The increasing rise of poverty in Nigeria and Africa at large has made many people run away from the country but as many people are running away one Babatunde Onakoya has taken it upon himself to use Chess to save kids in the streets. He introduced the Chess in Slums initiative which is aimed at using Chess to help African children.
The initiative is not just in Nigeria as it is aimed at saving African society. It is called Chess in Slum in Africa (CISA). The initiative is a nonprofit organization and it wants to use the noble chess game to help children in slum communities realize their full potential by integrating the principles of the game with the management of daily challenges in life, enhancing abstract thinking, creativity, and innovation.
In their act it is stated that their Vision is to empower, uplift, and educate 1 million children in slum communities, in 5years, using chess as a focal point. It is possible to do great things from a small place.” Chess in Slums was established in 2018 when Tunde Onakoya, had the idea of how the game of chess can be used to help children out of the endless loop of poverty and societal denigration.
Babatunde Onakoya comes from an economically disadvantaged background, and it was chess that gave him the light out of the economic hard life he had. Since he found the light he has decided to extend it to the children in the slum who is regarded as children with high economic disadvantage.
Mr Tunde Onakoya envisioned a world where like him, the game of chess will be the ultimate messiah that impoverished children need to envision a world beyond their grim reality. At Chess in Slum, they believe every child deserves an equal opportunity in attaining a better life.
This belief is what led them to adopt an innovative approach where they use the game of chess to empower children from impoverished backgrounds to learn academic, educational, and critical thinking skills that will help them secure a better tomorrow. Our ultimate goal is to train over 1 million Children in the space of 5 years.
For Tunde, using the game of chess as a social development tool was never an option, it was the only choice. This vision which birthed Chess in Slums has resulted in the immeasurable impact that has elevated the status of indigent children in getting a better life.
As a result of using chess as a tool for socio-economic transformation, we have succeeded in securing lifelong scholarships for over 200 Children from indigent homes.
We found a unique approach in one of the exceptional principles of the game of chess. Just like the Pawn, which is often considered the weakest Chess piece, can be promoted into a Queen the most powerful Chessman when it reaches the 8th rank, we believe every child can be elevated from their disadvantaged and weak position.
Therefore, for us at Chess in Slums, we act as that bridge that would connect these children to the 8th rank of life where they can attain meaningful positions and status in the nearest future. For CHESS IN SLUMS AFRICA it is about giving every child a chance and a reason to dream.
The Chess in Slums, Africa is reimagining education using chess as a tool/framework to aid cognition and empower the minds of children in impoverished communities. The initiative fosters the intellectual and social development of underprivileged children through chess education.
CISA is on a mission to teach and unlock the potential in every child by using the game of chess as a framework to promote education and raise champions from slum communities in Africa. Convener, Babatunde Onakoya, believes that a pawn can go on to become a king and he likens these children in slum communities to pawns who just need the right push by the right person to become a queen.
Together with his team, they have introduced the magic of chess to various children- from being complete beginners to competing globally. CISA offers out-of-school and disadvantaged children the opportunity to compete globally by teaching them chess and training them to become masters at the game. Connecting the children with chess enthusiasts and role models in various fields to inspire them on formulating a defined career path and harnessing talents.
How Babatunde Onakoya Started His Chess Dream
Onakoya was born in Isale Odo in Ikorodu to a driver/conductor and a petty trader, he couldn’t enrol in secondary school on time because his parents could not afford to pay the children’s school fees. While his counterparts were getting promoted to Junior Secondary School 2, Onakoya was quickly learning how to skillfully play PS1 at a barber’s shop who was also a chess player.
It was during one of his visits, he had his first encounter with chess. The fascination never left him. Although the barber never taught him, Onakoya was picking up skills with each game between the barber and other players.
Fortune smiled at him after his mother offered to work for a school owned by a Nigerian ambassador for free in exchange for his education. By the time he was in JSS2, Onakoya had won his first chess tournament and represented the school.
The First Winner of the Chess in Slum
The first winner of the chess in the slum competition was a 10-year-old boy named Ferdinand Maumo. The young boy was born in Makoko in Lagos state Nigeria. He was born with cerebral palsy, a speech impediment, and he could hardly speak English but he was able to beat all the candidates and was declared the 2021 chess champion of a tournament organised by Chess in Slums.
A few days after the competition the Governor of Lagos state, governor Sanwo-Olu invited the champion Ferdinand for a game of Chess. The next competition came up almost immediately, it came up by the end of 2021, in this one, an 18-year-old bus conductor, Fawaz Adeoye, won the tournament and it was organised in Oshodi, a notorious location in Lagos.
The winnings for the homeless conductor included a 2 million Naira prize. Just when Fawaz thought that he had reached the highlight of his victory, he alongside other players was taken to have a glimpse of the good life at Banana Island.
