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Images of African children are often portrayed as negative， given the many challenges they face on a daily basis. To celebrate International Children’s Day this June， ChinAfrica looks at the positive side of the continent’s children by sharing the inspiring stories of three young Africans who have determined their own destiny through outstanding achievements.
Qden Blaauw South African piano prodigy
When Qden Blaauw was informed that he had received the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study under the Chinese master pianist Lang Lang， he burst into tears of joy. The 12-year-old sixth grader in Cape Town， South Africa had only been playing the piano for four years before he was selected along with nine other children from more than 500 applicants worldwide for a full scholarship to travel to Warsaw， Poland. There he was part of a music camp run by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and sponsored by the Allianz Music Camp late last year. According to The New York Times， Lang Lang is “the hottest artist on the classical music planet；” his credits include playing at the White House， Sydney Opera House， the Grammy Awards， and the Opening Ceremony of Beijing Olympics. Studying under such a great international pianist， for Blaauw， was a dream come true.
Blaauw’s journey to Poland began by accident in 2012 while he stood in front of a music room waiting to be picked up after school. Intrigued by the sound coming out of the room， he signed up to take music lessons after school. He discovered a profound love for music and began spending hours downloading sheet music online， and teaching himself to navigate through the notes. Blaauw watched countless videos on YouTube， while following notable pianists on social media， causing him to advance rapidly to playing complex pieces by Mozart and Beethoven. His teachers were amazed at his progress since according to the syllabus， they were still teaching him basic scales. Blaauw’s hard work and hours spent at the piano soon began to pay off with several recognitions and awards， with the highest being attending the music camp with Lang on a scholarship.
Blaauw’s achievement is notable because he is the first African to be selected to attend the prestigious music camp since it was started in 2008. It is hoped that his achievement will pave the way for more African children to explore their musical abilities and talents， and be able to make a name globally.
Guled Adan Abdi Making mechanized toys from scraps Guled Adan Abdi was 13 in 2016 when his toymaking abilities made the international limelight， but he had been making toys for some time before then. Somalia has been ravaged by conflicts since the 1990s and most of its citizens have been affected in some way. Abdi’s father went missing years ago and he is cared for by his mother who was also injured by a bullet that shattered her shoulder. Abdi’s mother sells pancakes and sometimes cannot afford to care for her family alone， needing to leave them with relatives from time to time. In addition to the emotional and psychological effects of the constant instability in his life， Abdi is not able to always attend school. At 13， he was still in the third year of primary school with eight-year-olds.
Despite these challenges however， Abdi found time to observe the working of cars around him and was fascinated by the engineering involved. He thought he could try his hand at producing a miniature car and began to gather scrap metals and other materials. Encouraged by his teacher， who bought him his first set of batteries， Abdi would soon produce beautiful moving toy cars and airplanes， and his fame began to spread through the community， culminating with a feature on the BBC. Abdi was invited to the statehouse where the leader of his region Puntland， Abdiweli Mohammed Ali， presented him with a scholarship， thus ensuring future uninterrupted education. Abdi hopes to study engineering science and make automobiles in the future.
Tomisin Ogunnubi Helping kids go home
Tomisin Ogunnubi， a 12-year-old Nigerian pupil at Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls， Lagos State， is the designer of a phone app aimed at helping lost children find their way home. Ogunnubi， who designed the app while taking classes at New Horizons Computer Learning Center in Lagos， said she wanted to help children of her own age to find their way home， especially in the face of high incidences of missing persons in Lagos State.
While statistics are scarce on the number of missing children in Nigeria， there is general acceptance that it is something that demands attention from the government and citizens concerned.
Available scant records indicate that some missing children are eventually found after days， weeks or months， and sometimes a long way from home. Many missing children are never found， thereby deepening and perpetually extending the anxiety of family members who would be forever plagued with thoughts of their whereabouts. In many instances， children go missing while trying to find their way home from school， extra-curricular activities， errands and social visits. That is why Ogunnubi’s My Locator app for children is a most timely one for Nigeria.
The app comes with an Alert button that is directly connected to 767， the Lagos State Emergency Service number， and enables users to know their current location， including neighboring streets， and even save it for future use. Ogunnubi’s app is expected to drastically reduce the number of children who lose their way home from wherever their current location might be. The app is available for free download on Google Play and the Nigerian Government encourages parents to use it to keep their children safe.
