The KINS latest outreach was the visit to Government Secondary School, Galadimawa
The members that participated in the outreach were; Michelle Winter, Chimkasinma Cheryl Mbakwe and Chidalu Nwokolo.
About a month before, Chimkasinma had gone to survey the school. The school's location was not on the Google Maps. So, her mother and her followed the directions of the Galadimawa village residents. It took them about 20 minutes to arrive at GSS Galadimawa. Coincidentally, it was the school's inter-house sports games. She was able to meet with the Vice Principal. There, she told her about the goal of the society to help supply the school with recent books the school needed. The VP was thrilled. Chimkasinma examined their library and confirmed that our books were needed. She also found out that the Junior Secondary School was supposed to have buildings for Senior classes, but the government had and have not attended to the project.
The three shelves in the school library
Donation day!
First, we rendez-voused at Cheryl’s house on May 31st, 2022 for final stamping and packing of books to be taken to GSS Galadimawa for donations at about 10:30am. Once we were done with that, we hit the road. The 20-minute drive from the residence to the school was mainly because the untarred roads were so bad; we could have gotten there much quicker.
On our way
The school was at the end of the Galadimawa village after pot holes, chipped zinc, kiosks and houses with barely any breathing room gave some indication of what the school would look like. On our way, we also passed LEA Galadimawa primary school which we have mapped out and marked for our next book drive visit.
On arrival, we met the Principal and Vice Principal of GSS Galadimawa. However, they were busy settling accounts so we waited a while with the administration head, Mrs Ajayi. We introduced ourselves and mission to her. We spoke some more about our past projects and asked about other areas the school may need assistance within our abilities. She and all other staff present were more than happy to see the books we had brought; 6 cartons of books in all.
After delivering the books to their library, we interviewed the students we met; the head prefects and library prefects. During the 11-minute interview, we engaged in friendly chats and sought their opinions about the school. They told us they appreciated the books and they will be impactful. We asked about the schools they hoped to attend after ending their BECE exams seeing as their senior secondary school was not existent. Also, we got from them that their school is relatively good, the staff are like guardians, vices are minimal, but they just wish it were more comfortable to learn in the classroom. They said the facilities were poor: there were not enough desks in the crammed classes. The government had completely neglected this school and it was the love and support they got from their teachers that kept them going. One of the most popular pet peeves was the state of the bathrooms, 'the house of infections' as they called it. It is so bad that they use the bushes for convenience. It is a serious cause for concern.
In all, the main problems were the quality of their facilities and infrastructure, poor spacing in classrooms (most times, 4 to 5 students share one desk), rather small library, health hazard bathrooms, a very run down and small administrative block. We were very happy that the students told us their teachers make them feel safe, which we investigated and no claims of sexual assault from staff was reported. We are truly glad for that and we’ll be sure to visit again!
Follow-up was on 21 June ;)
On the 21st of June, Chimkasinma returned to GSS Galadimawa with her father. While the staff were surprised to see her and wondered what she was there for, she knew exactly they came for. During the outreach in early June, the KidInNeedsociety realised the school had small inadequate shelves. Chimkasinma's dad offered to donate a large shelf (thank you!). There, they arrived with a carpenter to measure the space for a shelf. The school staff were overjoyed. Soon, the shelf will be delivered.
Stay posted!
The follow-up visit to GSS Galadimawa. Some of our books are on the shelves, which they re-arranged to make more accessible to students.
-Michelle Winter and Chimkasinma Cheryl
