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BY: Manoah Kikekon
Teenage girls focus or girl help development foundation, a gender-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) celebrated international girl child day tagged Spotify the girl child on Saturday, at Marina Badagry Lagos state.
The event hosted several sports activities, including table tennis, tug of war, beach soccer, scrabble, skipping, and ludo game.
Speaking with News Peddlers the convener Popoola Grace Oluwapelumi said “the turnout was not bad but the fact that the schools are not in session and the distance could be a reason schools that had promised to come could not be on attendant” adding that “it was still a favorable event.”
The NGO is responsible for taking care of the rights of every girl child “we have the boy child or men taking positions in Nigeria, and this NGO is trying to bring out the boldness, courage, and that leadership quality in the upcoming girl child and this is tagged ‘catch them young.
“We are going to instill that discipline and boldness in them as they grow up so they can be able to tackle any challenges that come their way”
The NGO had on October 11 went to three schools to tell the girls about the theme of the year titled: Our time is now our right our future. Sensitization has also been done on drug abuse, the foundation had also visited the motherless home. “We still have more in reserve for the teenage girls” she stated.
The Lagos state government, through the office of Sustainable Development Growth (SDG), has recognized the foundation and appointed the foundation as part of the state's volunteer corps for every girl child program the state will carry out, most especially in Badagry.
By next year most of the foundation's activities are going outside the main Badagry town, to other parts of Badagry division since all its activities for the past three years have been within Badagry main town.
Popoola asserted that “We intend to host programs for the rural girls that could not have access to technology or information. To help them actualize their potential and let them know the girl child has every right as the boy child has in taking a leadership position and they can actually do better. Building their courage to do things they desire by eliminating the societal biases”.
The NGO intends to make the girl child a well-known gender and not end their career in the kitchen. Letting them know they can attain their dreams without any barriers.