SEE WHAT THISCORPS MEMBER DID. YOU WOULD PRAISE HER AS WELL

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Features | Education
Gifts of libraries, earns corps’
member plaudits
At a time opinions are divided over the continuous
existence of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
scheme, a serving member, Ujunwa Anene, is
justifying the need to sustain the programme with
her actions.
She may not have had a fully stocked school library
back in her secondary school, but having come to
terms with the importance of the all-important
resource centre in the life of an academic institution,
she rallied funds to create two libraries in two
secondary schools in Cross River State, where she is
on national assignment.
Anene, a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria,
whose place of primary assignment is General
Electric (GE), Calabar, actualised her dream of
spurring youths to read, by donating the facilities to
Government Secondary School, and Estate Secondary
School, Ikot Ansa in Calabar Municipality.
“The two schools needed libraries and my own
objective is to improve the reading culture among
youths, and by extension improve the country’s
educational system. So, that is how I decided to
position my special community development projects
in the schools,” Anene said.
“The school library is centre of leaning, and plays a
key role in encouraging innovation, curiosity and
problem solving. Can you imagine schools without
libraries, especially when these schools are secondary
schools, where we have students preparing for their
major certificate examinations?” she questioned.
Anene continued, “The library is a catalyst for
literacy, reading and teaching. It will make a
difference in students’ understanding, achievements
and also provide support for teaching and learning.
It is really the central point for engagement with all
kinds of reading, access to information, knowledge
building, deep thinking and even discussions. This
project was my opportunity to reach out to 500
students, who are going to benefit from these
libraries and enable them to study, become
knowledgeable and achieve their dreams.”
Cross River State Coordinator of NYSC, Mrs. Ifeoma
Anidobi, who was full of praises for Anene, said she
falls under the exclusive class of corps members who
serve meritoriously, work hard, crown their efforts
with projects and leave positive footprints.
Represented by Assistant Director in Charge of
Discipline and Merit, Mr. Effa Columbus, Anidobi
said, “Without libraries there are no schools, without
libraries there are no universities, without libraries,
there are no graduates, and without libraries, there
are no institutions. So, with these libraries, the
students will do well in their studies. We want the
students to manage them properly and also sustain
them. For quite sometimes now, I have not seen this
type of magnanimity from corps members in this
part of the state.”
The state Commissioner for Education, Mr. Godwin
Etta, described Anene as a hard working girl, who
“has a way of capturing somebody’s heart. She chose
to provide libraries for two secondary schools in the
same premises, not minding the fence. Oju is not a
selfish person because she moved around for help,
gathered the money and did not do a shabby work.
Instead, she provided the schools the best. I want the
schools to sustain her effort by managing the
libraries very well.”
Represented by Director of Schools, Mrs. Charity
Otohan, Etta charged students and other corps
members to emulate Anene, assuring that the
ministry “is ready to give endorsement to any
recommendation you (NYSC) want to give to her. I
say thank you to all the stakeholders who helped her
to actualise her dream.”
Senior Project Manager of GE, David Eichie, who was
quite supportive of the project, charged the students
to make good use of the facilities saying as well as
emulate the corps members gesture
“If you make good use of the libraries, in another 15
or 20 years from now, when you look back, I am
sure you will have something to smile about… make
sure you use the library well, and I enjoin the two
principals and teachers to put the place in safe
hands. Make sure the books in the libraries are well
managed.
“One of the attribute of a leader is empathy. When
you have empathy for people around you, when you
are in a position to do something that will add value
to their lives and you do, it makes you a very good
leader. It is how you impact the lives of people
around you that matter, which is what Uju Anene
has done. Some people live their foot prints
wherever day go, and some people do not and from
what we seen here, this should be an example for
the rest of the corps members.”
Principals of the two schools, Mrs. Felicia Asu and
Mrs. Regina Agaba, were full of praises for the donor
saying their schools had been without libraries for
years.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN