a lot of developed countries. It is a great platform for growth and development to engage and equip the minds of these youngsters to go on and become critical thinkers and ultimately champions of their lives.

Chess teaches skills that are particularly applicable to the area of juvenile crime intervention such as the concepts of thinking before you act and that there are consequences both immediate and long-term, for one’s actions.

5Goals and Objectives

Unveiling royalty in every child. To empower, uplift and educate children in slum communities. To get more kids to play chess as a valuable way to achieve the fourth global goal for sustainable

development: Quality education for all. To bridge segregation and marginalization between slum and urban communities. To enlighten kids by inculcating life values to help them escape the vicious cycle of the slum life. To inspire career professionals who are also chess lovers from all over the world to be accessible to

kids in these communities as mentors and role models. To set up chess and creativity learning centers across communities. To help build the next generation of STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND

MATHEMATICS) leaders using chess educational resources. To raise chess champions from the slums, up to national and international standards. To substantially reduce the number of out of school children living in impoverished communities.

Mission-Statement To promote learning through chess education with service, philanthropy and mentorship.

6Need for the initiative

Child protection Youth empowerment Youth rehabilitation Improved education Mental health Social skills Wealth creation Equality Peace Human values and dignity

How do we want to solve the problem? Chess and leadership training. Education – Securing scholarship support for vulnerable kids in slum communities. Technology: Access to computers which enables proper utilization of chess software. Chesskids.com platform which also affords them the opportunity to play against other kids from

all over the world. Mentorship - connecting these segregated youngsters with prominent Chess enthusiasts and

role models in the society.

Delivery impact This initiative has the ability to reach more than ten thousand kids in a span of five years in slums across Nigeria.

Empowering a child changes the future generation, inspires community development and breaks the poverty cycle. A community is only as good as its plans for its younger generation.

Execution strategy (methodology) Our execution strategy incorporates proven methodologies handled by qualified personnel and volunteers. The following is a description of our project methods, including how the project will be developed and a proposed timeline of events.

Profiling: This is the initial stage of the project which entails taking data of the most vulnerable youngsters in these communities and creating a career profile for each and every child whilst monitoring progress report.

The idea is to focus on each participant as an individual and help them unlock their growth potential through a series of deliberate activities.

7Profile template

Name:

Age:

Grade:

Skill/Talent:

Career choice:

Training sessions: This is the training phase of the program where top chess players, coaches and volunteers across Nigeria would be invited on a weekly basis to teach the intricacies of the game using the chess kids’ curriculum. The learners pay no fees to be part of this training activity and they experience a welcoming atmosphere. The leadership at CIS understands that not everyone participating will turn out to be a great chess player, but the greater aim is to enable everyone to reach their full potential in life.

The chess kids’ curriculum and instructor's guide were made with reference to the legendary women's world champion and super grand master GM Susan Polgar's teachers training manual, moves for life initiative as well as excerpts from different scholastic chess academic ideas from chess experts all over the world.

This curriculum is very vital to the success of this initiative and it opens the door to many different chess concepts, though it forced us to generalize at times, the vocabulary and teaching approach is kept child friendly, simple and practical. It is very flexible to be used across any age range level.

The instructors are properly trained to help students achieve success with chess and apply the skills they acquire to other subjects. The goal of the training is not to dictate a specific curriculum but to provide the outline of key concepts and the order in which they should be introduced to have children playing chess successfully in a short period of time.

Moves for life mentorship program (Coaching kids for the game of life) This is the third phase of the project where enthusiastic chess players across the globe get to encourage the young budding chess players to develop their own interests, support learning and skill building. They model positive attitudes and are culturally diverse. Most importantly, the mentors are honest, flexible, creative, patient, reliable chess lovers who spend time developing friendship which are open ended and may remain active for years.

To see the young person, you're matched with expand and grow because they had someone stable to guide them, to see them grow into responsible and caring people that contribute to society is a rewarding experience.

8CIS tournament This is the final phase of the project where a chess tournament will be organized for the pioneers that went through the training phase, to test their strength and progress. They will also be opportune to win laurels and Cash prizes.

The game of chess teaches that there is a reward for hard work. The CIS tournament will be an annual event that will be replicated across communities in Nigeria.

A Chess training and innovation Centre: This is the conclusive end in mind of the project which aims to have an active training Centre for chess in every community coupled with a conducive and well-equipped innovation hub which will serve as a safe learning haven for these youngsters to develop and acquire relevant life skills.

Projects executed Project name: The Majidun chess dream 2018.

Location: Majidun Ikorodu, Lagos Nigeria (Urban slum community).

Project timeline: September 1st 2018 - December 2019.

Description: The Majidun chess dream 2018 marked the beginning of revolutionary strides taken by the initiative in a bid to prove to the world that children in impoverished communities hold as much potential as anyone else if accorded same opportunities as their privileged peers.

The project was successfully completed and bore so many success stories from the inception of the project until the end of the project’s timeline.

