Last week, I went to Seed of Knowledge Nursery and Primary Schools, Okota to talk to 200 young children about the Global Goals (SDGs), following our premiere visit to Ostra Schools, we thought it would be great to reach out to an even younger generation of children bursting with hopes of a very great Nigeria.
It had been a very busy week for me and that morning was even my sister’s graduation from Covenant University but I was already committed to speaking to those precious kids and so, I headed out.
I asked the kids to repeat the goals after me as I cheered them along each of the 17 goals, using really basic English and simple examples to explain the goals.
They love Goal 1 because they did not want their parents poor
They supported Goal 2 because they hate the feeling of hunger
They remembered how it felt to be ill, so goal 3 was very important to them
They screamed loud at Goal 6 because they could not imagine their lives without water
They were excited about Goal 7 because stable electricity meant more cartoons for them!
However, I noticed some murmuring among the pupils (average age, 6) when I spoke to them about Goal 5 – Gender Equality, they did not think that Girls and Boys were equal and though I spent some time explaining and debunking myths they previously had on this matter, I would like to use this platform to tell parents and parents-to-be that they are responsible for how their children view gender equality, before society, before government… parents must take the lead in ensuring that there is no form of bias between both genders in the home. It cannot be overstated that Gender Equality is very key to achieving Sustainable Development, we must get it right from our children. Some tweets from me on this below:
The best ways to sort issues out are to find their root causes and break off from source. Parents can help achieve gender equality. #SDG 5
— Jennifer Uchendu (@Dzennypha) June 29, 2016
I know this because I have taught the SDGs to 350 children in two weeks and they all grumbled at Goal 5. Smh
— Jennifer Uchendu (@Dzennypha) June 29, 2016
So parents need to help instill the consciousness into their kids that boys are equal to girls.
— Jennifer Uchendu (@Dzennypha) June 29, 2016
Children were advised to stop plucking off flowers to protect our plants Goal 15 , they were also encouraged to always finish their food to avoid waste – Goal 12 , and they were also told to endeavor to study hard in school to support Goal 4.
Notably, when I asked one of the kids about her favorite goal, she picked Goal 17 – Partnerships for the Goals and her reason was that goal 17 would help other goals work. This is one memory that I may never forget.
At the end of it all, the school management told the students that their favorite goal was Goal 15 – Life on Land and to support this goal, they would be planting flowers at the school playground!!! They asked me to come back again to speak with their secondary school students and also to come up with a poem for the SDGs to help the kids retain all they learnt. Read about the SDGs here
Visits like this make me very proud of what I do.
If you like to join us as a volunteer on our Susty Schools project , please send an email to info@sustyvibes.com with “Susty Schools” as the subject.