2025: A Successful Year In Saboba
The Saboba Youth Center (SYC) hasn’t been idle in 2025 — quite the contrary! Various projects, from Green My Community to the VSLA savings groups, the E-Library, and the Child Parliament, have made tremendous progress. We would like to share these developments with you, based on a detailed report from the SYC's current program manager, Johnson.
Expanding the E-Library
The SYC's E-Library has been under development for over a year. Setting up a computer room is both time-consuming and costly, and therefore requires time and planning. Progress is slow but steady: thanks to a donation from the Rotary Club Dorfen, the SYC was able to purchase three additional laptops and a router with a SIM card for internet access. In addition, the SYC has secured the door and windows of the computer room with metal bars to ensure that the valuable equipment is properly protected.
As early as 2024, students participating in the Child Parliament were able to conduct research for parliamentary debates in the e-library and received computer science courses from SYC member Ibamondor – but at that time with only four laptops in total. When we visited Saboba in September 2024, we were able to bring four more devices with us. With the three new laptops, there are now eleven computers available. The medium-term goal is to set up a computer room with 20 laptops.
New Motorbikes
As you can see on the map of the Saboba district, some of the communities where SYC runs projects are quite far from Saboba. The quality of the roads there is poor: there is no paved road leading to Saboba, and many communities can only be reached via paths that are only wide enough for a motorcycle, not a car.
This means that SYC volunteers need motorcycles to travel to the communities. Many of them do not have their own motorcycles, which is why we have made efforts to provide the SYC with its own motorcycles. At the beginning of 2020, the SYC was able to purchase one motorbike, which has been in heavy use ever since. Thanks to two large donations this year, we have now been able to supply the SYC with funds to purchase two more motorcycles to relieve the older one.
Green My Community
Word of the success of the Green My Community project has by now spread throughout the district. Every now and then a new community contacts the SYC to ask if they can also create a tree plantation in their area. For the fourth year in a row, the SYC has planted many new trees, setting a new record: a total of 6,000 seedlings were planted this year near the village of Ugbinbordo. These are mainly teak and acacia trees, which have already proven themselves successful on other tree plantations.
Child and Youth Parliaments
The Child and Youth Parliaments have been less active this year, with only one debate each. Many members of the Child Parliament took their junior high school final exams this year and therefore had less free time for parliamentary debates. In response, the SYC stepped up its efforts to attract new participants, visiting schools and organizing information evenings for parents.
