NGO equips Kwara students with leadership, entrepreneurship skills

Pristine SACC Education and Technology Initiative, a nonprofit organisation, has empowered over 300 secondary school students in Kwara state with soft skills.

The training included problem-solving, leadership, entrepreneurship, and design (PLED) skills to address real-world challenges within their communities.

Conducted over ten days, the training programme held at five public schools across Ilorin West LGA of the state.

The schools were Government Day Secondary School, Adeta, Baboko Community School, Mandate Senior Secondary School, · Government Day Senior Secondary School, Adewole, and Government High School, Ilorin.

Sofia Ajala, the director of programme of Pristine SACC, said the PLED programme aimed to cultivate a proactive and innovative mindset among secondary students, equipping them with practical skills and tools to solve community challenges creatively.

“Through structured training sessions, the programme introduced students to the basics of problem solving, design thinking, leadership, and entrepreneurship,” Ajala said.

“We also incorporated group exercises, where the participating students worked in teams to engage in problem-solving activities and also brainstorm on innovative ideas to tackle hypothetical challenges in their schools and local communities.”

Awwal Adediji, one of the trainers, who emphasised the need for young people to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, guided the students in identifying business opportunities within their communities and how to apply design thinking to solve local issues.

At the end of the training, the students pledged to apply the new knowledge and skills they have acquired in their schools and communities.

“The programme has inspired us to think critically about the issues around us and come up with creative solutions to solve them,” said one of the participants.

Hassan Shuaib, the programme manager of Pristine SACC, who expressed optimism about the lasting influence the PLED programme would have on the students’ attitudes and behaviors, urged government and educators to introduce such capacity building initiative into school activities.