Narrative 4 rewards Lagos students with ₦1.35m for community projects
The Narrative 4 Cities School Programme has concluded its first edition in Lagos, awarding ₦1.35 million to the overall winning student team for its proposed community project.
The six-month initiative, which brought together 200 students from 10 public schools, used storytelling, inter-school exchanges and empathy-building activities to promote leadership, problem-solving and understanding of different perspectives among young people.
The programme began in March with facilitator training, while activities in participating schools commenced in May.
Speaking at the closing ceremony held at Galaxy Events Centre, Ojota, Lagos, the Director of Africa Operations at Narrative 4, Buchi Onyegbule, said the initiative was designed to equip students with empathy, leadership and problem-solving skills while encouraging them to develop solutions to challenges in their communities.
Onyegbule explained that the organisation set its project funding benchmark at $1,000, equivalent to about ₦1.35 million, to encourage students to develop practical and achievable solutions using resources within their reach.
The closing ceremony featured inter-school debates and talk-show sessions, with students discussing the theme of empathy, its importance in understanding others and how it could be demonstrated in everyday life and their communities.
The programme also provided teachers with access to a digital library of educational resources.
Outstanding participants received awards, while other students and teams were given consolation prizes in recognition of their contributions.
Onyegbule said the organisation planned to continue the programme next year, although its expansion would depend on available funding.
He commended the students for their creativity, noting that their proposed projects covered environmental and social interventions as well as technology-driven solutions, including applications designed to improve public safety.
However, he identified the disappointment of students whose projects were not selected for funding as one of the challenges encountered, explaining that many participants were eager to see their ideas translated into reality.