SEASONS GREETINGS EVERYONE!!!

MAYEIN wishes all our friends, supporters, well wishers, volunteers, mentors and mentees the best of the yuletide season. Merry Christmas to you all!

A BRIEF REPORT OF THE FIRST MAYEIN SPEAKING COMPETITION FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL TEENAGERS IN OYO STATE ON OCTOBER 1ST 2012

On the 1st of October, 2012, marking the anniversary of Nigeria’s 52nd year of independence, the NGO Mentors Assistance for Youths and Entrepreneurs Initiative – MAYEIN, held the maiden edition of its Annual Speaking Competition for Secondary School Students and Teenagers in Oyo State. The focus of the first edition of the competition was on public secondary schools in Ibadan. Over 200 students across 30 public secondary schools in Ibadan, Oyo state attended the program. A total of 26 student contestants participated in the competition while scores of students in their distinct school uniforms sat as observers. The students were led by their respective school teachers to the program and some even accompanied by their parents or family members. A cross section of individuals from the public, ranging from University lecturers, Public administrators, youth groups, social entrepreneurs, NGO actors, private sector individuals, and members of the press were also present at the program.
THE COMPETITION
The theme of the competition was “Positioning Young Nigerians for Leadership and Excellence through Speech and Example” and the topic provided by the Organizers was “MY ROLE MODEL IN HISTORY”. The programme commenced at 9.45am when the MC Mr. Enime Mfon set the ball rolling. All the 26 student contestants who participated in the competition delivered speeches which celebrated the life, contribution, social impact and personal drawn lesson of a range of notable individuals across our national history and even across the world. Some of the notable Role models who were celebrated through the contestants speeches included the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe,
Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the late Mrs. Olufunmilayo Ransom-Kuti, Professor Wole Soyinka, Chief Mrs. Folake Solanke and the ‘Apple Computers’ inventor Mr. Steve Jobs etc. The Chairman of the program was Professor Francis Egbokhare, immediate past Chairman of the University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre. The competition was keenly judged by three key professionals of considerable experience in the field of communication, speech competition and development. In the position of chief judge was Professor Kassy Garba, a policy economist and the Executive Director of the Centre for Growth and Development, Bodija, Ibadan. The other Judges were Dr. Bisi Olawuyi, the Sub-Dean General, Faculty of Arts, UI and Convener of the Annual Super Bowl competition and also Dr. Ayo Ojebode, the Head of Department of the Department of Communication and Language Arts, UI, respectively. The Special Adviser to the Governor of Oyo State on Education, Dr. Taiwo Otegbeye was the Special Guest of Honour at the program and he sent a representative. Representatives of the Executive arm of the National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Oyo State chapter were also present at the program and delivered their good will messages.
THE SELECTION
Five Finalists were selected after the first round of the competition to proceed to a last round. The Finalists were contestants representing Command Day Secondary School, Mokola – Ibadan, Government College-Ibadan, Immanuel College- Ibadan, St. Theresa’s College – Ibadan, and Ikolaba High School. In the last round the five Finalists were each
given an impromptu topic by the Organizer “THE NIGERIA OF MY DREAMS” at each respective turn and given 1 minute each to deliver an impactful speech. The remarkable performances of these unique students in the city’s public schools resulted in a tie between 3 of the contestants in the second position. A third round was therefore introduced by the
Judges in other to break this tie. The three contestants who tied in the 2nd position were students of Government College – Ibadan, Immanuel College- Ibadan and St. Theresa’s College – Ibadan. Another impromptu topic ‘Myself” was provided (by the Judges) and those specific contestants affected by the tie were given a minute each to deliver a speech
on said topic. After this last round designed as a tie breaker, the winners were announced in the first, second and third position, as follows:
1st position – Master Adeyeye Iyinoluwa of Command Secondary School, Mokola
2nd Position – Miss Joy Sunday of Immanuel College, Ibadan and;
3rd Position – Miss Adu Olayinka of St. Theresa’s College – Ibadan
SIDE EVENTS OF THE PROGRAMME
A brief talk was presented by the current Google Student Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Abiodun Adepoju. A short power point presentation was also given by two guest youth Inventors of a new social media “Pal-Hood”, Messrs Tolu and Timi Agboola. A melodic guitar performance was also rendered by a guest musician for the pleasure of our guests. At
the end of the competition exciting book prizes were presented by the organizers to each of the student contestants. In addition to these book prizes, the winners of the competition in the first three positions took home the grand prizes of N50, 000.00, N30, 000.00 and N20,000.00 respectively and a mobile GSM Phone each. All our students and guests were served with drinks (donated by Seven-Up Co) and snack refreshments in the course of the program. The programme ended at about 3.00pm. Before dispersing, all the guests and participants celebrated our great Nation by singing our National anthem and reciting the National Pledge. Outside the hall group photographs were taken with key guests, the organizer and the student participants and winners of the competition. It was a great competition and the remarkable performance of some of the participants served as a trigger and renewal of the hope which is vested in our great nation. The program was aired later that evening in full duration on Diamond FM radio station i.e. University of Ibadan Community Radio station. News coverage of the event was also featured on the Radio Nigeria FRCN evening network broadcast. Indeed the competition/event was a GRAND celebration of Nigeria’s Independence Day anniversary for residents of Ibadan!!!

