Taking Responsibility: Knowledge for Change

This week officially marked the end of the #ichoose campaign. It was indeed a hope-raising experience knowing that they were youths and teenagers out there who believed in so many positive ideals and were ready to stand up for what they believed in. A special thank you to all those who participated in this campaign as their actions no matter how little has been deposited in the ever-growing bank of impact in Nigeria, Africa and beyond. Here is a big thank you to all those that particpated; Everyone that liked the Facebook page, Law School campuses in Bwari and Lagos, University of Abuja, Baze University, All Nations University College Ghana, Our impact counterparts from Sierra Leone and Serbia, UN #Youthnow web feed and you reading this post. You have been amazing.

We at the Butterfly Mind Initiative are overwhelmingly optimistic about the future and we know that with persons like #ichoose campaign participants, our world will indeed become a better place. For those who did not have the opportunity to participate, this month presents another opportunity as we will be embarking on another social media campaign to reflect the hope and aspirations of the Nigerian/African youth. We are in a very important and vital age for youth development and together we can increase that momentum and join other youths around the globe in changing their world.

This final week on the #ichoose campaign was enlightening as it reflected youths who believed and understood that their knowledge is a vital instrument for change. We had a spoken word artist who ended our campaign and young law-students who have chosen to use their knowledge of law as a tool for impact. I guess it begs an important question. What knowledge do you have and how are you using that knowledge to impact your community?

GALLERY:

 

Taking Responsibility: The Liberating effect of Words

The power of words will forever remain a mystery. It is amazing how a word that isn’t ‘hurt’  has the power to cause pain and how a word that isn’t ‘love’ can still be held so dear. In an effort to build our world, words become our foundations, words also form the blocks with which we build and depending on our choice of words, our buildings either remain rock solid or come falling at the slightest tempest, made up of words still.

We are ruled by words. The direction in which a nation goes is determined by how convinced the people are in one man’s choice of words. With these words, we are either sold into slavery or led to freedom. We are only as
fashionable as the words we put on and as healthy as the words we digest. Our nights are defined by the words with which we make our beds and our lives are characterized by the words we hold on to. When lost or in doubt, words form the questions or become the maps that guide us towards self-awareness.
Words aren’t just words, especially when they form the lines of our favourite songs, poems, quotes, books or movies. I have become addicted to words and even more so, amazed by how people use words to tell powerful stories that inspire change.

Kendrick Lamar’s new album title ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ is explained in the song ‘Mortal Man’ inspired by words from his good friend who said, “The Caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it. It’s only job is to eat or consume everything around it, in order to protect itself from this Mad City. By consuming it’s environment, the Caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive. One thing it notices is how the world shuns him, but praises the butterfly. The butterfly represents the talent, thoughtfulness and the beauty within the Caterpillar. But having a harsh outlook on life, the Caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak and figures out a ways to pimp it to its own benefits. Already surrounded by this mad city, the caterpillar goes to work on the cocoon which institutionalizes him. He can no longer see past his own thoughts. He’s trapped. While trapped inside these walls, certain ideas take roots such as going home and bringing back new concepts to this mad city. The result…wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant. Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered… ending the eternal struggle. Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same.”

Coincidentally, these profound and thought provoking words lend a voice to the Butterfly Mind Initiative’s belief that the emerging dreams of young people should be tended to with love so that they can progress smoothly from being caterpillars into beautiful butterflies.

I write this piece, not knowing where it is headed but like every other narrative I have written or shared, I hope it inspires us to craft our own words into a song, poem or story that gives wings to every butterfly within reach.

Taking Responsibilty: International Women's Day

Over the years, there have been increased advocacy for the rights of women and girls in many countries of the world. This year, it was remarkable here in Nigeria as we witnessed more men joining the campaign in support of women's right and the need to celebrate women in various fields of endeavour. There were posters and pictures filled with goodwill messages  and future expectations in the area of the promotion of women's right. It was interesting to see that more men especially in Africa where issues like this are usually met with cultural barriers had become more involved and were advocating for increased female empowerment and participation in many sectors of the society.

In the spirit of the international women's day, the #ichoose campaign has witnessed more young people especially women taking responsibility and being more open about their passions and how they intend to change their environment using those things that appeal most to them.

From the campaign photos, we could see that the themes that young people presented were mostly centered around religion and music as a meaningful tool for impact in the society.

Indeed, religion can be a powerful tool for positive social change as religion has the power to form a person's values and attitudes towards life. Many notable religions of the world encourage their followers to build good relationships with people and to respect their environment. We would like to Imagine the outcome if  all paid attention to the positive instructions of the holy books. What better campaign for change can there be?

