This year’s edition of ‘Free Yoruba Summer Class for Children’ organised by actress and broadcaster, Feyikemi Niyi-Olayinka’s Mothers Support Mother Tongue Initiative (Awon Iya Ti Nfi Ede Abinibi Ko Awon Omo) will commence on Monday, August 5.
According to her, the two-week programme for children age 3 to 14 will hold daily at Lagos Progressive Primary School, Mba Street, Off Tafawa Balewa Street, Adeniran Ogunsanya, Surulere, Lagos. It’s free of charge to all interested participants.
The programme will feature Yoruba poetry, songs, recitals and numbers amongst others, with renowned Yoruba language experts as facilitators. They include Akeem Lasisi, Edaoto Agbeniyi, Asake Jojolo Akewi, Alagba Fadeyi Abayomi, Adewale Odumo popularly known as Akara Oogun and Akindolapo Abodunrin.
A novelty that the actress has added to this year’s edition is a class for parents interested in polishing their knowledge of the Yoruba language. Professional guidance counselors will also be on ground for parents and young adults who need counseling during the summer classes.
Explaining the inclusion of parents, Niyi-Olayinka said: “Since we commenced the free summer Yoruba classes in 2015, we realised that some parents were also interested in what we were doing. After dropping their children, some of the parents would stay back and participate in the activities with them. Some parents interested in polishing their knowledge of the language then approached us to include them in our preparations. This year, we decided to heed their call by having a special class for them.”
The actress added that parents shouldn’t bother about what their children would eat during the summer classes, as provision would be made for them with the help of supporters of the initiative.
“Just bathe, dress and give your children breakfast. Bring them to our classes and we will do the rest. We have made arrangements for snacks with the help of our supporters, and we will appreciate if other supporters including corporate organisations can come on board to join in our quest of ensuring that the Yoruba language doesn’t go into extinction. I assure participants of a very fruitful and interesting time at the classes,” she concluded.