ABIDJAN, COTE D’IVOIRE, January 26, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ — 30 beneficiaries drawn from the Centre Sainte Therese De L’enfant Jesus institution in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, began their journey into the world of film making as Sahara Group and Zuriel Oduwole held the final leg of the ongoing Grooming Film Extrapreneurs project in the West African nation.
The project had previously been executed in Ghana and Nigeria where 60 ladies were trained in the foundational aspect of filmmaking.
Country Manager, Sahara Group, Olayemi Odutola said the project represents the commitment of Sahara to promoting economic growth and sustainable development in the nation. “At Sahara, we are always looking for platforms that will help individuals and communities realise their dreams. This is a project we hope will inspire the dawn of a new day for the girl child in Africa.”
Welcoming the participants, Manager of the Institution, Sister Christina Coman, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sahara Group and Zuriel and thank Sahara especially for choosing our centre for the project. The training will give our students an opportunity to learn a new skill that will boost their on-going training in hairdressing, sewing and baking.”
Sahara Foundation Manager, Oluseyi Ojurongbe said the participants would be supported to improve their film making skills after the training that is being coordinated by Zuriel Oduwole a young film maker and girl child education advocate. “The project is in line with our passion for promoting the achievement of the Sustainable Development goals across the globe, with goals 4 and 5 which speak to quality education and gender equality bring the focus”
Handling a camera was a new experience for the participants who expressed delight at the opportunity to tell and share their stories to audiences across the world through film making.
24 year-old Konate Makoya said the high point of the event was when she actually held the camera for the first time in her life. “This experience would certainly change my life and I am looking forward to inspiring other ladies as well,” she said.
22 year-old Tuo Marie-Ange explained that she particularly enjoyed the aspect of the training where they were taught how to create stories and edit stories to achieve a final product that people would appreciate. “There are lots of stories about the girl child that the world needs to hear. I would like to express my gratitude to Sahara Group for this opportunity.”
Kouname Mariam, who is 25 years old said the participation of foremost Ivorian movie actress, Akissi Delta who urged the ladies to embrace education, work hard and never give up on their dreams was the best part of the training. “It was inspiring to learn about all she went through before becoming a star. Many more ladies out there need to hear these stories. I can confidently say that I really enjoyed and learnt a lot from this training.”
Delta who made a special appearance at the training centre, said she was delighted to be given the platform to share her experience with the beneficiaries. She commended Sahara Group for the initiative, describing it as one that “can begin a movement that will see girls in the nation take up the challenge of pursuing their dreams.”
According to her: “Given the right opportunities, girls in Africa will become agents of transformation in the country and ultimately the entire world. I am excited that Sahara Group and the young film maker, Zuriel chose a medium that will empower our girls to capture and share their stories as well as begin their march towards economic independence.”
Delta said her experience had taught her that the movie industry can help steer the society along the line of progress and prosperity true story telling. “These ladies can easily become the next superstars in our movie industry. Beyond film making, I want to urge them and in fact, all women to take education seriously, whilst calling on the government to come up with more policies that will empower the girl child.”
The participants, working with volunteers and Zuriel will have an opportunity to learn more and produce documentaries that highlight girl child issues for exhibition at global events.
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