Beneficiary: Mrs. Okunkpolor Olusola
Sector: Education
Business Name: Our Lady of Hope Montessori School
Amidst the bustling urban landscape of Benin City, Edo, Our Lady of Hope Montessori School encountered a formidable obstacle that threatened to obscure its luminous potential. Mrs. Okunkpolor Olusola, the fervent and resolute Proprietress, harbored aspirations of furnishing her students with a dependable power source to cultivate an enriched learning milieu. The advent of the distinguished BRAVE Women Nigeria project heralded the realization of her vision into an unequivocal actuality.
Serving as an unwavering bastion of educational provision, Our Lady of Hope Montessori School extended its services to 450 pupils and engaged a staff cohort of 50 individuals across its dual branches. Nevertheless, the institution’s advancement was impeded by an erratic power provision, compelling a burdensome reliance on generators. Through an open and candid discourse, Mrs. Olusola disclosed the staggering financial ramifications incurred, citing an average monthly expenditure of 74,000 Naira for diesel procurement alongside an additional 20,000 Naira allocation for maintenance. To navigate these fiscal constraints, she undertook arduous decisions such as marginally augmenting school fees and levies, meticulously orchestrating generator utilization, and sporadically reducing staff remunerations.
Despite her concerted endeavors, the school’s scholastic ambiance languished in instances of generator downtime, eliciting disquietude amongst parents concerning their children’s welfare. Reports of heat-induced ailments and a discomforting milieu precipitated contemplations of student withdrawals amongst some guardians. This predicament weighed heavily upon Mrs. Olusola, as her aspiration for a nurturing and conducive learning habitat appeared elusive.
However, the inflection point emerged with the advent of the BRAVE Women Nigeria project. Galvanized by the prospect of investing in inverter and solar panel technologies, a long-held aspiration, Mrs. Olusola seized the opportunity with unwavering resolve. Each school enclave was outfitted with a state-of-the-art 10 KVA Inverter and 6,000 Watts Solar Panel infrastructure, catalyzing a metamorphosis that would imprint an enduring imprint upon the institution’s trajectory.
Presently, Our Lady of Hope Montessori School stands as an emblem of brilliance and triumph. The erstwhile dimmed corridors now exude luminosity and congeniality, eliciting enthusiasm amongst stakeholders including parents, educators, and students alike. Within this enhanced scholastic milieu, students thrive, and the reverberations of the school’s remarkable transfiguration propagate swiftly. In September 2022, the institution bore witness to an influx of new admissions, attributable to positive endorsements and efficacious promotional endeavors.
Moreover, the newfound stability empowered Mrs. Olusola to fortify the school premises seamlessly, ensuring an uninterrupted pedagogical experience. The burgeoning student populace paved the way for expanded prospects, facilitating competitive staff compensations and envisaging augmentation of the workforce through supplementary recruitments. Embracing the potency of technology, Mrs. Olusola instituted a hybrid learning paradigm, amalgamating online and on-site educational modalities facilitated by computer systems, television sets, and internet connectivity. The repercussions of these advancements, made conceivable through the steadfast backing of the BRAVE Women Nigeria project, transcend the confines of the school’s precincts.
Grateful and inspired, Mrs. Olusola extols the virtues of the BRAVE Women Nigeria project wherever her odyssey takes her. Their support not only electrified her educational institution but also kindled a fervor within her students, impelling them to aspire audaciously and strive for the zenith of their potential. The electrifying revitalization of Our Lady of Hope Montessori School serves as a testimonial to the potency of collaborative endeavor and the transformative capacity of empowering women in the pursuit of their aspirations.
