MTN, the multinational mobile telecommunications company operating in many African, European and Middle Eastern countries just concluded its MTN 21 Days of Y’ello Care which saw the staff and members of the telecommunications company go into the communities where their offices are situated to give back and make those communities better.
This year’s theme; “Education in the Digital World” is timely according to Shola Sanni, the MTN 21 Days of Y’ello Care 2014 Lagos project coordinator, because there is a need for students to open their eyes to the fact that they can learn using digital and electronic platforms. The digital element is a twist to the theme of education that has been effectively pursued as a theme for over two years now.
In Lagos, MTN staff came out each day of the 21 days in groups to different vocational, technical and primary schools. Some of these schools are the Surulere Skills Acquisition Centre, Ransom Kuti Memorial Junior Grammar School and SOS Children’s village in Lagos to mention a few. In each of the schools, MTN gave learning materials, umbrellas, school bags and so much more to further encourage the culture of learning.
Aside from the aforementioned, digital libraries were established in 21 schools. According to Shola Sanni, “Last year, MTN 21 Days of Y’ello care established digital libraries in 12 schools and provided them with digital educational materials.This year, we have leveraged on the social media because we recognise that Facebook and Twitter can also be used for learning. We have tried to extend our spread to 21 schools by equipping them with digital classrooms and in these ones, we have digital projectors with materials there for the kids.”
MTN staff engaged the young pupils by giving motivating speeches on leadership and goals. The students were engaged in activities and were given quizzes that had a lot of them winning prizes to take home.
