All participants sponsored to this year’s leadership academy by Ikeja-Alausa chapter of Rotary Club International will be specially hosted at a grand ceremony next month.
This was disclosed to sports247.ng by the president of RC Ikeja-Alausa, Rotarian Henry Akwara, who was physically present at the closing ceremony of this year’s Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA).
The week-long camp, which took place at Sea School, off Liverpool Quay at Apapa, Lagos, ended on Sunday amidst pomp and pageantry, with certificates of participation handed out to each RYLArian by the organisers and hosts.
However, while other participants went home with two certificates each, Rotarian Akwara disclosed that the ten kids sponsored by Ikeja-Alausa were to go only with their cards that were endorsed by the management of Sea School.
Akwara, who was the motivator behind the sponsorship of ten students to RYLA 2024 by his chapter, said the participants need to be honoured in a big way by him and his members at a later date, which they decided to set apart from the closing day’s hustle and bustle at Sea School.
He added that it will, therefore, be during the forthcoming ceremony that the chapter’s RYLA 2024 participants will be presented with their certificates, in order for them to gain specific attention and be officially recognised.
“I am happy to see all of the students that we at Ikeja-Alausa sponsored to this academy. I am happy that you made us proud and justified the money we spent on you.
“I, as the president, I am so happy that we have been able to sponsor you to this first edition of RYLA organised by the new district 9112 of Rotary International.
“Because you are special, we are going to organise our own ceremony where your certificates will be formally presented to you sometime in September,” the amiable president promised.
He then shook hands with each of the ten participants sponsored by Ikeja-Alausa chapter of the globally acclaimed humanitarian body and wished them well in all their future endeavours.
Sports247.ng gathered that the list from Ikeja-Alausa included two SS2 students of Masterguide College, Egbeda, Lagos and five from Will-B Excellence Secondary School, Ikotun.
Those from Masterguide College were Olakekan Darasimi and Omotosho Awwal, while Will-B produced Adeyemi Aminat, Adeshina Damian, Okeowo Christiana, Olupitan Seyi and his older sister, Mirabel.
Incidentally, two of their colleagues – Oyewunmi Esther of Will-B and Afolayan Adeola from Masterguide – were also present during the address by Rotarian Akwara, though they were both not officially registered under the banner of Ikeja-Alausa.
They, however, told sports247.ng that they hope to have their names included on the roster for the special ceremony by Ikeja-Alausa, considering how issues of logistics caused a mix-up in the placement of their registration data.
