Orondaam Otto
Orondaam Otto (born 8 August 1987) is a Nigerian social entrepreneur, education advocate and philanthropist.[1][2] He is the founder of Slum2School Africa, a nonprofit organization and the first to build a Virtual Learning Classroom in Sub-Saharan Africa.[3][4][5] He is also one of the founding members of The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.[6] Otto is a two-time winner of The Future Awards Africa and a member of the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Board.[7]
| Orondaam Otto | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Birth date | Template:Birth date and age |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Occupation | Social entrepreneur, philanthropist |
Early life and education
Orondaam Otto born on 8 August 1987 in northern Nigeria, originally hails from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Human Anatomy from the University of Port Harcourt.[8] In 2022, he finished from the Harvard Kennedy School with a Master's degree in Public Administration.[9] At Harvard, Otto won the Erik Yankah Award and Lucius N. Littauer Fellowship Award for leadership.[10]
Career
Orondaam Otto started his career in the social sector at the age of 16 by participating in volunteer organizations focused on improving the living conditions of children in poor communities.[11][12]
In 2011, while undergoing his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program, Otto discovered the Makoko Community and the substandard living condition of the children who had little or no access to quality education.[13][14] While Otto was in the NYSC camp, he began to think on how to address the issues of education among underprivileged children.[15] Later in his youth service program, he officially started Slum2School Africa,[16][17] a charity organization focused on addressing the increasing number of out-of-school children in Africa, particularly those in slums and underserved communities.[18][19]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Otto built the first Virtual Learning Classroom in Africa to facilitate remote education for children.[20] He was also featured as an African Change-maker on the CNN African voices documentary.[12]
In 2016, Otto was a Mandela Washington Fellow, and served as the chairman of the West and Central African Regional Advisory Board of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) launched by President Barack Obama.[21][22] In 2022, he was appointed to the HKS Black Alumni Board, and in 2024, he was appointed to the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Board.[23][24]
Recognition
Otto won The Future Awards Africa in 2012 and 2013 for his innovation in education.[25][26] Otto was named among the Global 100 Most Influential People of African Descent by the United Nations General Assembly.[27] He was also listed in the YNaija 2020 Powerlist of Nigerians in Advocacy .[28]
In 2022, he was nominated for the Business Insider Africa Awards in the social entrepreneur of the year category.[29]
References
External links
- ↑ Meet Slum2School Africa: Social Enterprise Using Technology To Bring Education To Africa’s Slums , Forbes , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Otto Orondaam – African Philanthropy Forum , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Nigeran social entrepreneur, Otto Orondaam builds virtual classrooms to teach 900+ kids in Africa. (2020-07-17) , Business Insider Africa , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ A Slum2School charity’s first Virtual Learning Studio , AV Magazine , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Nigerian charity tries to salvage a slum's schooling amid pandemic , Reuters
- ↑ Ambode appoints ex-FIRS boss, Omoigui-Okauru, others For N25bn ETF board , Vanguard Newspaper
- ↑ The unfamiliar winners of The Future Awards Africa 2013, By Chude Jideonwo , www.premiumtimesng.com , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Meet our Man Crush, Orondaam Otto, founder of Slum 2 School Africa (2018-09-10) , Pulse Nigeria , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Orondaam Otto - keynote speaker , Global Speakers Bureau , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Leadership , Harvard Kennedy School Black Alumni Association , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Orondaam Otto is Giving Less-Privileged African Kids Hope for the Future (2021-08-25) , Business Elites Africa , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Template:Cite AV media
- ↑ OTTO ORONDAAM, Shares with KEMI AJUMOBI on his ardor for change in the lives of young children through his project Slum2School Africa (2016-05-05) , Businessday NG , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Orondaam Otto: Impacting Africa Through Education (2020-08-02) , The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ ‘I Chose To Serve Instead Of Making Money’ (2018-03-26) , www.forbesafrica.com , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Group helps Makoko children go to school , www.premiumtimesng.com , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Nigerian man Otto builds big virtual classroom to teach 948 kids amid Covid-19 (2020-08-03) , Legit.ng - Nigeria news. , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Nigerian charity tries to salvage a slum's schooling amid pandemic (2020-09-09) , Yahoo News , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ U.S. Mission Welcomes 2022 Mandela Washington Fellows (2022-10-09) , U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ YALI Voices Podcast: Orondaam Otto's Passion and Perseverance in Social Entrepreneurship (2017-10-30) , Young African Leaders Initiative , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Nigeria’s Ijeoma Akunyili & Otto Orondaam Join Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Board - LeVogue Magazine (2024-08-12) , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Alumni Board Elections Results 2024 , www.hks.harvard.edu , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ TFAA 2013 Winners List , The Future Awards Africa , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ TFAA 2012 Winners List , The Future Awards Africa , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ Orondaam Otto , blog.mipad.org , accessed 2024-08-15
- ↑ #YNaijaPowerlist2020: Isaac Success, Modupe Odele, Otto Orondaam feature on list of powerful young Nigerians in Advocacy , YNaija
- ↑ Here are the nominees of the Business Insider Africa Awards (2022-03-21) , Business Insider Africa , accessed 2024-08-15