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Echoes From Ajegunle

CHAPTERI:

Stories of transformed lives

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Echoes From AjegunleCHAPTERI:

Stories of transformed lives

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About Ajegunle.orgAjegunle.orgseekstocreatebetterlivelihoodsthroughICTopportunities,entrepreneurshiptraining,

shortterm internships,GraduateLoanSchemeforyoungpeople inNigeriasunderservedareas.We

inviteyoutoviewtheprojectvideoatwww.ireport.com/docs/DOC14359.Ego,likemanyotheryoung

peopleinNigeria'smostpopularslum,wasnotsureofwhattomorrowheldforher.Now,sheworksat

theVisaSectionof theBritishDeputyHighCommission inLagos, thanks toherparticipation in the

Ajegunle.orgproject.Funke,anotherprojectparticipant,grewherbusinessofN2,000byabout2,800%

afterthe

training.

We

are

working

towards

the

replication

of

the

idea

beyond

Ajegunle,

and

are

also

keenonestablishingthefirstInnovationCentre.

The InnovationCentrewill serveasaknowledgehubwheremoreyouth from thecommunitycanbe

empowered for the world of work. It will serve the purposes of training (providing a space for the

Ajegunle.org training program and a centre for the advancement of workplace preparedness for

Ajegunle'syouth),incubation(providingworkspacesfortheentrepreneursthatwetrainsothattheycan

overcometheinfrastructurebarrierandhaveaplacewheretheycanwalkintoandworktoprovidetheir

servicestowardsincomegenerationandwealthcreation)andserviceprovision(providingaplacewhere

community members can get relevant ICTbased services, as provided by our graduates who will

benefit

from

immediate

employment

opportunities

while

they

in

turn

provide

the

centre

with

low

cost

manpower).

Ajegunle.org is an initiative ofParadigm InitiativeNigeria, a social enterprise that connects youngpeople with ICTenabled opportunities. This eBook tells the first set of stories of Ajegunle.org

graduatesthepeoplewhoprovethatwhatwedoiswortheveryinvestmentmade.Thankyou!

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Table of Contents

AboutAjegunle.org 2EmmanuelMaduforo 4EstherOlatunde 5FamousOnokurefe 6FunkeAlao 7JamesOnyebuchiRaphael 8LindaOrajekwe 9NwanyiegoIjeh 10TaiwoOlayinka 11OurPartners 13

Coordinator:UgoNwosuWriter/Layout:GbengaSesanContributors:AyoOjeniyi,TaiwoOlayinka,TemiladeSesan,RotimiAkinmolayanConceptCredit:AshokasStoriesofChange

2009ParadigmInitiativeNigeria

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Emmanuel MaduforoEmmanuelheardaboutAjegunle.orgthroughhisLocalGovernmentofficialsandafriend.Heisgladhejoined

theprogrambecauseitaffordedhimtheopportunitytopickupcomputingskillsandtoalsolearnmoreabout

convertinghisbusinessinterestsintoreality."Itwasagreatandwonderfulexperienceandmykeytakeaway

from theprogramwasnew knowledge about entrepreneurship",Emmanuel saysof the trainingprogram.

Aftercompletinghistraining,hebenefitedfromtheinternshipschemeandwasalsoabletotrainotheryoung

peopleinhiscommunity.Headded,"...myparentsareveryhappythatAjegunle.orghasincreasedmyskillsin

allareasoflife,andit'salsoasteppingstoneformycareer."

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Esther OlatundeEstherjoined the program in March 2008, after completing secondary school education in July 2007.The

rather shy young woman had no knowledge about computers before that time but she has nowbecome

extremelycomfortableandproductivewith computers,basedon the lessons shepickedupduring the

Ajegunle.orgtraining.Afterherowntraining,Estherextendedtheknowledgesheacquiredto6otherpeople

twoofwhomwerehersiblingsaspartoftherelaytrainingschemeoftheprogram.Shecompleted4months

ofinternshipwithUKTrade&Investment(UKTI)attheUKDeputyHighCommission,Lagos,beforeclinching

a fulltimejobat theprivatelyrunTerminal2of theMurtalaMohammedAirport inLagos.Hers isanother

exampleofthehugeimpactthattheprogramhashadonparticipants,mostofwhomarenowapridetotheir

familyandcommunity.Esthersnextplan istostudyforabachelorsdegreeinComputerScienceadream

shesayswashelpedalongbyherexperienceduringtheAjegunle.orgtrainingexercise.

