Recently, selected students from the Niger Delta region, particularly in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, were sponsored by the Dubri Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that is propagating change in the region through education and other social tools, on an excursion visit to the State's Leisure Park and Film Village.

In this brief chat with PENGlobal Community, the organization's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Comr. Doubra Timiyan, speaks on the purpose of the excursion trip and the intended benefits as well as the need for all stakeholders in the region to contribute collectively and positively to the development of the oil-rich region, especially through education.

◼️ Dubri Foundation's vision

First, the aim and objective of the Dubri Foundation is built around the concept of breaking down the barriers of marginalisation in the Niger Delta region. And here at Dubri Foundation, we need to understand that for us to get the needed change we desire, we have to go to the very beginning and retrace our steps. And that starting point is education.

◼️ About the visit to Delta State's Leisure Park and Film Village

On the visit to the Delta State's Leisure Park and Film Village, a one-of-a-kind theme park located on Anwai Road, along the Government House Way in Asaba, first, we want to ensure that every child in the region has access to, not just education, but quality education. We want to meet up with the 21st century academic standard of learning. The excursion, to us, is a good example of such. We are encouraging lecture outside the classroom; we don't want to limit learning; we don't want to be tied up to knowledge acquired just inside the classroom.

So, we are striving for exposure; we want a Niger Delta where a child of nobody becomes somebody. We want to set the futuristic goals for our kids. We also want to make learning fun and interesting. We want to refine the mindset of our kids to building society, so that each individual has a goal—to prioritise developing our dear region.

So, going to Asaba for this excursion is a priority because in our region we don't have such. Over the years, we lack this form of learning. For instance, someone like me, I grew up in Gbaramatu. I passed out my early stage of academy in Gbaramatu; even went to the university. But of all these, I never had the opportunity of going for an excursion despite the fact that the kind of course I studied required me to be travelling. So, this is the state of Nigeria's academic system in the Niger Delta. So, the Dubri Foundation is coming in to see how we can be of help.

◼️ Traveling as a tool for learning

Traveling is also a form of learning, and this excursion is one of such. They (students) traveled and then visited the park and other places like the zoo where they got to learn about the different species of animals. They were involved in different recreational activities, which is educative too. Also, by being together it goes a long way to train them on how they should work or cooperate as a team, which is also a vital aspect of the society—teammanship. So, that is also one aspect of it.

And they also visited some other places like the Film Village. Of course, that aspect cannot be taken from us as Africans. There, they saw some artifacts that have been existing for ages. We are Ijaw people but going there affords them the opportunity to learn more about the history of other ethnic groups such as some aspects of the Igbo culture, and many other things.

◼️ An appeal to stakeholders in the Niger Delta

Like change, development is a constant thing, Yes, to the government, more and more needs to be done in the Niger Delta region. So, this is an appeal to government parastatals, government officials to always see how they can continually key into the development of the region. Yes, they have been doing their best, but more still needs to be done. Because, of course, you know, the Niger Delta region is a big heart to our dear country, so they (government) need to invest more on it continually, day after day, to boost physical infrastructures as well as learning infrastructures too.

To the people in the Niger Delta region, while we are hoping on the government to do their best, we also, on our own, must see how we can be of support to ourselves. We don't want to sit down, fold our hands and wait on government to do everything for us. In our own little way we can contribute to the building of our region because it is our home. Even if the government should abandon it, we cannot run away from it. So we have to do our own little best to see how we can improve it, just like what the Dubri Foundation is doing today.

To parents let them try and see how they can properly support our kids academically and by giving them the right doctrines; let's see how we can all be of support to the school management and every other thing that can help them academically.

◼️ Funding and Sponsorship

Dubri Foundation in particular is being funded and run by members of the organization, at this level. We are also hoping that as we push forward in our endeavor, in our quest, we will get more and more support. And for the Foundation, we wouldn't have achieved this drive without the support of the Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman, High Chief Kestin Pondi, and other dedicated members of the organization, to whom we are grateful.

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