Jordan Hill Celebrates Young Authors On Children’s Day

Children’s Day at Jordan Hill Creative Writing & Reading Workshop was celebrated in grand style. Jordan Hill Books launched six books written for children, five of which were written by children.  Award winners from the Jordan Hill Young Writers’ Awards which held last September in celebration of children’s ingenuity and creativity in writing were celebrated at this event. The award ceremony which had followed the Young Authors’ Mentorship Camp 2018; a writing summer camp put together by Jordan Hill in collaboration with Corona Schools’ Trust Council and The Pottersland School Lekki provided the right platform to reward young and budding authors from the Young Authors’ Mentorship Cam 2018  with offers of publishing contracts by Jordan Hill Books. These offers finally culminated in the publication and celebration of the young writers’ books at the launch.  Mobola and the Spider, authored by six-year-old Oluwakanyinsola Afolayan, a pupil of Tender Palms School, Mende and award winner, Best Story Writer at the junior category at the Young Writers’ Awards in 2018 was among the books launched. Also launched was Vehemence by Nola Metseagharun, a nine-year-old pupil of Corona School Lekki and Best Story Writer at the intermediate category and Oluwatofunmi Lawal’s The First Female Ruler of L’Eko. Oluwatofunmi Lawal was awarded the Best Story Writer at the senior category and is a nine-year-old pupil of Corona School Gbagada.

Jordan Hill went further to recognise other children who also put in great effort to turn in great writing pieces during the writing camp and equally gave offers of a publishing contract, putting together their stories into a collection now published and titled DREAMWORLD.  Such young writing talents,  T’OluwadeOnadele, a pupil of The Learning Place, Lekki; OgechukwukaOkechukwu, a pupil of Corona School Gbagada; Azeema Davies, a pupil of Pampers Private School, Surulere; UfedojoAgudah, a pupil of The Learning Place, Lekki and Gabriella Ekwevugbe, a pupil of Corona School Victoria Island,  amongst others were also present at the book launch themed ‘Celebrating the Book in Every Child’.

However, the Young Authors’ Mentorship Camp is not the only platform Jordan Hill used in grooming budding writers. The reading & writing organisation runs a writing club called the ‘Young Authors’ Club’ in over twelve schools across Lagos and which has been an excellent avenue to reach children in promoting a love for books, reading, and writing.  From such, OlurotimiIdechi Balogun, a nine-year-old pupil of Corona School Victoria Island has emerged as a published young author. He was awarded a scholarship following a writing contest last year to take part in a unique mentorship programme with some other pupils.  His book, The Fight for Amanita, is a product of that programme and was equally launched on Monday 27th in celebrating the book in every child. Alongside Olurotimi Balogun at the book launch was his mother, Mrs Akwugo Chinedu Balogun, who was similarly officially releasing her collection of short stories, Smiling Days & Dancing Nights to the public, a book celebrated for its rich cultural content and value.

According to the Educational Director, Jordan Hill, there is genuinely a book in everyone. “Reading through all the books written by these young ones, I believe the most important is the message behind the story. And that is one thing that our young authors have all shown through the use of the pen; sharing a message with the world through their books. They have shown that it is not good being in a society where evil is the order of the day, and no one chooses to do anything about it. And like Edmund Burke rightly said, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ All our young authors have succeeded in portraying true heroes as being those who take the step to fight evil rather than live with it. Our writers have given us a charge – do something in your way to make the world a better place,” she explained.

The event which was well attended was chaired by Mrs Adeyoyin Adesina, Chief Executive Officer, Corona Schools’ Trust Council, represented by Mrs AdenikeOnafeso, Head of School, Corona School Ikoyi. Mrs Adesina, in her speech, congratulated the children for their achievement and encouraged them to continue to nurture their skills in writing, following in the path of great writers like Chinua Achebe and William Shakespeare.

Also present at the event as the Chief Launcher was Chief Alaba Lawson, The Chairman, Governing Council of the MoshoodAbiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta and the immediate past President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA). In declaring the new releases from the Jordan Hill Books open to the public, Chief Alaba Lawson asserted, “ Education is the right legacy, and if you think it is too expensive, try ignorance.” She further urged parents to value both boys and girls as children and raise both of them equally, not neglecting one over the other.” She also congratulated Jordan Hill for the steadfast and consistent manner in which the problem of illiteracy is being tackled in Lagos and encouraged them to move to other states of the country to reach out to more children.

Also speaking, Mr Adeleye, Curriculum Review Department, Ministry of Education, congratulated the children for their writing prowess and encouraged them to focus on things that add value to them and society. He expressed his excitement at the children adding to the number of reading resources for the community and further stated that the Ministry of Education would review the books for the possible approval of such for the state’s reading materials.

Reviewing the books at the book launch, veteran actress, author and film producer, Mrs Uche Mac-Auley elucidated the importance of a reading culture in helping children become better writers as the young writers showed profound skills in creativity and style in the choice of expressions used in writing, making the books rich in form. She praised the newly published child authors and other young authors published under the Jordan Hill Butterfly Series who also graced the occasion, Oluwademilade Fagbayi, author, The Mischievous Old Woman; BolaoluwaNeratAsaolu, author, The Lion Comes to Town and Kid Ambassador with Kidpreneur Africa; and Oluwadarasimi Fagbayi, author, Max the Footballer.

Mr Kennedy Eze, Managing Director at Jordan Hill, expounded the value of the annual holiday camp organised by Jordan Hill, Young Authors’ Mentorship Camp, which is billed to run from July 22nd – August 2nd this year, in collaboration with Corona Schools’ Trust Council at Corona Day Nursery Ikoyi and Corona School Lekki as one in which the aim is to inspire, motivate and mentor children to become better writers with enhanced creativity and style of expression while focused on completing a book of their own, and thereafter get the book published, if selected as award winners. “Our belief is, when children are celebrated as young authors and young achievers, after their first book is published, they will be motivated to engage in more writing activities which will ensure their writing gets better and they spend more time on activities that add value.”

Mrs Eze, Educational Director, Jordan Hill, in her speech, advised parents to have their children availed of this great opportunity of learning to become effective communicators as it is an investment they would never regret. She encouraged parents to visit the Jordan Hill social media platforms for more information about the summer programme.

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