SUSI Summer 2015 - Maryam Farida Abdullahi:

Maryam Farida Abdullahi Photo
Participant Name: Maryam Farida Abdullahi
Project Location: Minna, Nigeria
Program: Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) on Social Entrepreneurship
Term: Summer 2015
Project Title: Our Future
UConn GTDI Project Award: Application Accepted & Funding Awarded

 

In Maryam's community of Minna, Nigeria, poverty is currently one of the most concerning social issues, a direct result of high unemployment and lack of job skills. In an effort to stop the cycle of unemployment, Maryam organizes workshops for secondary school children aimed at teaching career skills to help them choose and prepare for specialized job fields. She also encourages her students to attend career counseling sessions in order to help them decide on a career path to reach their full potential. Her focus is on teaching entrepreneurial business skills so the students can start their own businesses as adults. Maryam believes that by teaching children the valuable tools they need to thrive in a future career, they will be less likely to fall prey to social vices caused by idleness and unemployment.

Organization Information: Our Future

Our Future teaches vocational and business skills to secondary school students, so they can pursue their own business ideas and establish new businesses. The major objective of Our Future is to reduce youth idleness in the society, reduce social vices, and groom students to become productive members of the society, while also creating jobs, reducing unemployment, and improving the GDP of Nigeria.  Our Future holds skills acquisition workshops along with career guidance and counseling sessions on how to choose careers, especially in areas of specialization in Nigerian society.