EHIME ALEX writes on the prospects of the new free arts school commissioned by Dream Catchers Academy, to help under-privileged girls, who are passionate about arts, to fulfil their dreams
The new annex, located at Ewu-Elepe community in Ikorodu, Lagos State, was commissioned on Thursday, March 24, 2022
In attendance were the Senior Special Assistant for Education to the Lagos State Governor, Ms Adetola Salau, the Founder of Afrodroids, Owo Anietie, among other distinguished guests.
The DCA Founder, Seyi Oluyole, remarked that with the new building, the school had been equipped to enrol more students and better the lives of underprivileged girls.
Hinting that the building was a Non-Fungible Tokens project by Afrodroids, she said, “We were about 35 per cent into the building of the school and we were stranded. We did not know what to do, but Afrodroids came in right at that moment and agreed to make donation.”
According to Oluyole, the aim of the school is to support less-privileged girls, who have experienced homelessness, neglect and economic hardship.
Her words, “We hope to transform the lives of these girls through housing opportunities, wellness and welfare resources, as well as access to quality education.
“We see the need to provide arts education, not only because of its psychological benefits and economic empowerment, also for the realisation that we are all unique beings and so much of our economy is currently built on entertainment and the arts.”
A programme of the Dream Nurture Initiative for girls and women, the academy started out as a dance group for children, she said.
Noting that enrolment is open to girls from poor backgrounds, who must have passion for arts, Oluyole added that the school also has plan for children from rich homes.
Salau described any project focused on ensuring the fulfilment of children’s dreams, aspirations and future as worth identifying with.
She, however, lamented that arts as a subject, had been neglected by a lot of schools.
Music and arts is something that bring out the social part of human beings and should be promoted, she said.
On his part, Aniete explained Afrodroids as an NFT project, hinting that the firm was able to sell pictures on the Internet to make its donation for the building.
He said, “The motive was to help DCA and by so doing reach out to more children on the street. We wanted people with trust and integrity.”
Aniete, while stating that the government needed to encourage the youth to do more, said it was important to get the school accredited in no time.
On how DCA impacted her life one of the girls, Adebayo Oluwaseun, said she was four years old when she lost her father, adding, “We lived in an uncompleted building with my mom and three siblings. I usually pick things from the floor and begged sometimes to eat. I was out of school, staying home all day,” the girl recounted.
Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.