Slum2School Africa has launched "Stories from Our Home", a Nigerian cultural colouring book for children in underserved communities, in partnership with Google. The project, powered by Google's Gemini AI, was unveiled on Tuesday at the Slum2School Innovation Hub in Lekki, Lagos, with primary school pupils attending interactive storytelling and creative sessions. The book blends traditional Nigerian folktales with AI-generated illustrations, featuring stories from across the country such as Queen Moremi, the Walls of Benin, and festivals like Argungu Fishing and New Yam. It aims to fill a critical gap in early education, where many children lack basic creative tools like colouring books and crayons.
Otto Orondaam, founder of Slum2School Africa, said, "At Slum2School Africa, we have always believed that education is the most powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty. Education begins long before a child enters a classroom; it starts with the stories they hear and the materials they hold." The initiative emerged from an "Imagination Workshop" involving Nigerian creatives including Broda Shaggi, Falz, Layi Wasabi, Tobi Bakre, and Officer Woos, who shared childhood memories and folktales later visualised using Gemini AI. The final book was designed and published by Inked Memory to meet educational standards. Broda Shaggi said, "I know what it feels like to grow up without these things... Being part of this project and seeing 1,000 packs go into the hands of these children means everything to me." Each recipient child receives a "Dream Pack" with crayons, notebooks, and pencils.
A comedian, not a minister, is handing out basic learning tools that should have been in every nursery classroom years ago. Broda Shaggi's emotional connection to the project underscores a reality: public education in Nigeria still fails to provide foundational materials for creative development. When private individuals and tech firms step in to deliver what should be state-provided resources, it redefines necessity, not charity. This initiative may inspire pride in heritage, but it also quietly exposes how far behind Nigeria's early education system truly is.
