The objective of this project is to work with schools and communities in Southern Kaduna and provide special opportunities to children, who are gifted or talented in some way.  Their abilities will be nurtured and they will be coached in social entrepreneurial activity, as some may become important social entrepreneurs of the future.  Nehemiah Foundation’s long-term vision is to have created a network of social enterprise pioneers from rural residents of Southern Kaduna from this “Gifted and Talented” project, people who can develop and expand upon the work completed to date and make a real difference in the lives of people in Kaduna State.  Once instigated, the project will be duplicated in nearby states and then the rest of Africa.

The nurturing aspect will consist of a number of different strategies:

a)             An IT club, which will coach in the use of computers and internet, as well as be fun!  This will take place on Saturdays, so as not to conflict with schooling

b)            Themed afternoon and evening Youth clubs, which will include areas like Maths and problem-solving, Games, Sports,  Debating and current affairs, Music, Arts/Crafts and Dance, Science and Technology etc.  Others will be developed as the participants choose an interest they wish to pursue.  Depending upon popularity, these can be run daily or weekly or somewhere in between.  It is intended that they will be staffed by volunteers, with an academic background, but resources will need to be developed to support the activities

c)             One to one mentoring for each participant, to discuss the participants’ ambitions and career plans

d)            Special “one off” sessions, where skilled people are brought in to talk about their lives and demonstrate their abilities or talents.

e)                Confidence-building sessions, such as trekking, adventurous and other outdoor activities.  Note that these will only ever be carried out by suitably qualified staff.

This project is about teasing out the special uniqueness that Africa provides, bringing this to global markets for commercial gain directly to rural dwellers.  The key aspect of this is that creativity, authenticity and innovation are hard to duplicate and will generate premium prices in Western markets.  Examples of products might be authentic music, developing sheet music for original African songs, publishing African literature, developing some unique craft products or perhaps “Africising” some existing European products.  Once developed, these products can be produced by cooperative workers.

Themes and Products

The project themes are as follows:

a)             African culture – history, myth and legend, music, art and photography, dance, literature, crafts, cooking

b)            The experience of Africa – wildlife, scenery, adventure, poverty, urban vibrancy, religion

c)             The resources of Africa – Crops, Minerals, Labour

d)            The expertise of Africa – poverty alleviation, water conservation, farming, small business, social entrepreneurs

Example A

For example, taking the African culture theme, one might develop products, which document rural history and development, key “changemakers” in history.  These products would then be developed as on-line books and sold to libraries and universities interested in supplementing their documentation of history to cover areas not currently featured.  Although niche products, books such as this would be produced uniquely by indigenous residents and could provide useful ongoing income through internet sales.

Example B

Taking the experience of Africa as a theme, one could envisage European classrooms being on-line with a web cam safari, where classroom participants can ask a safari to drive towards a particular animal and ask questions directly to the expert right there by the animals.  This type of interactive TV could be developed and paid for on subscription by educational institutions, providing much needed income directly to the parts of the world that need it most.  Although safari is a relatively accessible theme, one could just as easily run an interactive TV programme from a slum or ghetto in poverty-stricken Abuja in Nigeria.

Example C

There are many people who would support African products above all others, if they knew that purchases of those products went directly to rural dwellers living in poverty.  This project could involve the development of an African brand, the equivalent of Fair Trade, but incorporating products which are readily available to the rural poor and quickly and easily transportable over the globe.  Spices and nuts may well be the main product here.

Example D