Diary: Creating impact with African Stories; Phase I

A story is worth nothing without an audience — anonymous

That single line captures the context to the first phase of our Digital Storytelling showcase.

In a previous piece, I shared the background to the Digital Storytelling Showcase. Briefly, its primary aim is to inspire the next generation of content creators among primary school children in Nigeria as well as identify young talent relative to their interests and skills for various roles in the value chain.

With that, we couldn’t be more inspired to share with these children what’s possible on this turf as well as their roles. We weren’t alone. The Yaba Mainland Local Government Education Authority of Lagos State had given its authorization to cover over 50 public primary schools in its fold. OneDot Photography pitched in to provide coverage, thus ensuring the memorable experience is preserved. The CCHub provided us with a handy projector screen and sound speaker. Volunteers Mercy and Idris also joined in, setting the stage for an interesting experience barring any odds. Not like we were going to be deterred anyways.

On the road…

March is a busy month for Primary Schools so we were constrained to the first 2 weeks of the month. In that period, we covered 8 Public Primary Schools despite falling short of the 12 Schools we’d planned to cover in the first phase. Our first stops were St. Agnes, St. Patrick’s and St. Dominic Primary Schools in Sabo, Yaba. Next, we covered MyHoung Military, Hussey Military and Army Children Primary Schools, Yaba. Finally, we wrapped up with Morocco Military and Military Primary Schools, Yaba.

There are so many nuggets of inspiration and excitement in the showcase. It was an amazing atmosphere to say the least with scenes of kids scrambling to get in front of the camera, into the venues and teachers who turned up to cheer the kids. On one hand, it’s what you get working with kids. On the other hand, it’s the feeling of accomplishment when the gains are well written on the faces of the audience.

While we encountered a number of challenges along the way, to focus on them would be to sour the sweetness of the larger experience from the point of view of our primary aim. If you’re anything like me, these aren’t negative. Rather, an excitingly challenging experience considering we braced through the challenges to make the children smile. And we don’t have to wait for decades to see its fruits. It’s already playing out! It’s playing out in dozens of volunteers among the pupils already penned down to audition for subsequent works from us.

On to the next phase. To be a part of it, send an email to info@geniigames.com