Continuously rising Nigerian singer, Yemi Alade, has said she is set to go places with children worldwide in her partnership with Shell Petroleum Development Company.
Alade told The Eagle Online in Nairobi, Kenya that she had noticed that the challenges facing developing countries are the same and that tackling them only requires taking them one after the other.
She said that was why she decided to join SPDC in tackling the challenge of power, which affects children worldwide, especially in developing countries.
Alade, who was in Kenya to join in the launch of GravityLight, a project for the provision of power to homes without the usage of battery or any other source of charging, said if the challenge of power could be tackled, a big chunk of the problem facing children would have been resolved.
She told The Eagle Online: “The challenges facing the developing world are the same.
“Bad roads, lack of power, no water, just the same challenges.
“So the best way out is to keep resolving these issues bit by bit.
“You do your own bit, I do mine.
“That was why I was excited when the opportunity to work on this project came.
“And I do not have any regret so far.”
Alade, who was warmly received at both Korogocho Community in Nairobi, where the community hall was powered by GravityLight for free for the use of children, and Daraja Girls Academy, where each of the student was given the light for free, engaged with the children in a way that touched those in attendance.
So why has she decided to work with children, a development that was also noticed in Brazil last year, where a similar project was launched in another of Shell’s seven energy ideas?
Alade said: “Children are the future of tomorrow.
“There is the need to guide them properly, especially the girls.
“If you get it right with children, you will get the whole world right.
“And the same challenges are confronting children worldwide, be it in the developed to developing countries.
“I can tell you that with Shell, I will make a major impact with children worldwide.”
At Korogocho, Alade performed with children who displayed exemplary dancing skills.
So also did she have a special performance session for the children of Daraja Girls Academy, a school run free of charge for not so privileged children.
Is she planning to release an album with the children?
Alade replied: “I won’t let out all the surprises at once.
“Just watch out.
“But I can tell you, I am going somewhere with children worldwide.”