Enugu State Smart Green School and Community Secondary School Ugwuoba students equipped with Disputation Toolkits, Integrity and Empathy — Not Just Lectures
OJI RIVER, Enugu State — October 29, 2026 —The United States Government Exchange Alumni Association (USGEAAN) Nigeria, Enugu State Chapter, marked the 2026 Alumni Day of Service with a transformative Freedom 250 Future Leaders Outreach at Enugu State Smart Green School Campus, Elugwu Akwu Achi, Oji River LGA.
The community-focused outreach, which commenced at 11:00 AM prompt, brought together selected students from Enugu State Smart Green School Campus, Elugwu Akwu Achi and Community Secondary School, Ugwuoba, Oji River in a rare community-level convergence for leadership development.
In line with global best practices, consent and release documentation was duly explained and documented with teachers serving as guardians, with both teachers and students giving verbal and written consent.
FROM DREAMS TO REALITIES: BEYOND LECTURES TO TOOLKITS
Setting the tone, the State Coordinator, USGEAAN Enugu and SEL + REBT Trainer and Expert, Coach Ebere Amaraizu, introduced the essence of the Freedom 250 Initiative — inspiring the next generation to understand WHO THEY ARE as a foundation for leadership.
The Alumni interaction featured a powerful session by Program Manager and Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Alumna, Uche Anyaegbudike, who shared her inspiring alumni story and broke down why business matters and how young people can begin their entrepreneurial journey now.
The life-changing core was delivered by Coach Ebere Amaraizu, who equipped the students with Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills fused with Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) — featuring Disputation Toolkits for self-discovery, goal-setting, choice and decision-making, self-awareness, perspective-taking, taking responsibility, overcoming anxiety, and turning failure into fuel for growth.
In a defining addition, students were exposed to the Principle of Integrity and Empathy.
<span;>> “A leader and a true business person must have integrity and empathy. Innovation without integrity is empty, and entrepreneurship without empathy is unsustainable,” Amaraizu charged. “We didn’t give them mere lectures and usual storytelling; we gave them disputation toolkits for life.”
The sessions were highly practical and hands-on, with students practicing choice and decision-making exercises that deepened self-understanding and self-management, followed by robust questions and answers.
VOICES FROM THE FIELD
Our future leaders expressed profound appreciation to USGEAAN Enugu and the U.S. Mission Nigeria, describing the outreach as eye-opening and a true exposure to what leadership roles and responsibilities entail. Teachers expressed joy that the intervention reached their local community, commending USGEAAN for finding them worthy.
The outreach climaxed with the distribution of educational materials and a formal group photograph. The event was conducted without hitches.
ABOUT THE FREEDOM 250 FUTURE LEADERS OUTREACH
The Freedom 250 Future Leaders Outreach is part of USGEAAN’s commitment to commemorate service and inspire the next generation of Nigerian leaders through community-rooted, skills-based interventions that build self-awareness, resilience, and responsible citizenship.
Ebere Amaraizu
State Coordinator, USGEAAN Nigeria, Enugu State Chapter