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Famous OnokurefeFamousjoinedthe trainingprogram in2007,justaftergraduating fromsecondaryschool,andhisdesireto

undergo formal training in computing was met when he was selected for the Ajegunle.org program. His

parentswereinitiallyskepticalofthetrainingbecauseoftheinvolvementofforeignvolunteertrainers(Korean

InternetVolunteers),butFamouswasquickto findtheexposuretoadifferentculturequite revealing.Upon

graduation, he was very comfortable with computers and also learnt a lot during the sessions on

entrepreneurshipespeciallydiscussionsonnetworkingandmarketingplanswhichhe sayswill richlyhelp

himin

his

future

pursuits.

He

trained

5other

young

people

in

Ajegunle,

including

his

younger

brother

and

anotheryoungpersonwho isagraduateofChemicalEngineering.Afterhistraining,FamousjoinedUKTIat

theUKDeputyHighCommission,Lagos,forabrief internshipstint.WhileatUKTI,heappliedforafulltime

opening at the UK High Commission in Abuja, and according to him, I had my first experience of air

transportationwhen Iwas invitedforthe interview inAbuja,and Imustsaythatbeingemployedatsuchan

international institution changed my life! After 4 months of paid employment at the High Commission,

FamouschosetopursueabachelorsdegreeinMedicalBiochemistry atDeltaStateUniversity.Hespentabout

amonth,duringtheperiodwhenNigerianuniversityteachersembarkedonanationwidestrike,toaddvalue

andearnmoremoneyatUKTIwhereheinitiallystartedoutasanintern.

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Funke AlaoFunkecompletedhersecondaryschooleducation in2005andworkedasadistributorforaconsumergoods

companyforawhile.Whileseekinganopportunityto improveher livelihood,she learntaboutAjegunle.org

andjoined the first set of students in 2007. She picked up computing skills, found the cultural exchange

programwith theKorean InternetVolunteers extremely exciting andwenton to train4 fellow residents in

Ajegunleasawayofgivingbacktohercommunity.Eventhoughshedelayedtellingherparentsaboutthe

traininguntilPINhostedthefirstTownHallMeeting,hermumwasvisiblyimpressedwiththeimpactthatthe

programhadonherandsheexcitedlytoldherdaughtersstoryofchange infrontofanaudiencethathad

PINspartnersandtheLocalGovernmentrepresentatives.ForFunke,thesessionsonentrepreneurshipwere

extremelyusefulandphrases suchas ideas rule theworldand youdontneedhuge funds to startyour

businessencouragedhertotakeaN2,000($14)loanfromacolleague,tostarthersmallsharedpublicmobile

phone(telecentre)businesssoonaftertheAjegunle.orgprogram.Shesucceeded inpayingupher loanafter

onemonthandsoongrewthebusinesstoanassetbaseinexcessofN58,000($387)recordingahugegrowth

of2,800%within12months.FunkewantstobecomeaCharteredAccountantinthenextfewyears.

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James Onyebuchi RaphaelJames

joined

the

Ajegunle.org

project

in

January

2009.

Prior

to

the

training,

he

had

never

used

acomputer

andhisparentswereveryexcitedabouttheopportunitysincetheydidnothavetocoughupahugesumfor

himtobeabletopickupskillsthatwillimprovehislivelihoodopportunities.EventhoughJameswasacobbler

at the timehejoined theprogram,hemade time tojoinclasseseachday throughout thedurationof the

training.According tohim, theprogramopenedmyeyes toopportunitiesandhow to takeadvantageof

them. He is now very comfortable with computers and he found the entrepreneurship modules of the

trainingmost interesting. Prior to the training, Ineverkeptmybooks for thebusinessandwas therefore

unabletomakeprogress,saidJames,whonowkeepshisbooksandsetsasidecapitalforreinvestmentinhis

business.Hehasbeenable toprovideemploymentopportunities foryoungpeople aroundhim througha

businessthatnowgrossesanaverageturnoverofN50,000($338)everymonth.IwishthattheAjegunle.org

programwouldbeextendedtoasmanypeopleaspossible,heisalwaysquicktosay.

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Linda OrajekweOncesheheardaboutthetrainingprogramthroughheryouthgroup,UncommonManNetwork,Lindaknew

she had to benefit from the Ajegunle.org experience. She said of her computing knowledge before the

training: "Iknewcomputershadmonitorsandkeyboardsbutthatwasall Iknew."Now,she iscomfortable

with sending monthly reports of her pastry business which has earned her the nickname, Chinchin Lady.

Beyond picking up computing skills and learning about how to start and grow her small business, Linda

believeshercommunicationskillshavesignificantlyimprovedandthatshealsolearntalotaboutlifewhileon

the program. "I learnt that there is no excuse in life, and that I must always reach out for more." Of her

internshipexperience,shesays,"...itisanexperienceIwouldn'thavemissedforanything,thoughitwasquite

stressfulformeatthebeginningbecauseIhadneverworkedinacorporateenvironmentbefore.Iwasableto

adaptand,ona lighternote,therewasatime Ithoughttheairconditioningunit inmyofficewasgoingto

makemefreezetodeath."Linda,whosedadcouldnthidehisappreciationforthechangeinhisdaughter'slife

as we interviewed her, added that "Ajegunle.org gave me something I couldn't get from my primary and

secondaryschool,soIwillneverforgetthisexperiencethathaschangedmylife.IamgladthatIwasableto

trainfriends

and

my

elder

sister

after

the

program,

and

Inow

work

as

asecretary

at

OkayHouse

Nigeria."

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Nwanyiego IjehEgo,assheisknowntofriends,learntabouttheAjegunle.orgprogramthroughayouthgroupshebelongsto

anorganizationthathasbeenapartnerontheprojectsinceinception theUncommonManNetwork.Shewas

oneof the first setof studentswhobenefited from theprojectandeven though sheonlyhad theoretical

knowledge

of

computing

at

the

beginning,

she

is

quick

to

describe

the

practical

skills

she

picked

up

during

the

training.ThoseskillsarenowresponsibleforherpositionasanemployeeoftheVisaSectionoftheUKDeputy

HighCommission inLagos.Egoalsofoundtheentrepreneurialcomponentofthetraininguseful,alongwith

the networking (and cultural exchange) opportunities that her set of trainees had with Korean Internet

Volunteers a group of 4 young Koreans who spent time training and networking with Ajegunle.org

participants.ShestartedhercareerwithafourmonthstintatUKTrade&InvestmentattheUKDeputyHigh

CommissionandtheCommercialSectionoftheprivatelyrunTerminal2ofMurtalaMohammedAirport.Ego,

whoteamedupwithafellowAjegunle.orgparticipanttotrainfiveofherpeersaftershecompletedherown

training, is also now a parttime student at the University of Lagos. She says with a smile, my parents

encouragedmyparticipationintheAjegunle.orgprogram,andtheyhaveremainedsupportivetodate.

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Taiwo OlayinkaBeforehisselectiontotheAjegunle.orgtrainingprogram,TaiwohadlittleknowledgeoftheInternetbutthe

training exposed him to the fundamentals of computing. He is also quick to add that sessions on using

MicrosoftExcelandAdobePhotoshophaveprovedextremelyuseful inhisposttraining life.He learntmore

abouttheInternetanditsuseforresearch,networkingandlearningmoreabouttheICTsectorandhasnow

continuedontolearnaboutwebdevelopment.WheneverIsittothinkaboutthefuture,Ifeelrelaxedandmy

thoughtisalwayspositivebecauseoftheskillsthatIhaveacquiredandthekindofnetworkIhavecreated,

Taiwoadds.AnytimeInowseeopportunity,IsmilebecauseIknowthattheskillsacquiredandtheexperience

IhaveworkingasaninternwithDHLInternationalandUncommonManNetworkwillputmeaheadofothers.

His newfound confidence, like many other trainees, shone though when he said, boldness, courage and

improvedcommunicationaremymajorgiftsfromAjegunle.org.Taiwonowvolunteersascoordinatorofthe

Ajegunle.orgAlumniNetwork.

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Our PartnersThese storiesof transformed livesaremadepossible through thekind supportofourboard, staff,

partners,volunteersandothers.We thankyou foryourkind support,and look forward toworking

with you towards weaving more stories from Ajegunle and other communities! As the chapters

unfold,wewillhighlightourotherstakeholders butinthischapter,wewishtospecificallythankthe

followingpartnerswhohavesupportedthroughgrantsorinternshipplacements.

Grant(CommunityTechnologySkillsProgram)MicrosoftNigeriaInternshipPlacementsAfrinvestWestAfricaBritishHighCommissionDHLNigeriaFirstCityMonumentBankHoneySucklesLondonMetropolitanUniversityLornameadAfricaNigerianBottlingCompanyPLCStandardCharteredBankUKTrade&Investment

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choes From Ajegunle comes to you courtesy of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria. For more information about our socialntervention projects and how to partner with us, please visit www.pinigeria.org and/or write to info@pinigeria.org.We look forward to your feedback on this chapter, Stories of transformed lives. The next chapter unfolds shortly!