Grad seeks brighter future for Nigeria's children

by Lynda Hills

Olive Akomas has a long commute—she lives in Umuahia, Nigeria, but studies at UVic.

Akomas, who graduates from UVic this month with a master's degree in child and youth care, took her courses through the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU). She's a community nutritionist in the Abia State Ministry of Health in Nigeria.

"My work focuses on the reduction of infant and under-five mortality and disease through improved nutritional practices," she says.

Located in the southeastern part of Nigeria, Umuahia is an urban area with good roads, potable water, an erratic electric power supply, government and private hospitals, and health centres. The town has private primary and secondary schools and education is free at the primary and secondary levels.

Infant and under-five mortality rates in this developing country, however, are quite high. At 120 million, Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa.
ECDVU is a Web-based graduate degree program being delivered in 10 African nations and five countries in the Middle East.

Akomas first heard of the program when UVic child and youth care professor Alan Pence came to a UNICEF workshop in Nigeria in 2000. "When I found out that I could still do my job and didn't have to leave my family for the three year period of the course, I got interested," Akomas says.

She feels that ECDVU was a well-planned program. "It is broad-based and addresses issues affecting children in sub-Saharan Africa," she says. "I was enriched by sharing experiences with other learners from various African cultures, as well as the resources and information that I received."

Her colleagues in the Abia State Ministry of Health also benefited from the information that she was able to share. "By targeting children's well-being, there will be a beneficial impact to Nigeria's social and economic development," she says.

Akomas plans to be at UVic in person to receive her degree on Nov. 10. Then she'll return to Africa and continue to move early childhood development forward in Nigeria.

"I believe there's a brighter future for our children," she says.