JCI Ikeja Donates Ultramodern Block of Toilets to Lagos School

Chiamaka Ozulumba

The Ikeja branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI), in partnership with Azvina Foundation, recently donated a block of six ultramodern toilets to Comprehensive High School Ketu-Alapere, Lagos State through its #BigBroda project which has been ongoing for 15 years.

JCI, a membership based non-for-profit NGO with young people within the ages of 18-40, has been striving to make impact in their respective communities.

According to the group, their attention was drawn to the complaint by a former principal of the school, who decried the deplorable sanitary conditions students, especially female students, have to go through to make use of the school’s toilet with quite a number of them contracting toilet infections.

Also, some students of the school disclosed to THISDAY, that their parents had warned them to stop making use of the school’s toilets after a lot of them contracted toilet infections.

During the commissioning, Project Team Lead, Ruth Idowu stated that JCI took up the project to build a block of new toilets against their original plan of renovating and refurbishing the existing ones.

“The project cost well over N3million, which we were able to raise through partnership with individuals and organisations, people with like mind, people that have a need for humanitarian service. We reached out to them and showed our need, it was a collaborative effort” she said.

“They had just six toilets for 2,000 female students and six for 500 male students, we initially wanted to renovate the already existing toilets but felt the pressure would be too much.

” And as a former principal had always told us that female students were always complaining of toilet infections, it was one of the reasons for the motivation to construct new toilets.

“I’m emotional coming from the fact that I know personal relations, especially women that have not been able to conceive just because of the infections they had in the past. As a female and a mother, I took it upon myself to make sure that this project becomes a reality today”.

The school’s principal, Mr Adedeji Adesanmi commended the group saying, “we are very happy for this kind gesture coming from young Nigerians. I am still amazed, we still have young people with good initiative and intentions. We promise to put this project to good use”.

The JCI Ikeja President, Ms Tricia Inalu stated, “we are handing the facility over to the school authority and we have also set up a monitoring committee to come and inspect the project at least once a month.

Also present, National President, Junior Chamber International Nigeria, Ambassador Abiola Olorunnisola expressed excitement for the project and also encouraged the school to put the facility to good use.