The Five Cowries Arts Education Initiative has officially been launched in London with a vibrant exhibition of 500 jerry cans painted by Nigerian primary school children.
This aimed to tell the stories of people in relations to water through art work in order to address issues of access to clean water in the country.
The initiative was founded in 2018 by Polly Alakija, a renown artist and the CEO, Hatch Ideas, Yemisi Mokuolu.
According to the founders, Five Cowries offers an inclusive route to education, enhancing teaching skills for positive educational and social outcomes.
At the London launch, Founder of Five Cowries Initiative, Polly Alakija, explained how the Initiative had impacted lives and turned situation around.
“We have trained 38 ‘Teach for Nigeria (TFN)’ teaching fellows, delivered the programme in 38 schools and engaged 1,600 children directly. Each TFN fellow has such compelling and impactful stories about the programme and its influence on the children’s learning, especially their perspectives on water. We commenced in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, expanded to neighbouring Ogun state and now look to widen our reach to other cities in the country”.
Also speaking at the event, Co- founder and Director, Hatch Ideas Africa, Mokuolu, added that “the initiative and its partners want to ensure arts education becomes an integral part of the educational system in Nigeria and teaching skills are improved for better outcomes.
“Children’s participation in creative activities needs to be promoted not just across the country, but also globally, and if it improves basic skills such as literacy and numeracy in Nigeria, then it is beneficial for everyone.”
Five Cowries strategic delivery partners include Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Teach for Nigeria, Thames Festival Trust (UK), Montessori Centre International, Jackson, Etti & Edu and africapractice.
