Makoko Students Mark the International Day of the Girl Child with Ajunwa.

As part of programmes marking the International Day of the Girl Child, female students from Makoko, a slum in Lagos Mainland, will on Thursday participate in a swimming and basketball clinic aimed at reaching out to girls and inspiring them to take up sport as a liberation tool from social vices.

The International Day of the Girl Child is a United Nations observance programme meant to sensitize the general public on gender inequality and create more opportunities for girls.

The students will embark on a trip to the basketball court of the National Stadium in Surulere and the swimming pool at the nearby Teslim Balogun Stadium for a wide range of sporting activities which include a talk and film show, basketball and swimming clinics.

Chioma Ajunwa, Nigeria’s only individual Olympic gold medalist will be among the guest speakers at the event. She will talk to the kids on the need to lead a drug-free life, the impact of teenage pregnancy on a girl child development, female genital mutilation and other vices.

Chioma Ajunwa at the Atlanta 96 Olympics.
Chioma Ajunwa at the Atlanta 96 Olympics.

School teachers, swimming and coaching instructors will also participate in the programme, an initiative of Nneka Ikem Anibeze, a sports journalist of repute.

According to the proprietress of the programme; “it is estimated that over 35,000 kids live in the Makoko slum with a high rate of teenage pregnancies.”

© UNICEF: Ghanaian School Girls Swinging.
© UNICEF: Ghanaian School Girls Swinging.

A Unicef publication in April highlighted the roles of sports in the girl child growth, stressing; it can help children develop self-confidence, teach team work and help keep them active and healthy.

While in developing communities like Makoko, sports can have even deeper impacts on the life of the girl child. It can help her get into education, recover from stressful situations and to develop confidence.