As part of its commitment towards impacting the society positively, Rotary club of Falomo, District 9110, has renovated the dilapidated playground at St George’s Girls Primary School, as well as planted trees to boost the learning environment of children.
Speaking during the commissioning of the project, at the school premises in Ikoyi, Lagos, the President, Rotary Club of Falomo, Ijeoma Onyeador, said the main goal of the club is to ensure that the community feel the impact of Rotary humanitarian services.
She said one of the goals to reach out to the community is through the schools, which is why the club has renovated the playground and planted trees to boost the learning environment of the children.
“We thought it wise to start with the young ones, we did a need assessment and there is still a lot to be done. The easiest way to get children to be exited as they learn is through playground. When it is break time they come out to exercise and have fun.
“We have renovated the playground. We have planted trees to make sure that in the future they will become shade for the children. We want to promote this year’s Rotary theme, which is serving to change lives and with this projects we know the lives of these children would be changed positive,” she said.
The club president also added that the playground is part of the club’s effort to reduce Non-Communicable Diseases in schools.
“This project also helps in the health of the children. When the children exercise, it reduces the chances of the children coming down with non-communicable diseases,” she added.
The Service Project Director, Rotary Club of Falomo, Muhammed Bawa, said the club is giving the children the opportunity to exercise their bodies as this will improve their ability to learn better.
He said this is a community programme, as the club will work on water and other needs of the school to better the lives of the children.
“Our intention is to adopt the school, they have more needs such as pipe borne water, the toilets are not flushing, the windows are broken, the classrooms are not painted, they have a scanty library. We appeal to Nigerians to be part of this project to make a difference in the lives of these children,” he added.
Responding, the District Governor, Rotary International District 9110, Remi Bello, commended the club for renovating the playground of the school, noting that providing recreational facilities for children in the school is supporting an enabling environment for the children to learn.
He also said the tree planting in the school premises will further support a conducive learning environment for the children as this is vital in their ability to assimilate what they have learnt in the classroom.
The district governor said the projects are addressing some of the Rotary’s areas of focus, which are basic education and literacy as well as support the environment.
He said these are in line with the Rotary International President’s charge of providing service projects to humanity to their host communities.