Again, majority of young people that participated last week on the Facebook page, expressed how they could use their music to change the course of events by sending positive messages through their song lyrics. Music as we know is a universal language that makes messages and communications between people harder to ignore. People have bonded over having similar choice of music making it true to believe that it is indeed the key to the soul.

It was good to see that many young women participated well and were eager to have their voices heard and their stand known  among their peers and globally as well. They had decided to take responsibility towards the development of their country and had also encouraged their friends from other countries to pledge their quota to their country's development. This post is a celebration of these young women taking the initiative and standing up for what they believe in. Happy International Women's Day!!!

Gallery

Taking Responsibility: #ichoose Campaign

After the February volunteer program with the kids, the butterfly project team realized that the kids were deeply and negatively affected by the prejudice around them. We are in an election month, and prejudice will likely get stronger especially on social media. People will likely engage in political, religious and cultural animosity through their words and actions and they will do so without considering the effect it will have on the younger generation. Apparently, with what we saw in the February volunteer program, the young kids are not only watching, they are learning real fast  without a filtering mechanism. God knows what we might be breeding in the nearest future. The saddest and most pivotal issue is that the persons spreading this animosity are not even aware of the consequences of their actions.

It is in light of these circumstances that the butterfly project has decided to commence the #ichoose campaign. The #ichoose campaign is an avenue for people to take responsibility for their actions. It signifies understanding the effect your words and actions might have on people around you and the younger generation looking up to you. It means standing up for something and working towards it. This campaign is built on hope, belief and responsibility. 

To join the campaign, 

1.  Like the Butterfly project facebook page http://on.fb.me/1FMIL8d

2. Take a picture of yourself holding a paper or cardboard stating what you choose to stand for. it should start with #ichoose. Here is a sample

3. Share the picture on the butterfly mind initiative facebook wall http://on.fb.me/1FMIL8d, write something brief on the wall about the reason for your choice, make sure you put the keyword #ichoose in your writing then end your post with #butterflyproject #YouthNow. This way we can see your post and share directly on the timeline.

4. Get your friends involved.

Remember if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

Broken Hearts in February: Awakening Passions

"Do you know that there is a female presidential aspirant?" A volunteer asked a group of young girls. "No o!" They replied in unison. "Do you also know that you have rights as a child that you can demand from your leaders?" There was silence as the kids stared on as though their minds had  been opened to new knowledge.

These are some of the questions the butterfly team put to the children while speaking to them on political education to channel their understanding to other  aspects of the political system. 

Once, we met a very passionate little girl who spoke with so much political enthusiasm and confidence. After one of the sessions with the school, she came out to have a mini chat with the team. All she was interested in knowing was the party we each supported. It came as a little shocker to us as this was not one of the questions we had envisaged from kids. She was compelling was undeterred.  She posed several questions to us, all of which revolved around the upcoming elections. She desperately wanted to know where our allegiances lay. She put us right on the spot. She had a strong personality and even when a  volunteer pointed out to her that there was a female candidate in the hope that it would avert her mind to another reality of the elections, Charity was not interested. Apparently she had made a decision on whom to "VOTE".  Huh? Vote? We took quick glances at each other and smiled.

The mini interview seemed to have gotten more interesting and so we decided to turn the tables. We asked her why she was going to "vote" her choice and her answer was simple and unwavering- her mother was voting the candidate. Then we asked her why she would follow suit. Again, she had her ready reasons, some of which had been tainted by a lot of mixed public perceptions and propagandas from the media. And as we listened on, we saw childlike passion turn into little twists of hate and bigotry. She was on her way to being polluted by the society's kind of politics- a dirty kind.

She was not alone.  There were many other disciples of bigotry.  A lot of children interviewed displayed  very deep prejudicial opinions. Our journey had given us the opportunity to understand clearly the effect our individual and collective negative actions were having on the younger generation. They were developing strong prejudices. We had come to feel a sacred responsibility of gearing the minds of the kids to positive sides of the mirror.

Determined to do something about it, the team after school decided to engage some of the kids in an interactive session where the opinions and views of the kids were the focal point. We had to get the kids to talk. We needed to help them learn how to express themselves so that we could help correct some of their prejudices while arming them with tools that will help them become future leaders.

Indeed, the moment was  powerful and humbling for us  as well as it reinforced the belief that positive building of the mind is key to developing any society and that the formative years of a child is extremely important.

Broken Hearts in February: A Time for Reflections

The month of February brings with it a certain air of extreme importance to love. We look forward to it for many reason. For some, it brings with it good memories  and to others painful memories. The mixed feelings are what makes it a month to look out for.

