18-Year-Old Nigerian-German Launches School for Disadvantaged Children in Ogun

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

An 18-year-old Nigerian-German student and social entrepreneur, Georgia Oviesu, has established a school in Adiyan, Ogun State, with a vision of providing free, quality education and opportunities to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Oviesu, who is currently pursuing the International Baccalaureate Diploma, said in an online chat with journalists that the Benny Griffins Academy was created in response to the educational disadvantage faced by many Nigerian children because of their socioeconomic circumstances.

The academy is expected to officially open in September and currently has about 100 children on its waiting list.

“The truth is that many Nigerian children don’t have access to high-quality education because of their socioeconomic background, and I wanted to change that,” Oviesu said.

She explained that the school’s central objective was to ensure that children were not denied opportunities simply because of the circumstances into which they were born.

According to her, the academy will provide free education from the primary level to Junior Secondary School 3, with pupils receiving tuition, uniforms, teaching and daily meals at no cost.

“Everything is free of charge. Food, schooling, the teachers, tuition and uniforms,” she said.

Oviesu said the school is largely supported through her mother’s efforts and small grants from volunteers, but the project hopes to attract more partners from Nigeria, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries.

She added that experienced educators and executives had also volunteered their time to support the initiative.

The young entrepreneur said the academy was designed to go beyond conventional classroom education by identifying the individual abilities and interests of pupils and providing them with opportunities to develop their talents.

“This school is an introduction to a completely different system,” she said.

She explained that the Nigerian curriculum would form the foundation of the school’s academic programme but would be supplemented with German and French languages, Yoruba, creative arts, science, technology and robotics.

Pupils would also participate in clubs and could develop interests in areas such as music, dance, theatre and film.

“We’re giving children who were never given the chance, who society saw as disadvantaged or as second-class citizens,” Oviesu said. “No child has to give up on their dream just because society deems them as less than.”

Beyond empowering children through education, the 18-year-old recording artiste and technology entrepreneur has also developed an emergency communication application that enables users to send distress messages without internet connectivity.

She said the technology could help strengthen rescue operations and support efforts to combat kidnapping and other emergencies in Nigeria.

Known professionally as Gia Réi, Oviesu said the Android application, SafeLink, uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh technology to allow devices within range to communicate directly without relying on Wi-Fi, mobile networks or internet connectivity.

She said the application was developed after identifying what she described as a gap between the occurrence of an emergency and the arrival of rescue teams.

“Thousands of people lose their lives every year to natural disasters, and millions are affected by kidnapping. The reason why I created this app was because I recognised the gap between rescue and death,” she said.

According to her, SafeLink is designed to give people caught in dangerous situations a means of communicating with rescuers even when conventional communication infrastructure is unavailable.

The application has two main user categories: survivor and rescuer. A survivor can activate an SOS button to send an emergency alert, while a rescuer using the application can receive the message from a nearby device.

Oviesu explained that users would be required to register their details on the application, including their name, age, height and other relevant information. The information can then be accessed by a designated rescuer when an SOS alert is triggered.

She said the current version of SafeLink can transmit messages within a range of about 100 metres using Bluetooth, with compatible devices automatically connecting and relaying messages between one another.

According to her, the technology could have practical applications in Nigeria’s fight against kidnapping, particularly in isolated communities and locations where mobile network coverage is unavailable.

“In Nigeria, you could be on an abandoned road at night. You could also be at the mountain. You could be anywhere. It goes for every dangerous situation,” she said, adding that SafeLink could also prove useful during building collapses and other disasters where victims may be unable to call for help.

Oviesu, however, acknowledged that the application is still being enhanced, with plans to significantly extend its communication range through multi-device relays.

“My goal is for the app to be able to send messages device to device to device, reaching and spanning over two kilometres,” she said.

The young entrepreneur is expected to demonstrate the technology in Nigeria later in September as part of efforts to showcase its potential humanitarian applications and attract partners who can support its further development and deployment.