The COVID-19 pandemic is revolutionizing digital and online education for our local partner in Nigeria. Our priority is to keep the young women who study at Wavecrest College of Hospitality learning so they do not fall behind on their education.
In Nigeria, our local partner Wavecrest College of Hospitality has had to close its doors due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We have been working with them to adapt and transition to new methods of learning and teaching online. However, like many others in Nigeria, their students have very limited or no access to the internet and the necessary technology to access online classes.
Many young women who go to Wavecrest come from less-privileged families. For families that earn below $1 per day and are facing harsh economic realities due to the four-week lockdown in the country, the purchase of data and technology might not be possible. Because of inaccessibility to digital tools some young people may never catch up on their education and will continue to feel the effect of this gap long after the pandemic is over.
The pandemic has made it hard for many young women at Wavecrest to follow their education. One student, Adeyako, told us: “Coronavirus has affected me very negatively. I am not able to follow the online classes regularly because sometimes I may not have money to buy data on my phone, sometimes there is no electricity to power and charge my phone and other times, the network is bad in the area where I live which is at the outskirts of Lagos.”
Wavecrest is working tirelessly to bridge this gap for their students by providing them with data and the necessary technology so they can keep learning during the outbreak. Having access to technology and the internet will not only allow Wavecrest students to stay connected and learning during the COVID-19 outbreak, but will also help them become IT literate.
Giving these young women access to technology will also help them garner the necessary skills to stay ahead in the future and open up new opportunities for them. Being fluent in technology has become key in most sectors – from the simple use of social media to report writing and research.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors and our brand partner Electroneum, we have already helped Wavecrest to give access to online classes to many of their students, as well as emergency food packages as well as medicine to families in need. However, the pandemic is not over and Wavecrest still needs our help to reach more of their students.
If you can, please make a donation to our Coronavirus relief fund– 100% of your donation will go towards helping our partners continue their amazing work with women and girls during the pandemic.
