The mention of Aba brings to mind Nigeria’s capital city of fashion enterprise; the host of Nigeria’s fashion industries; leading in the local production of shoes, clothes and other items of clothing.
However, no one visits Aba without recounting a tale of the deplorable environmental condition of the city. From indiscriminate dumping of refuse on roadsides to overflowing drainage systems clogged with refuse and petrifying odour from heaps of refuse yet to be evacuated for months, the tales are always the same. No wonder most Nigerians, consider Aba as the dirtiest city in the country. This was validated when the city was ranked 6th most polluted cities of the world by WHO.
KAC was initiated by Magdalene Okoro in 2013 as a solution to this social problem with an objective to foster good sanitation and hygienic practices in schools and communities in Aba. Over 10,000 Aba residents have been sensitized on how dirty environments and poor hygienic practices cause ill-health through this project.
On November 22, 2018, during CSAAE 2018 Emerging African Leaders Foundation Conference in Abuja, KAC was selected as one of the community projects inspired by CSSAE to be scaled into a Social Enterprise with. It also marked the official launch of Reformers Cleaning Services, income generating aspect of KAC that provides professional cleaning services to homes, business premises, churches and cooperate organizations within and around Aba, Abia State. In less than five years, what started as a passion for healthy living and sustainable environment in Aba has transformed into a social enterprise.
Engagement in the Innovative Community Development Project is a core part of the Emerging African Leaders Program (ELP) of CSAAE. By engaging in these projects, future leaders get to understand the problems facing Africa and begin early to start seeking innovative solutions to them through their CDPs. Initiating, managing and growing these projects also provide the Emerging Leaders the opportunities to test and strengthen their project management skills and other leadership skills, entrepreneurial spirit, moral and social sense, all of which are skill-set necessary to navigate Africa out of poverty and underdevelopment.
It is the expectation of CSAAE that each CDP inspired by CSAAE and initiated by Emerging Leader grows into a mega social or business enterprise that can sustain the Emerging Leader, help create opportunities to sustain others, help fast-track development and support CSAAE to continue its good work. Currently, the Centre has over 38 ongoing community development projects across Nigeria. Projects range from re-instating dropouts back to the classroom to environmental sanitation.
Launched in 2013, CSAAE is dedicated to harnessing the potential of young people and providing the kinds of tools and training that endow them with the capacities, competencies, and character necessary to sustain themselves, create opportunities that help others sustain themselves and embrace their roles as critical actors in building a better Africa. CSAAE is registered as a non-profit organization in Nigeria and a 501(c)(3) in the United States.
UJA, JOY C
(Effective African Leader)
