Group Donates Building to FGGC Sagamu for Entrepreneurial Skills Development
A new building developed by OrekeBeau, an NGO run by Mrs. Abosede Sule-Odu, an old girl of FGGC Sagamu in Ogun State was inaugurated recently for use as an empowerment centre in the school. At the project inauguration, Mrs. Odu discusses the project conce
Congratulations on this achievement and the opportunity to give back to your alma mater, F.G.G.C Sagamu. What facilities did ÒrekéBeau Empowerment Centre provide for the students? ÒrekéBeau Empowerment Centre is purpose-built and furnished. This is a centre, built to equip students for Fashion and Design skills. Based on the fact that the school has a Home and Economics laboratory that is used mainly for Food technology, after our feasibility studies at the school, my team came up with Fashion and Design as a course that the girls can study here.
What will the Fashion and Design course entail? The course is divided mainly into the 3 areas of Fashion and Design - Design, Pattern Cutting and Production ie Sewing.
It’s a one year course for 12 girls selected by the school that have displayed their creativity flair in the junior years of their time here to take up the course in SS1, so as not to disturb their preparations for their finals in SS2 and SS3.
This is a laudable project, the first of its kind, what inspired you to do it? My main inspiration was first of all God, and l don’t say that lightly, or as a cliche of words to answer your question. When l was informed about the 40th anniversary celebrations, as an old student l took it as information, and my thoughts were whatever the Alumnus plans to do, I will do my bit as expected.
However, there was a kind of prompt behind my mind several weeks after the announcement in November and l looked back and realised if l am going to write my story this school will play a significant part of it, as l studied here for six years with a great network of my very close friends to date, then l realised it’s time to give back and hopefully inspire others individually and as Alumni sets to do same as well, not for our benefits but for the future generation walking through the gates of this school as l did over 30yrs ago.
As it’s first of its kind for an individual to give back to a Unity School in such a way, what do you have to say to others that will like to repeat the same feat? Never say why me - for example, it took one man to discover Electricity and today you and l enjoy it’s benefits. Put yourself forward and don’t shy away from whatever you are trying to impart into the life of these young ones as they are the future generation. When l decided to build this empowerment centre, l looked at a number of factors before embarking on my choice.
First, the theming unemployed youth out there that l have worked with through my company to empower them in entrepreneurship as there are no white collar jobs to go round for all, what is on offer out there by the government to equip them with the skills required and finally the resources available to them to pursue these goals and l realised the demand is enormous, hence, l felt if some can be exposed at an early age to skills acquisition then it puts them in good stead when they leave secondary school to pursue it further as the centre will be providing a full year course as stated above to the girls that will study here.
Finally, as an individual with a large heart, from what l can see you have done here, how best can we describe you as Mrs. Sule-Odu and CEO ÒrekéBeau? First as an individual, I’m a mother to my lovely and blessed children they keep me grounded, a loving wife to the best Husband in the world who always sees the best in me and allows me to reach great heights, to my family a great network of support and fantastic bunch of people and to sum it up l remain humble, teachable and dedicated to His cause and all the Lord has given to me.
As a CEO, I am deep and thoughtful, one of the qualities I’ve had as a young person, l try to avoid doing things in halves and will rather leave it or do it well. With a great team of individuals l work with all over the world, the blueprints we have for the company we plan implement and help provide skill acquisitions for our youth.