The Willpower of Courage, a Young Web Genius

“When I grow up, I envision myself dressed in a nice suit, managing a major IT company, and speaking Italian and other languages fluently. I diligently work on many fronts to reach this goal, studying with curiosity and passion every day.”

At just 16 years old, Courage has a clear vision for his future.

Originally from a remote village in Nigeria, he overcame dramatic challenges before finding a peaceful and constructive life in the community “Il Mandorlo” in Milan. The community hosts many unaccompanied foreign minors like him as well as Italian youths in need. NOVE supports their educational journey as part of its program “Futuro Presente“.

Through this program, Courage participated in an in-person IT course provided by a sector company and successfully earned a certificate for completing the training. Together with his peers, Courage benefits from three PCs and a laser printer donated by NOVE to the Milanese community.

“Technology has been part of my DNA since I was little. My dad taught me how to use a smartphone as a child. Growing up in a small village without a school, I saw and learned everything online“. He spends hours on YouTube, teaching himself coding through various courses and tutorials.

In just a few months, this young web genius has learned to create online pages to sell clothing and accessories; he is now training to take it to the next level: creating an entire website and enhancing his e-commerce skills.

“In the first community I was living with, I started with a tablet. Discovering the PC was a real turning point in my life,” exclaims the boy. Driven by a hunger for knowledge, he spends hours on the computer, sometimes forgetting to eat. He says he gets so focused that he doesn’t feel hunger or thirst: “Writing HTML code and programming is like magic.”

Courage has also achieved an A2 level in the Italian language, scoring a commendable 83/100, which will allow him to start the third year of middle school in September “to get my diploma and open more doors while I continue to acquire IT skills.”

Meanwhile, his personal development is nurtured by living with other young people and the staff in the community, especially his bond with Margherita, who has been personally supporting him for several months.

“I share a room with a boy from Cameroon and an Italian boy. I try to maintain proper and responsible behaviour. I don’t like disorder and neglect. Keeping promises is very important to me. I love cooking African dishes for all the kids and the wonderful educators. It seems that my fried chicken is delicious,” the enthusiastic teenager adds.

In his free time, Courage plays basketball, jogs, reads, listens to music – he particularly loves Ed Sheeran, Vasco Rossi, Benji, and Fedez – and is learning to draw through an online introductory course. Overcoming a traumatic experience, he has also learned to swim in a pool. “I drank too much water when the boat sank, but now I’m no longer afraid,” he confides with an emotional voice and a touch of pride.

Courage is also a generous young man who loves to share the knowledge he has acquired through hard study. On YouTube, he teaches English and Italian, mainly through shorts in Bini, the language of his ethnic group, spoken by over a million people in Nigeria’s Edo State.

He also teaches some IT basics to Margherita, who – both laugh as they say – “doesn’t understand a thing.” For Courage, besides being an operator, Margherita is “the friend I was waiting for” and immediately “seemed kind, welcoming, and never gets angry.”

Upon his arrival at “Il Mandorlo”, Courage was the first boy Margherita met. “He introduced himself to me immediately, saying, ‘Hi, I’m Courage.’ Over the months, I’ve confirmed that he truly embodies his name,” Margherita humorously remarks, highlighting that he is a “lively, always positive, good-humoured, and tenacious boy.”

For Margherita, her role is much more than just a job with tasks and duties within the community. “During difficult times along the path with Courage and the other kids, I try to show them that a viable alternative exists, that there is a future ahead, and that by working hard, it’s possible to achieve their dreams.”

The foreign and Italian minors living in the Milanese community all have complex and painful backgrounds, but “they are here, enthusiastic and courageous. The human exchange with them is always positive. They give us so much,” our interlocutor emphasises.

For Margherita, this experience is her first within a community and with minors, following various roles. At “Il Mandorlo,” ten boys aged 13 to 17 live together. Six of whom are unaccompanied foreign minors—from Nigeria, Cameroon, Gambia, and Tunisia—and four are Italian minors directly assigned by the administrative court. Three boys share each room, while the living room, kitchen, and dining room are common areas where each contributes practically.

During the day, the staff prepares meals, and in the evening, after school or training, sports activities, hobbies, and homework, the boys cook with the on-duty operators, set the table, clear the table, and perform various household tasks. “The goal is their independence, their autonomy even on a practical level. There are also collective activities, moments of sharing and growth, both as individuals and as a group. We go to the cinema, the park, the pool, and for holidays, we go to Cervia,” Margherita continues.

In her relationship with Courage and the other kids in the community, she emphasises that “cultural and linguistic diversity is an enrichment, even more so when the undeniable differences generate respectful, tension-free dialogue.” A prime example of this positivity is the exchange and relationship built with Courage, “always open to dialogue, never touchy. This leads to many points of reflection and sharing, often humorous but also deeper.”

In any case, the boy concludes, “Margherita is much better than me at cooking, and one day, I hope to speak Italian faster than her.”