By Gbenga Sodeinde
Twelve school girls from both Irele and Okitipupa council areas of Ondo State are participating in this year BeMore Summer Boot Camp founded by the wife of Ondo State Governor, Chief (Mrs.) Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu.
The Bootcamp which was declared open by Mrs. Akeredolu at Mabest Academy, Oke-Ijebu, Akure the Ondo State capital, on Monday, will have about 350 School girls in camp for two weeks, where they are to be trained in ICT, Solar technology and other life-enhancing skills to empower the girl child.
However, Prince Okunjimi Odimayo, the All Progressives Congress, (APC) House of Representatives candidate for Irele/Okitipupa Federal Constituency in the forthcoming 2023 General Elections, took it upon himself to sponsor 12 of the participants from the two local government areas as beneficiaries from this year summer bootcamp.
Odimayo stated that he extended the support and good gesture to ‘The Odimayo Girls’ inother for them to enjoy and benefit from the impactful and limitless opportunities provided for the girl child at the BeMore Boot Camp, stressing that with the skills the girls will acquired at the camp, “another sets of new female world champions and record holders will soon emerged”.
The youthful Ode-Irele born politician urged the participants to make maximum use of skills and practical knowledge they will derived from the boot camp, and also see themselves as Ambassadors of theirs council areas, charging them to bridge the gender gap and break barriers in solar energy technology and ICT, and competencies in other pivotal and life-enhancing apprenticeships for the benefit of their immediate community and humanity.
The House of Representatives hopeful, however promised to extend the sponsorship of the Summer bootcamp to more school girls in Irele/Okitipupa Federal Constituency in 2023 after he would have emerged as MHR through the votes of the people of the Federal Constituency.
He commended the founder of BeMore and wife of the State Governor, Chief (Mrs.) Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu for the initiative and her geniue love for girl child, women, youths and humanity in general.
The Founder of BeMore Empowered Initiative and First Lady of Ondo State, Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, hinted that the girls being trained at the annual summer bootcamp, would evolve into confident and competent women that womanhood needed to rewrite its story.
According to her, the initiative which started five years ago, with the aim of bridging gender parity in Science, Technology, Mathematics and Entrepreneurship, had met expectations, citing some ambassadors of the program who are excelling and making profits with the skills they acquired at the camp.
Her words: “In the last five years, I have treasured this moment and its bounty harvests. Of the five, we have given to the world four sterling sets of female champions in the trending fields of endeavor through a well structured and impactful curriculum of the BeMore Summer bootcamp.
“We have equally groomed them as a ‘Special breed without greed’. Today re-presents that unique opportunity to prepare and present to the world another batch of problem solvers that the world direly needs to be saner and safer”.
She used the ocassion to thank eminent Nigerians, organisations and government parastatals “that have continued to show prodigious support for what we are doing, who share our consummate conviction that the girl child deserves the very best, I welcome my brand new girls to the Bemore family; to limitless opportunities”. She said