Conclusion
We wish to thank all of MAYEIN’s partners and well wishers in the execution of this grand programme. We could not have succeeded without you. Let’s do this again (and in a betterway) next year!
Appreciation to Donors
Special thanks to:
1. Kraft Books Publishers, Sango Ibadan
2. Seven-Up Bottling Company, Ibadan
3. Professor Anthony Olorunisola
4. Professor Francis Egbokhare
5. Professor Ademola Ladele
6. Dr. Mrs. Louisa Andah
7. Dr. Ayo Ojebode
8. Engineer Tunde Salami

MAYEIN organizes Maiden edition of “THE SPEAKING COMPETITION FOR TEENAGERS IN OYO STATE” on Oct 1st. 2012

ANNOUNCEMENT

STUDENTS OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OYO STATE (BETWEEN THE AGES OF 13 – 18 YRS) ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MAIDEN EDITION OF “THE SPEAKING COMPETITION FOR TEENAGERS”.

THE THEME OF THE COMPETITION IS “POSITIONING YOUNG NIGERIANS FOR LEADERSHIP AND EXCELLENCE THROUGH EXAMPLE AND SPEECH”

TOPIC: “MY ROLE-MODEL IN HISTORY”

DATE: MONDAY, 1ST OCTOBER, 2012

PRIZES: 1ST PRIZE – N50, 000.00
2ND PRIZE – N30, 000.00
3RD PRIZE – N20, 000.00
AND SEVERAL BOOK PRIZES.

ONLY 30 (THIRTY) STUDENTS WILL BE SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS YEAR’S SPEAKING COMPETITION

INTERESTED APPLICANTS SHOULD SEND AN EMAIL STATING THE FOLLOWING:
I. FULL NAMES
II. AGE
III. NAME AND LOCATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL
IV. CLASS IN SCHOOL
V. CONTACT GSM NO
VI. AND ATTACH A “100” WORD ESSAY ON THE TOPIC “MY LIFE IN SCHOOL”

TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS kokoandah@gmail.com

OR

APPLICANTS MAY DELIVER THEIR APPLICATION BY HAND, IN AN ENVELOPE, AT THE RECEPTION, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN DIAMOND FM RADIO STATION.

ABSOLUTE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012.

SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS WILL BE CONTACTED ON THEIR SELECTION.

The objectives of the competition are:
i. To influence young Nigerians in imbibing reading as a culture through engaging topic research.
ii. To expose young Nigerians to icons of the world against the challenges of our national moral decline, social vice and corruption.
iii. To improve the verbal and presentation skills of young Nigerians as well as influence peer leadership through speech making.
iv. To create an opportunity for young Nigerians to imagine ways of improving Nigeria and thereby influence them in a direction of community and nation building.
v. To boost the performance of students enrolled in public secondary schools through keen competition.

