Mother from Imo sells corn to fund daughter’s NITDA bootcamp

She sold corn on the streets of Owerri to raise every kobo, then gave it all away so her daughter could chase a dream. What happened next has left Nigerians in tears, and in awe.
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‎JSS 3 student’s fight for tech education
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‎Access to quality technology training remains a major hurdle for students outside Nigeria’s major cities, and cost is often the biggest barrier. Free or subsidised bootcamps that partner with agencies like the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) have become a lifeline for young Nigerians eager to build digital skills, but many of these programmes are limited by location and logistics. That was the reality facing a JSS 3 student in Imo State until her mother’s determination changed everything, and her story is now spreading widely online.
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‎Mother’s sacrifice moves thousands online
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‎Education entrepreneur Alex Onyia shared the story of Nzerem Blessing Kamsiriyochukwu, a JSS 3 student whose mother sells corn on the streets of Owerri, Imo State. According to Onyia, Kamsiriyochukwu heard about a 2-week technology bootcamp organised in partnership with NITDA, set to begin in Enugu State.
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‎Onyia explained that organisers initially could not accept her because the programme was restricted to students within Enugu, citing logistics concerns for out-of-state participants. Her mother, however, refused to let the restriction stand in her daughter’s way. She handed over all the money she had, ₦120,000 realised from selling corn, so her daughter could relocate to Enugu for the duration of the training.
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‎Onyia described the moment as deeply emotional, noting that the mother would rather go hungry than deny her daughter the chance at an education. He called it the spirit that defines the community behind the bootcamp.
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‎Mother refunded as girl excels in training
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‎In a follow up post, Onyia shared that Kamsiriyochukwu, whom he referred to as Kamsi, had already settled into the programme and was performing exceptionally well. He revealed that a member of the public had stepped forward to refund her mother the full ₦120,000 she spent to make the trip possible.
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‎Onyia also disclosed a painful detail behind the family’s resolve. Kamsiriyochukwu lost her only brother in a road accident, and her mother now sees education as the family’s only path forward. Onyia described the young girl as exceptional and predicted the world would one day celebrate her achievements.
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‎Who is Alex Onyia, the man behind the bootcamp
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‎Alex Onyia is the CEO of Educare and is widely recognised as one of Africa’s leading EdTech figures, with digital learning systems credited to him reaching over a million students and hundreds of thousands of parents daily. Before building Educare, he worked with Facebook’s Platform Partnerships team covering the Middle East and Africa, experience he has since channelled into technology driven education projects back home in Nigeria.
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‎In recent months, Onyia has focused much of his intervention work on the South East, running free Mathematics classes, olympiads, and skills bootcamps for students in Enugu State and neighbouring communities. He has organised drone building, auto mechanics, welding, and electrical training for top performing students, and has taken basic numeracy lessons into churches and villages to reach children who may otherwise never encounter such programmes. He has described the effort as a push to eliminate illiteracy in the region and to democratise access to quality education for Nigerian children in public schools and underserved communities. It is this same mission that brought Kamsiriyochukwu to Enugu for the NITDA partnered technology bootcamp.
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‎Nigerians rally behind Kamsiriyochukwu’s story
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‎The story drew an outpouring of support and admiration on social media, with several users responding directly to Onyia’s original post.
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‎Engineer Napoleon O, who goes by the handle @napoleon401, offered to personally refund the mother as part of a birthday gesture. He wrote:
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‎”Hi Alex, I would like to refund the mother the 120k back as part of my birthday outreach.”
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‎Alex Onyia later confirmed that Kamsiriyochukwu had arrived safely in Enugu and expressed confidence in her potential. He wrote:
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‎”Nzerem Blessing Kamsiriyochukwu just arrived in Enugu for the 2-week bootcamp. In 2 weeks we will activate the genius in her. She will make her mother proud and will achieve greatness here on earth.”
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‎A user identified as Prince, with the handle @obaofdollar, praised Onyia’s work and appealed for the programme to be extended to children in Delta State. He wrote:
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‎”Good day Mr Alex I must confess you are really doing alot and I sincerely appreciate but please I will like us to extend this program to kids in Delta state I will coordinate or make preparations if you could help with working with us I believe in this alot 🙏”
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‎Another user, D Wisdom, who goes by @emmaihem, reflected on the mother’s devotion to her daughter’s education and offered a prayer for her. He wrote:
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‎”That is the doings of a mother that value education, no matter what it takes she want her daughter to aquire the knowledge, May God bless her”
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‎A story that highlights Nigeria’s education gap
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‎Kamsiriyochukwu’s journey from Owerri to Enugu has become more than a personal triumph. It has turned into a widely shared example of the lengths Nigerian parents will go to secure a better future for their children, and of how quickly online communities can mobilise to reward that sacrifice. As the 2-week bootcamp continues, many who followed the story online are now watching closely to see what Kamsiriyochukwu, and others like her, will achieve next.