‘A Better You’, a Non-Governmental Organisation based in Lagos on Tuesday, July 6 handed over a social impact project, a block of renovated classrooms, to the management of Shogunle Primary School, located off Balogun Street, Ikeja, Lagos. The renovated classrooms which is the first of its kind from the NGO had previously been dilapidated and in dire need of attention.

Present at the handing over ceremony were management and members of staff of the school, personnel from the Local Government and Ministry of Education, alongside volunteers and members of the NGO.

Speaking during the event, Adeniyi Oluwafemi, cofounder of the NGO alongside Taiwo Omirinde, noted that the project took about three weeks to complete was sponsored by individual members of the group. He noted that before their intervention, two classrooms in the newly renovated block were not habitable at all and it took individual dexterity from some of its members to create a facelift for the block.

“We took a survey of schools generally, and we realised the need to start somewhere.

One of the reasons we chose this school is because we are not far from here. When we came in here, we discovered that there was a significant infrastructural deficit. We looked at it, we interacted with them, and we saw that these are very young pupils in primary school, which is the bedrock of education.

So we decided that this is a viable project for us to start with. We interacted with necessary offices, got approval and we are happy to have completed our promise and now we handing over,” he said.

Speaking with members of the press in attendance, the Head Teacher of Shogunle Primary School, Mrs Nike Deji-Alao, expressed her joy at the good works of the NGO.

The Head Teacher who joined the school in 2019 noted that the face-lift would spur rapid learning as the environment now looks appealing to both the pupils and the teachers alike.

In her words, “before they came, we had leaking roofs, rough surfaces, the floor was potholed. Now they have cemented everything and they did a resurfacing.

They replaced the leaking roofs, the ceiling, and they gave us a beautiful place with an artistic design inside the classrooms. Since I have resumed here, we have been writing letters concerning the state of the building before God brought them to us to assist us. When you work in a conducive environment, you will love to come to work the next day because the environment is beautiful. You would love to teach.”

Representing the Local Government chairman, Dr. Mojeed Alabi Balogun; the Supervisor for Education, Ikeja Local Government, Mr Dania Taiwo Ebenezer, gave kudos to the initiative of ‘A Better You’. He applauded and advised other NGOs to do their best to assist the community.

‘I would love to commend this NGO for their effort, this is laudable because the government cannot do it all. I believe that’s why ‘A Better You’ thought it wise to give back to the community. We have to give quality education to our children, but we also have to provide a conducive environment.

So that this can enhance the learning capacity and we will be able to deliver. I believe this is the beginning and I would enjoy them to do more. Honestly, on behalf of the local government executive chairman, we are glad.