By Gowon Akpodonor
Community Sports and Educational Development (CSED Initiative) is celebrating the admission of four netball players into various universities in the country. The lucky four are among 21 secondary school students, who participated in the 12-week-long Sporting Coders’ pilot netball programme involving netballers of Tare Pet Montessori Group of Schools in Yenagoa (Bayelsa State). They combine netball training with learning how to code.
The pilot project, which was designed and powered by CSED Initiative was implemented by Funsho Ekundayo, Victoria Allison Ayebaifie (netball coaches) and Humphrey Okonkwo Nnaemeka (IT teacher), was case managed by Catherine Sasuode.
According to CSED, the financial investment on IT infrastructure by the proprietor of the school, Mrs Victoria Ebimenere Mologe, was the foundation for the success of the Sporting Coders pilot programme.
The new undergraduates are Victory Woyengipreye Gesiye (Medicine at Afe Babalola University), Wisdom Alaere Nathan (Political science at Niger Delta University), Chloe Woyengidoubara Gesiye (Pharmacy at Afe Babalola University) and Victory Peremoboerei Wenibowei (Micro Biology at River State University).
Speaking with journalists, a trustee of CSED Initiative, ex-Super Eagles player, Edema Fuludu, said: “We will try to deliver our promise to the netballers. The management of Tare Pet School, their parents, members of the Naija Netball Stakeholders, and the sports for change activists in Nigeria are proud of these pioneering students. As they have proved that they are not just champions on the netball court, they are also academic and community ambassadors of the game of netball, which is currently taking baby steps in Nigeria.”
Fuludu said that CSED will soon take the Sporting Coders training to other parts of Nigeria, adding: “It is gradual process because it is cash intensive it involves a lot of factors (access to electricity, availability of IT teachers and access to computer desktops/laptops) that are outside our control.
“However, we can disclose authoritatively that through our partnership with the Francis and Fidelia Ibhawoh Foundation the Sporting Coders programme is going to hold before the end of this year in St. Maria Goretti Girls Grammar School in Benin City. The UNN Secondary School Nsukka is also in pole position for the Sporting Coders programme. As part of our responsibility to take sporting and educational opportunities to at risk and vulnerable communities, we are likely to take the Sporting Coders training to IDPs Uhogua (Benin City) and the Cameroonian refugees’ community and their host community in Ogoja (Cross River State). But for netballers in the last two locations, we would need to reach a working agreement with the management of IDPs Uhogua, as well as with SEMA, the sport committees of the Cameroonian refugees, representative of the host community and the UNHCR Ogoja. As this is the only way we can ensure that everybody is carried along in order to achieve successful outcomes for the programme beneficiaries in future.”