For us in Nigeria, it's different and I'll tell you why. We look forward to a transition government(although that may not apply anymore as elections have been postponed to march). We look forward to the election of those we desire to see lead and produce the change we so desperately want  to see. There will be plenty of mixed emotions to last for the month. Everyone is watching but some others who we do not seem to notice are watching too....

The day began well for the butterfly team and as usual we were looking forward to being with the kids but this time it wasn't going to be business as usual. We were going to speak to them on something that was extremely sensitive and it left us quite unsure of how to handle it. We wondered how best to pass on the message. We were nervous. There were no smiles at all from each one of us. Many times before the classes began, we would go through our lesson notes and find out if we could tweak any message here and there. We would whisper in low tones to each other to make sure we had a uniform message.

Eventually, the moment came and as we walked in we could see ready faces. The team introduced the lecture which was to be political education and the class went mute for a while. Next, we asked a question on what elections meant to them and in that moment,  we knew our work had begun. The class went crazy with shouts from all sides. The kids would not stop mentioning political parties they supported. Those with different views were screamed at and the kids were almost going into a fight with each other(much to our horror!). Thankfully, the volunteer teachers were able to calm them down and asked further questions to determine their level of mental awakening to sociopolitical issues. We were shocked. Many of the kids expressed that elections were times of killings, curfews, terrorism, WAR(that was the deal breaker). We had heard enough.

It became obvious that the kids were observing the adults in many ways than one and had picked up subliminal messages from the political atmosphere that surrounded them. We were sad not because they were politically aware but because they had become wrongly exposed to the real reasons behind elections and government transitions.  The society was unfair to them. At every turn, people were expressing their opinions without stopping to think of how much their actions affected others. We were all guilty of it and were deeply ashamed. We left there with a heavy heart determined that we would do right by them and ensure that the right message is passed. All the negative ramblings and silly propaganda from everyone had got to have a limit. We had crossed those lines where truth and fairness lay in the bid to express our opinions to others.  We now have a duty to the younger generation to see that the right values are impressed in their ever so absorbing minds.

We had learnt. We had been humbled by the experience. Let's do something about it. We all have a duty to spread the right message. Some little eyes are watching too...

Check out our follow up meeting with the kids this weekend and see how the story continues.

GALLERY

The curtain close moment for our Global Warming Campaign

It's one thing to be around active kids and an entirely different thing to be around hyperactive kids(oh! We found out the difference on the job. There were no pre-warnings. Hehehe). 

So, we finally did come to the end of the awareness campaign on global warning for the month of January. Need i say more? It was a good month for the team. Last week which was the final week, the team conducted an evaluation session with the kids to see how much they had learnt. Boy! We were crazily impressed!! Nothing felt better than to know that the kids paid actual attention(honestly, you never know with kids)and took home notable points. The volunteer teachers asked random questions following the lesson outcomes, did fun quizzes and spelling bees which the excited kids participated fully. We were totally blown away(seriously).

In the end, we concluded that we loved the global warming month and we wish for more fun times to come as we begin another awareness campaign in the month of February!! These kids make our week(no kidding).

Moments spent with our cute little butterflies

Have you wondered why those green days are fast fading or why the heat seems to be taking over in an unusual manner? Well, we did find the answer. Climate change is taking place. 

This January, the butterfly team started an awareness campaign in primary schools on the issue of global warming and how it's effect can be reduced. For a start, the project began last week at LEA Primary School Kado Estate, Abuja where the team was greeted with happy faces from the excited children. It was a moment of over-the-top fun as the children were taught several things ranging from basic terms to how the cycle is created.

This week, the fun moment continued as the volunteers continued to raise awareness among the children. They used interactive teaching tools suitable for the kids ranging from drama, pictures and paper cuttings. The team enjoyed maximum support from them as the kids were ready to participate in all the activities. The kids were excited to learn as they had never heard of the concept of global warming and were quite surprised to see how little harmless actions can add to the increasing changes within their environment. The kids dressed up as climate heroes with the help of their volunteer teachers and were ready to save the world!(I love that part most)

At the end of the day, we all had fun and so the members of the team decided to take some really fun pictures with the kids. Er...Some of the kids were ready to take their awareness to the next level(laughing).
Nothing can be better than a Friday spent hanging out with positive little souls. Everyone is really looking forward to next week. See photos in the gallery

GALLERY

P.S: Did you notice that cute little one that appeared a lot in the pictures? I did too!Absolutely breathtaking! So, i guess we can conclude that impact + fun = Butterfly (grins).