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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Nigeria Slum Chess Hilton (TV)
HEADLINE: Nigerian Charity Teaches Chess to Slum Kids
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 02/01/2022 at 8:15am
BYLINE: Timothy Obiezu
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Lagos, Nigeria
VIDEOGRAPHER: Emeka Gibson
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, mas
VIDEO SOURCE (S): All VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:41
VID APPROVED BY: mia
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) [[A Nigerian charity that teaches chess to children living in the country's slums has received a boost from American socialite Paris Hilton. The media personality's tweets this month have helped the group, known as Chess In Slums, raise more than $100,000 to expand its program. Timothy Obiezu reports from Lagos.]]
((NARRATOR))
Arriving the Oshodi slum community in Lagos Nigeria for an important assignment.
Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya and his team at Chess in Slums Africa have been teaching chess here since 2018.
Onakoya says the idea is to give kids a better chance at education and in life through chess.
((Tunde Onakoya, Chess In Slums Africa Founder))((In English, - 15 secs))
"One of my favorite analogies is in that innate ability of a pawn to become a queen. So, this is deeply reflective of what we're trying to do with Chess in Slums, to show that beyond the stories of poverty, every child has the potential to become so much more."
((NARRATOR))
Oshodi is one of the most dangerous slum communities in Lagos State, with a history of organized gangs, armed robbery, and street violence, making it difficult for kids to thrive.
Onakoya's initiative is to change the negative stories with positive thinking and education.
He says more than 500 kids from various slums have benefited from his Chess in Slums Africa program and that the initiative keeps growing.
((Tunde Onakoya, Founder Chess In Slums Africa))((In English, - 15 secs))
"We started having success stories. A lot of the children we trained started getting scholarship opportunities. It now became a gateway to life changing opportunities for them their stories were celebrated in international media, made global headlines."
((NARRATOR))
Eighteen-year-old Ojo Ayomide enrolled with the team months ago and is already dreaming big.
((Ojo Ayomide, Chess Team Member In English - 14 secs))
"I want to be a chess master, even now I am a musician, I can sing. They want to help me, to take me to the studio, and I'll be going to school."
((NARRATOR))
This month, the initiative gained traction after Paris Hilton, the American socialite and businesswoman, retweeted a notice about the program and joined the campaign to raise $1 million for the project.
((Aaron Thompson, Chess in Slums Africa))((In English - 20 secs))
"Once she did that, Tunde and I got into a lot of meetings, how do we set up a global ambassadorship project because now that Paris Hilton is doing this, we can kind of present the ability to be a global ambassador to her and that's kind of the next step, is making sure we have global ambassadors out of her fundraising."
((NARRATOR))
For now, Onakoya and his team say with more funds, they will be expanding the Chess in Slums Africa initiative, with the goal of reaching 1 million underprivileged African children over the next 10 years.
((Timothy Obiezu for VOA News, Lagos, Nigeria))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Lagos, Nigeria
BylineTimothy Obiezu
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
