Giving Back the Rainbow Way

Asummer programme for children was recently organised by the Rainbow Book Club (R. B. C.) in an indigent community in Lagos recently. Besides helping spread the joy of reading, the programme, according to the Rainbow Book Club founder Mrs Koko Kalango, was an opportunity to involve teenagers in humanitarian works. It was also the intention of the literary club to help the millennials imbibe the culture of giving back.

Mrs Kalango trained the four volunteer/facilitators (Tara Bond, Tarari Idara, Seyi Sobowale and Ayomikun Kosoko) and led them to run the programme at Bethesda School in the Ikota community. The volunteers were joyfully welcomed by over 45 enthusiastic students from the junior secondary and senior primary classes.

The school where the programme ran is owned by Bethesda Child Support Agency, a non-profit organisation (NGO) established in 2001. The primary focus of Bethesda is to mobilise efforts of government, private sector and other development agencies towards securing educational opportunities for children in poor communities. Every Bethesda child is on full scholarship.

According to the teen-facilitators, at the beginning they were unsure of what the experience would be like. But by the time the programme was coming to an end, they all expressed their desire to volunteer again in the future.

The summer programme focused on the book, 17 Secrets of High Flying Students by Fela Durotoye. The facilitators made the book club sessions interactive, fun and educative, sharing their experience to support the tips provided in the book.

At the end of the programme, gifts were presented to various children for active participation, remarkable improvement, interest and effort.