The nation is currently witnessing a society of few role models and fewer public life examples and the hard question facing us is “what do we expect of the youth tomorrow?” This competition is a deliberate social re-engineering project. It is a special task by which we hope to nurture young leaders and inspire them in the direction of integrity and competence through rolemodels in history. This is one way to ensure that young Nigerians, of public school profile, will be in a position to manage the affairs of this nation in the future.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS MADE BY THE ORGANIZER, Mentors Assistance for Youths and Entrepreneurs Initiative (MAYEIN).

Speaking Competition

FOUNDER OF MAYEIN IN GROUP POSE WITH SOME OF THE STUDENT BENEFICIARIES OF THE FREE EYE GLASSES INTERVENTION

MAYEIN had a team of doctors, on the basis of a partnership with a private eye clinic based in Ibadan, conduct free eye screening for one hundred students in Abadina Sec School (50) and Emmanuel College (50). The organization’s target is 250. We have engaged in rigorous fund raising and so far, have been able to give free eye glasses to over thirty students. The Founder of the organization took a photograph with some of the students who had collected their glasses and were in school when she called on them.

One hundred and fifty more students in three schools are still to be screened and the organization is still raising funds hoping that it will get enough to cover the students’ needs and leave none out. Even the teachers want attention too!

Those students hitherto considered as underdogs have suddenly become the envy in school!! Its a gruelingly tedious venture but we trust that God will meet all those children at their points of need. Their feeling of gratitude is touching! For some of them, their future may well depend on such intervention!

with a cross section of the student beneficiaries of Immanuel College and teachers

SECOND (FREE) EYE SCREENING CONDUCTED AT ABADINA COLLEGE, IBADAN

As part of MAP/MAYEIN’s efforts to provide practical assistance to teenagers and students and due to some of the challenges observed across the average profiles students enrolled within the public school systems, we have embarked on a second round of eye screenings for students of Abadina College, Ibadan. In addition MAYEIN is providing eye glasses (costs covered) for those students with refractive errors, upon the recommendation of our medical team.

A total of 50 Students of Abadina College have benefited from the recent eye screening exercise. Twenty of the students screened will subsequently receive their corrective eye glasses at our partner eye clinic. Below are picture clips from the screening, which took place on Thursday, 17th May, 2012. We believe in positive mentoring and we believe in empowering young Nigerians so that they will in turn impact our nation through innovation, leadership and excellence. We encourage every individual to support our objectives and contribute towards driving our many activities.

COMMENCEMENT OF FREE EYE SCREENING/PROVISION OF FREE EYE GLASSES FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS

In the course of our formal mentoring activities across several public schools within Ibadan, Oyo State, we have identified a number of challenges facing children and teenagers who are enrolled within the public school system. One major challenge is that a staggering ratio of children and teenagers enrolled in public schools have unchecked eye defects due to limited or no formal eye care and attention during their early years. For students in this profile, there are even fewer cases of interventions, such as corrective eye glasses, made accessible to them. This challenge, amongst others, ultimately impairs the students’ potential for academic excellence or success.

 As part of our efforts to address some of the challenges highlighted above, MAYEIN is partnering with a team of health care professionals, under the supervision of a Senior Consultant in the department of Optometry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, and we are providing free eye screening for a total of two hundred and fifty (250) students across five (5) public schools in Ibadan, Oyo State. At the completion of the eye screening exercise, our organization will further provide free eye glasses for students who receive recommendations.

At the moment over 50 students of Immanuel College, Ibadan, Oyo State, have benefitted from the exercise and 21 of them have received free eye glasses upon recommendation by our medical team. MAYEIN is able to cover the cost of these eye glasses due to contributions from public spirited individuals in the society. We believe in the young generation and we are committed to empowering them to attain true excellence and leadership in the society. Below are some of the beneficiaries of the first in the series of eye screenings.

