Makoko
Ambassador
Symington
Meets Makoko
Schoolkids,
Community
Leaders, Stresses
Importance of
Education
by Ibrahim Aliyu
O
n November 4, 2018, United
States Ambassador W.
Stuart Symington visited
the Makoko community in
Lagos. During his visit, he met with
the Director of ‘Slum2School Africa’,
Mr. Otto Orondaam, a 2016 Mandela
Washington Fellow. ‘Slum2School
Africa’ is a volunteer-driven NGO that
provides instructional materials, health
and psycho-social support for dozens of
Makoko schoolkids.
Ambassador Symington engaged the
children involved in Slum2School and
inquired about their career aspirations.
He further emphasized the benefits of
education, acquiring vocational skills
and volunteerism.
“You are not just learning for yourself;
you are learning for all of us. One of
you will discover a cure for a disease.
Another person will find a way to
encourage farmers and herders to
live in peace,” he remarked during his
interactive session with the school kids.
He also met with Makoko’s community
leaders, followed by a guided canoe
tour of the neighborhood. Makoko
is an impoverished area along the
Lagos lagoon where houses, shops,
and churches sit atop stilts above the
water of the lagoon. Traditionally, the
principal source of work is fishing or
connected to fishing. Slum2School
Africa is helping to offer a different
future for the community’s children.
Explaining his purpose of visiting the
Makoko community, Ambassador
Symington said, “This is a pretty good
time; when people are talking about
politics, to think about people and the
future of youths in Nigeria. I wanted to
underscore not just the importance of
education but I wanted to underscore
the importance of the kinds of skills
people are learning.”
Ambassador
Symington speaks
to the Makoko
schoolkids as
Otto Orondaam of
Slum2School
looks on
CROSSROADS | December 2018/January 2019
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