Bolaji Olaoye， General Manager of Educational Services at New Horizons Computer Learning Center， said young innovators like Ogunnubi could use their skills to help relieve Nigeria from its total dependence on oil and push it to become an ITdriven country like China and India.
Qden Blaauw South African piano prodigy
When Qden Blaauw was informed that he had received the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study under the Chinese master pianist Lang Lang， he burst into tears of joy. The 12-year-old sixth grader in Cape Town， South Africa had only been playing the piano for four years before he was selected along with nine other children from more than 500 applicants worldwide for a full scholarship to travel to Warsaw， Poland. There he was part of a music camp run by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and sponsored by the Allianz Music Camp late last year. According to The New York Times， Lang Lang is “the hottest artist on the classical music planet；” his credits include playing at the White House， Sydney Opera House， the Grammy Awards， and the Opening Ceremony of Beijing Olympics. Studying under such a great international pianist， for Blaauw， was a dream come true.
Blaauw’s journey to Poland began by accident in 2012 while he stood in front of a music room waiting to be picked up after school. Intrigued by the sound coming out of the room， he signed up to take music lessons after school. He discovered a profound love for music and began spending hours downloading sheet music online， and teaching himself to navigate through the notes. Blaauw watched countless videos on YouTube， while following notable pianists on social media， causing him to advance rapidly to playing complex pieces by Mozart and Beethoven. His teachers were amazed at his progress since according to the syllabus， they were still teaching him basic scales. Blaauw’s hard work and hours spent at the piano soon began to pay off with several recognitions and awards， with the highest being attending the music camp with Lang on a scholarship.
Blaauw’s achievement is notable because he is the first African to be selected to attend the prestigious music camp since it was started in 2008. It is hoped that his achievement will pave the way for more African children to explore their musical abilities and talents， and be able to make a name globally.
Guled Adan Abdi Making mechanized toys from scraps Guled Adan Abdi was 13 in 2016 when his toymaking abilities made the international limelight， but he had been making toys for some time before then. Somalia has been ravaged by conflicts since the 1990s and most of its citizens have been affected in some way. Abdi’s father went missing years ago and he is cared for by his mother who was also injured by a bullet that shattered her shoulder. Abdi’s mother sells pancakes and sometimes cannot afford to care for her family alone， needing to leave them with relatives from time to time. In addition to the emotional and psychological effects of the constant instability in his life， Abdi is not able to always attend school. At 13， he was still in the third year of primary school with eight-year-olds.
Despite these challenges however， Abdi found time to observe the working of cars around him and was fascinated by the engineering involved. He thought he could try his hand at producing a miniature car and began to gather scrap metals and other materials. Encouraged by his teacher， who bought him his first set of batteries， Abdi would soon produce beautiful moving toy cars and airplanes， and his fame began to spread through the community， culminating with a feature on the BBC. Abdi was invited to the statehouse where the leader of his region Puntland， Abdiweli Mohammed Ali， presented him with a scholarship， thus ensuring future uninterrupted education. Abdi hopes to study engineering science and make automobiles in the future.
Tomisin Ogunnubi Helping kids go home
Tomisin Ogunnubi， a 12-year-old Nigerian pupil at Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls， Lagos State， is the designer of a phone app aimed at helping lost children find their way home. Ogunnubi， who designed the app while taking classes at New Horizons Computer Learning Center in Lagos， said she wanted to help children of her own age to find their way home， especially in the face of high incidences of missing persons in Lagos State.
While statistics are scarce on the number of missing children in Nigeria， there is general acceptance that it is something that demands attention from the government and citizens concerned.
Available scant records indicate that some missing children are eventually found after days， weeks or months， and sometimes a long way from home. Many missing children are never found， thereby deepening and perpetually extending the anxiety of family members who would be forever plagued with thoughts of their whereabouts. In many instances， children go missing while trying to find their way home from school， extra-curricular activities， errands and social visits. That is why Ogunnubi’s My Locator app for children is a most timely one for Nigeria.
The app comes with an Alert button that is directly connected to 767， the Lagos State Emergency Service number， and enables users to know their current location， including neighboring streets， and even save it for future use. Ogunnubi’s app is expected to drastically reduce the number of children who lose their way home from wherever their current location might be. The app is available for free download on Google Play and the Nigerian Government encourages parents to use it to keep their children safe.
Bolaji Olaoye， General Manager of Educational Services at New Horizons Computer Learning Center， said young innovators like Ogunnubi could use their skills to help relieve Nigeria from its total dependence on oil and push it to become an ITdriven country like China and India.