Hello, New Information

MAYEIN AND MAP

Hello Folks…
Kindly be informed that your friendly ‘MAP’ project has undergone a name change. Due to name requirements at the Corporate Affairs Commission, during the process of registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The programme ‘MAP’ (Mentors Assistance Programme, has evolved into a non-profit organization called ‘MAYEIN’ – Mentors Assistance for Youths and Entrepreneurs Initiative. MAP is now being run as one of the core programmes of the MAYEIN organization. We are currently conducting free eye screening exercises across public schools. Over 50 students have already benefitted from this free eye screening exercise and 21 indigent students have received free eye glasses upon the recommendation of our medical team. The cost of the eye glasses have been covered by MAYEIN through the help of public spirited individuals. We shall provide more information about the ongoing exercise on our webpage. Click below to view our full electronic brochure. You may also visit our website on http://www.mayein.com

A MENTOR’S PERSPECTIVE OF MAJOR ISSUES IN PUBLIC SECONDARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA (SCHOOLS IN IBADAN, OYO STATE AS CASE STUDY)

HIGHLIGHT OF SOME MAJOR ISSUES WITHIN THE AREA OF PUBLIC SECTOR EDUCATION IN NIGERIA (FROM A MENTOR’S PERSPECTIVE)

In October, 2011, my organization, the Mentors Assistance Programme (MAP) launched a formal Mentoring (FGM) programme across four low-funded public secondary schools in Ibadan, Oyo State. The target participants for the programme were a cross section of teenagers’ labelled “at-risk” youths. The profile was students who are deemed as least likely to proceed to tertiary institutions i.e. potential school “drop-outs”.  The schools selected for programme were Abadina College, Immanuel College, Methodist High School, and St. Louis Girls Grammer School.

During the course of our field mentoring activities across the selected public schools, the following observations were recorded.

SOME MAJOR ISSUES AND CHALLENGES WITHIN THE FIELD OF PUBLIC SECONDARY EDUCATION IN OYO STATE:

1. There is a distinct absence of computer literacy training programmes in the subject curriculum and even extra-curricular training provided to the students across the public schools where the programme took place. An estimated 96% of the participants across the four schools lack basic computer literacy.

2. Poor classroom and learning conditions exist across the four public schools. This was amply reflected in crowded classrooms, limited and broken down chairs, desks, worn out black boards, broken down toilets etc.

3. There is an absence of laboratories and equipment for the conduct of real practical lessons by the students in such subjects as sciences, Food and Nutrition, Music, Arts etc and this hinders serious learning of those subjects.

4. There is no visible presence  of any Parents Teachers Association (PTA) in any of the public schools visited, neither is there any presence of an ‘old boys’, ‘old girls’, or ‘old students’ association, to monitor, contribute to or even assist the school authorities in running the school policy and other needed student initiatives.

5. The public school environment is uniformly crude, basic, uninspiring and hardly affords unique exposure or creativity for improving the minds and character of the students. (very worrisome also is the fact that there are no excursions or visits to meaningful learning sites included in the training of these students)

6. There is minimal and, in some schools, zero enrolment or participation of the students in local, state or even national competitions across the subjects, and this affects group standards, maintaining low drive and low motivation amongst the student population.

7. There is a marked absence of book libraries across these public schools. In the one case where a library space was detected in one of the schools visited, there was no single book, dictionary or encyclopedia. This contributes to the lack of a book/reading culture amongst this profile of students.

8. Majority of the students lack text books, dictionaries and guidance materials across all the subjects.

9. Extra-curricular activities in these public schools rarely take the form of participatory fun learning activities and platforms for creative expression such as drama, debating, musical choirs, red cross training, boys scouting or girls guide thereby stifling the platform for creative expression and training but instead have been reduced to mere periods for lectures and talks by NYSC members on subjects such as HIV/AIDS and drug abuse prevention. There is a distinct lack of balance of the two areas.

10. Participation in school life by this profile of students is largely passive and characterized by lateness, loitering during formal school hours and absenteeism.

These observations are critical and the role of Community radio is crucial in the need for efforts to sensitize the public to the prevailing challenges within the sector of public secondary education, and to encourage private sector interventions. Community radio is also vital to build pressure on the relevant government agencies and also to promote policy reforms and improved funding within the sector. Already the University of Ibadan community radio station, Diamond FM 101.1 provides a weekly slot of 15 minutes to this project which enables MAP sensitize the public on our activities and some of the critical challenges to public sector education.

MAP REPORT

Kindly find attached to this post a concise report of the first phase of our recently concluded formal mentoring activities. The underlying message of this report is that positive members of any society must show its young people examples of how to live.MAP REPORT

Presentation of MAP Certificates to a cross section of Participants (Abadina & Immanuel Colleges)