CEE-HOPE Boosts Girl-Child Education, Launches Girl ICT Centre

Frontline women’s rights activist Dr. Joe Okei Odumakin, president of Women Arise, headlined the commissioning of the Girl ICT Centre for the Centre for Children’s Health Education, orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) as part of its effort to boost girl education.

The event which attracted several dignitaries and schools from across Lagos and Ogun States, also unveiled its newest programs, Girls Take Tech, aimed at closing the gender gap in the ICT field by encouraging underprivileged girls to opt for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field.

One of the major personalities at the event was Engineer Anuli Obiaga Marshal, Scotland-based Nigerian and a staunch supporter of CEE-HOPE. Mrs. Marshal, 37, a mother of 2, is a First Class graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, FUTO (2002) and the University of Manchester (2005) and currently works for a multinational company in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Odumakin described CEE-HOPE’s efforts at girl empowerment via education and now ICT as praise-worthy.

Speaking at the event, CEE-Hope founder, Betty Abah, said the commissioning was a symbolic gesture and a pilot phase, meant to be stepped down or replicated in the various communities where the NGO works.

“We believe that the dream of every girl, either in Makoko, Otukpo, Monkey Village or Banana Island, is valid. We must give wings to their dreams no matter their background, and since we are in the age of the ICT, we must encourage girls in the ICT field especially because of the wide gaps that exist there. Nothing says a girl cannot be an astronaut, an ICT guru, a pilot etc. All things are simply possible,” Abah said.

Phibian Zanu, 22, one of members of the ‘Triple G’ program in Makoko, who attended the event, said it was inspiring for her.

‘It is wonderful to see people who are ready to support our dreams. I am inspired to go higher in my education,’ she said.

Besides Dr. Odumakin was Betty Abah, CEE-HOPE’s founder and convener of the event, Dr. Princess Olufemi-Kayode of the Media Concern for Women and Children (MEDIACON), Dr. Adeolu Olusodo of the Society for Love and Social Justice, Olaoluwayimika Kehinde, founder of the Yinkakenny Girls Care Foundation.

Others were Sola Alamutu, women’s rights activist and founder of Kids and the Environment (CATE), Mr. Paul Ahmed, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, and a CEE-HOPE board member as well as Mr. Sam Olukoya, a senior correspondent with the BBC, and Mr. Richard Mammah, publisher of The Difference Newspaper and several others.