Firm launches initiative to help underprivileged, out-of-school children

Teesas, an education technology firm has launched the Teesas Donate Program to support underprivileged and out-of-school children in attaining academic excellence. The initiative which was launched at the Little Saints Orphanage (Abule Egba Home) in Lagos on Saturday 16 July is targeted at children aged 3 – 11 years.

The Teesas Donate Program encourages the public to donate old or faulty tablets towards the initiative. Firstly, donors signify interest by filling out a form on the company’s website after which they drop off the devices at any of the nine Imose Technologies service centres nationwide or the Teesas team will pick up the smart devices. Imose Technologies, a sister company of Teesas, refurbishes the tablets and installs the Teesas Education App that contains curriculum-aligned educational videos and ebooks.

To guarantee the initiative’s sustainability, a router with a one-year data subscription will be provided to every beneficiary home to ensure that the children have internet connectivity to access the educational videos and ebooks. Teesas tutors will also volunteer their time to visit the underserved communities to monitor the children’s academic progress and provide free tutoring support, and faulty tablets will be repaired for free by Imose Technologies.

Osayi Izedonmwen, founder and chief executive officer, Teesas, said that the Teesas Donate Program is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative that aligns with the company’s mission to liberalise access to education in Africa.

Responding to the gesture, the founder of Little Saints Orphanages, Rev. Mrs George stated that the Teesas Donate Program was appropriately timed as the orphanage home had just equipped its library with computers to facilitate digital learning among the children.

According to a recent Voice of America report, Rahama Farah, the head of the UNICEF office in Kano, said that in Nigeria, there are 18.5 million out-of-school children, 60% of whom are girls. This represents a significant increase in the number of out-of-school children when compared to the 10.5million estimated by UNICEF in 2021.
Izedonmwen believes that Teesas can help bridge this educational gap in collaboration with the public, like-minded impact-driven organisations and other stakeholders such as the government.

“We believe that our educational app is Africa’s learning gateway because it opens up opportunities for learning by children anywhere. For instance, children impacted by insurgency who cannot go to school can continue learning with these refurbished tablets that come pre-installed with the Teesas app,” he said.

In May, Teesas was also named among five innovators of the Morgan Stanley 2022 Sustainable Solutions Collaborative Cohort for increasing educational opportunities across the African continent. To this end, the EdTech firm received a $250,000 award to increase the impact of the organisation. Izedonmwen added that among other things, the award is making it possible for the Teesas Donate Program to reach more orphanages and underserved communities.