No fewer than 350 schoolgirls in Ondo State have begun training in the holiday training camp tagged Bemore Summer Training.
The annual training programme, organised by the wife of the state governor, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, comes up during the third term holiday and started in 2017.
The beneficiaries, who were drawn from different parts of the state, will be trained in Information and Communication Technology, solar power systems, and some other entrepreneurial skills that can make them self-reliant.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the programme in Akure, on Monday, she said the programme aimed to close the wide gender gap in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and entrepreneurship in young people.
Anyanwu-Akeredolu, who spoke virtually from Germany, where her ailing husband is receiving medical attention, expressed confidence that by the end of the programme, the beneficiaries “would have been well-groomed and convinced enough to bear witness to the greatness of Bemore.”
“May I appeal to governments, private sector players, critical stakeholders and parents that we should be genuine enough to sustain the enviable standard that Bemore represents to society and continue to support financially to enable us to build an organisation that lasts beyond our earthly sojourn,” she said.
Declaring the programme open, the state acting Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, commended the governor’s wife for coming up with “a bold and impactive initiative, focusing on transforming the girl-child and promoting the principle of gender balancing.”
Punch
