Building Bridges to Tackle Corruption – Q1 Highlights
As Nigeria and the rest of the world continue to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, there is a lot of uncertainty and we hope that you are staying safe in the midst of it all. In this solemn period, we hope to brighten your day by sharing some good news – the important milestones that we have recorded so far in the 1st quarter of 2020.
Here are the highlights…
Halima’s Vote Approved as a reading tool in Nigeria!
The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has approved Halima’s Vote as a reading tool to teach Civic Education to children in Basic Schools across Nigeria. Halima’s Vote is a children’s story book by our Executive Director, Onyi Ough that teaches about the negative impact of vote buying in Nigeria. Click here for details.
The Fight Against corruption #NoOneLeftBehind – The Young Anti-corruption Champions Initiative
We believe that tackling corruption begins with what we teach our children and for us that means ALL children including in school children, out of school children, the physically challenged, and juvenile delinquents. Between January and March 2020, with support from the MacArthur Foundation, we have been able to teach over 2300 children about the negative impact of corruption and the importance of integrity.
Meet Esther
Esther Ugbede is 10 years old and lives in a village close to Iddo Sarki in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Esther did not know that corruption was a bad act until we visited her school and gave her a copy of our children’s story book – Emeka’s Money. After reading, she now understands that being a good citizen means saying no to corruption. Esther is committed to telling people in her community about why corruption is bad and why we must stop corruption.
Meet Ismail: Out of School, Willing to Learn
In the New Kuchingoro IDP camp in Abuja, we taught 100 children the negative impact of corruption and the importance of acting with integrity. We met Ismail in the camp. Ismail, like many other children in the camp, had fled his home from fear of Boko Haram terrorists. He had never owned a storybook before and was very excited to read the stories of Emeka and Halima.
Children Living with Disabilities Show Understanding of the Real Costs of Corruption
In Lagos State, we engaged children from the Lagos state school for children with special needs. Despite their challenges, the children showed great enthusiasm for learning and were able to relate to stories of corruption in our storybooks.
Welcome to Step Up TV
We recently launched our YouTube channel called Step Up TV as a platform to share the stories of the voiceless and less heard people in our society. It will also share relevant information on anti-corruption and service delivery issues in Nigeria. Join the Step Up family by subscribing today.
Shaping the Discourse Podcast
Our podcast seeks to shape discussions around topical issues as they relate to the fight against corruption, improving service delivery, and increasing citizen’s participation in the public sector audit process. This quarter, we released 6 new episodes If you’re new to our podcast, you can listen on iTunes, stitcher, soundcloud and on our blog. Here are some of our episodes…
Free Learning tools for kids while you #StayAtHome
It’s important that children continue to learn essential values as they wait for schools to resume. Step Up Nigeria has free tools that you can use to teach your children about the dangers of corruption and the importance of integrity.
What’s Next??
Covid-19 and the way we work…Most of our work as a team involves us interacting with students, teachers and schools on a daily basis. Now that we are at home, we have decided to take some of our interactions online. Next quarter, we will be introducing our Virtual Training for Teachers and Virtual Interactive sessions for Children. If you are a parent or know any parents who will be interested in engaging their children on anti-corruption for as long as schools are closed, please fill this FORM. Also, if you know any teachers who will be interested in learning about innovative approaches to teaching anti corruption education please share this FORM with them.
Between January and March 2020, Step Up Nigeria has provided anti-corruption education to over 2000 children like Esther and Ismail in Lagos and FCT.
We wish you, your families, and your teams a productive month/quarter ahead, and hope that we all stay productive while we work from home. Before you leave, Please click the links below to follow us on our social media platforms.
Best Regards, Onyi Ough and the Step Up Nigeria Team
#StaySafe