9Milestones Covered

THE STORIES OF SOME OF THE CHILDREN WE TRAIN GOT FEATURED ON THE BRITISHBROADCASTING NETWORK (BBC) WORLD PLATFORM, ALJAZEERA NEWS NETWORK, AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSE, MICROSOFT NETWORK AND SEVERAL OTHER NATIONAL ANDINTERNATIONAL BLOG SITES.

TEN CHILDREN FROM OUR ACADEMY ARE CURRENTLY BENEFICIARIES OF LIFE LONGSCHOLARSHIPS FROM SOME OF OUR PARTNERS.

WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY TRAINED ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN FROM MAJIDUN COMMUNITY,IKORODU LAGOS, ON THE GAME OF CHESS FROM BEGINNER TO ADVANCED LEVEL.

TWELVE CHILDREN UNDER OUR INITIATIVE HAVE BEEN ACCORDED FIDE (WORLD GOVERNINGBODY OF CHESS) ID’S WHICH ENABLES THEM TO COMPETE PROFESSIONALLY IN ANY CHESSPLAYING COUNTRY OF THE WORLD.

FIFTEEN CHILDREN ARE CURRENTLY PARTICIPANTS OF THE CHEVRON CHESS LEAGUE WHICHACCORDS THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY AGAINST SOME OF THE BEST CHESS MASTERS INTHE COUNTRY.

WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PRODUCE A CHAMPION (ODUNAYO WILLIAMS) IN THE NATIONALUNDER 10 FEMALE CATEGORIES AT THE MALOGY NATIONAL COMPETITION, AFTER BARELYEIGHT MONTHS OF TRAINING.

WE HAVE BEEN ENDEARED SUPPORT BOTH NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONLLY BY DIGNITRIESAND EVEN FROM THE CURRENT WORLD CHESS CHAMPION, MAGNUS CARLSEN.

WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY HELD SKILL ACQUISTION PROGRAMS FOR MORE THAN TWOHUNDRED CHILDREN.

WE SUCCESSFULLY HOSTED AN EVENT THEMED “CHESS WITHOUT BORDERS”, WHERE THECHILDEREN TAUGHT PROMINENT PEOPLE IN THE SOCIETY SUCH AS MISS TOSIN OSHINOWO-ALEADING ARCHITECT IN THE WHOLE OF AFRICA, HOW TO PLAY CHESS. THE GOAL OFCONNECTING THE CHILDREN FROM THE SLUMS WITH STANDUP MODELS AND ICONS OF THESOCIETY WAS REALISED.

WE HAVE HELD TWO SUCCESSFUL FUND-RAISING CAMPAIGNS TO ACQUIRE SCHOLASTICMATERIALS FOR THE CHILDREN.

THE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO SIX NATIONAL TOURNAMENTS WHERE THEY WONCASH PRIZES AND CERTIFICATIONS.

WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY PARTNERED WITH FIRMS SUCH AS DOMINO PIZZAS, GLOBAL CHILDHEALTH INITIATIVE, FOR THE SOCIETY AND SUJI MOTO CONSTRUCTION COMPANY.

10Picture Speaks Chess and Leadership training sessions

11Chess beyond borders

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Skill Acquisition Program

13Checkmating Teenage pregnancy

14Tournament Participation

15Scholarship recipients

16Mentor me Program

17Volunteers The chess in slums initiative is a volunteer driven network that aims to connect friends, change agents, organizations, passionate problem solvers, mentors, career professionals, chess players, chess coaches and chess enthusiasts across the globe to a common goal and unite in ensuring that every child is given a fair chance to be the best they can be, which invariably ensures that impoverished communities are transformed.

Volunteer mentors Chess is a game that connects people from all walks of life. Volunteer chess mentors commit to meeting weekly with their mentees; for a minimum of three hours in a month. They get to play chess with the less privileged kids, share interests and be open to experiencing the world as your young mentee sees it too. The ultimate goal is to help your mentee know that he or she matters to you and your community.

As a chess mentor volunteer, you can make a difference in a child's life today so that he or she will grow up to achieve a brighter tomorrow. Chess is a great tool for improving strategic and analytical thinking.

Our volunteer mentors can come from diverse backgrounds, dedicated to youth empowerment. Volunteer chess mentor backgrounds include;

Teachers. Artists. Engineers. Attorneys. Doctors and Nurses. IT Gurus. Graphic designers and Internet Web Masters Pilots. Celebrities. Role models. Chess Masters

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We are constantly welcoming mentors into the CIS initiative network of volunteers. The commitment is small but the impact is great. We ask mentors to play chess with a child during one of our mentorship sessions for at least an hour in a week.

Just show up, play chess and talk to a child about life. That’s it!

Every child counts, every child matter.

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TWITTER: @CHESSINSLUMS

FACEBOOK: CHESSINSLUMS

WEBSITE: WWW.CHESSINSLUMS.COM