Leading up to Soulful Supper, we will be featuring stories from the hands that helped build the Youth Center. This story is the first installment of the series. We hope to see you on October 8th where we’ll share how these stories come together.

Gideon is an A2S Scholar who is currently studying Electrical Engineering at a university in Nigeria. Gideon’s father passed away when he was very young. Early on in life, his mother was struggling to make ends meet and was unable to send any of her children to school. Through her church, she heard about A2S. The A2S After School Academy and Scholars Program were the only ways Gideon and his siblings could afford to attend school. He and 3 of his siblings attended the After School Academy. Gideon and his older brother Theodore are also A2S Scholars.

During the pandemic, Gideon did not want to just be idle. In 2020, his university had experienced numerous faculty strikes as they demanded months worth of missing pay from the institution. Gideon and his classmates often found their classes canceled. Between the inconsistency at university and the shut down period from the pandemic, Gideon decided to learn as an apprentice at an electrical shop. He is now constantly busy wiring people’s homes and installing CCTV cameras. He became so skilled at his trade that we hired Gideon to install the CCTV system at our new Youth Center.

Through our A2S Scholars program, we not only help young adults pursue university education, but we also do everything we can to prepare them for the real world. What we’ve discovered over the years is that even the top graduating students from universities struggle to find jobs after finishing their degrees. As a part of our curriculum, we teach our scholars to look for additional opportunities to learn skills. This helps kids like Gideon fill a need in the community beyond their degree to make sure they can make ends meet.

Watching Gideon, a former After School Academy child, enter into our Scholars program and use his skills to give back to A2S is incredible. His story came full circle and shows how a child can thrive with the right support. We are so proud to see him take his life into his own hands, even in the toughest of times and come out on top.

Hear what Gideon’s mom has to say.