HOW MTN MPULSE TOOK OVER MY DAY AND I LOVED IT!

Everyone that follows my story knows how particular I am about documenting everything about raising a child. From what to pack in preparation for delivery, down to baby essentials, places to take your kids to and steps to take when preparing for school resumption. So, when I heard that over 5,000 kids would gather in one location in Lagos, you could bet that you would find me there.

On Friday, 23rd August 2019, mPulse Planet put together by MTN and supported by Access Bank held at the Landmark Event Centre, VI, Lagos and it didn’t just take over my life for one day, it ‘somersaulted’ my family too. It was fun! Lol. You would soon hear the gist.

I arrived at the mPulse Planet a bit late because my daughter was taking her precious time. By the time I got in, the venue was filled with children and there was still a line of people registering to get in. One of the things that piqued my interest was the theme - ‘Nigeria In The Year 2044’

Children from ages 9-15 got the opportunity to ‘sample out’ the future and from the screeches and yells of excitement, they enjoyed themselves thoroughly. I got a few kids to tell me what they thought of the year 2044, and their responses were interesting. Many kids were preoccupied with what professions they would dabble in when the future arrived - engineer, doctor, scientist, lawyer - the usual culprits.

Most kids were excited about the prospect of robots and aliens! The general consensus was that robots were more preferred to aliens. Every single kid I could speak to was thrilled about the spider robots they operated at the mPulse Planet and were equally excited to watch their friends use the robots as well.

On my Instagram page, I asked people about what they could be doing in the next 25 years, or if the last 25 years have panned out like they thought it would. My parents thought doctors were cool. I considered Law for a little while. I started studying medicine and stopped. I moved on to Mass Communications, and now here I am…. Sisi Yemmie

What would the next 25 years be like? Considering that I didn’t have a clue about where or who I would be 25 years ago, that may still be the trend. But my kids would be full-fledged adults by then and I could be on my way to being a grandmother, who knows!

Getting to see the kids live and predict in the future was humbling. The audacity of youth to dream and dream huge. 

Everywhere at the mPulse Planet that day, kids were leaving out their dreams. Whether they were laughing at each other as they tried to piece together various bits of legos to build robots or as they attempted to build other products. They didn't cringe or give up when they couldn’t make it at the 3rd or 4th attempt. They simply looked at their partners’ and found a way to build their own!

From the beauty and ‘paparazzi’ of the Snap City, the yummy food at the food court, the jumping and games, the race stimulator, the dance machine at the Sky High section, to the new possibilities in the Tech town, kids found another way to express their individuality. Each child found their ‘thing’ and stuck with it.

And I loved that there was a place for parents to sit back and enjoy life. After chasing kids around for the summer holiday, it was great to see parents kick back and play games.

MTN mPulse is an exciting proposition from MTN created to equip students between the ages of 9 and 15 years with the resources they need to maximize their potential. The service offers kids (primary and secondary school students) lots of freebies and features such as free birthday credit, free data for WhatsApp, practice questions for Common Entrance, WAEC, JSSCE and JAMB, Videos and lots of games. More about mPulse can be found here www.mtnonline.com/mPulse 

After all that fun and joy, my family and I got in the car and we were zipping carefully through Lagos traffic when a car rammed into us from where the kids and I were sitting. What?! Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the car can be fixed. Nobody was going to disrupt the fun we had! Nobody!