Every day in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, children remain at home when they should be in school. For various reasons ranging from poverty to lack of educational facilities, many who were already enrolled in school are dropping out and the numbers keep rising as the population of young people continue to increase across the region. Presently, over 98 million children are not in school in Sub-Saharan Africa and 33 million of these are children of primary school age. Sadly, a quarter of these children are from Nigeria, and the majority live in rural communities.
We're in Amaimo, a rural community in Nigeria, a country now known as the "Poverty Capital of the World." Nigeria is located in Sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region in the world, and we've begun our fight against poverty, deprivation and lack of future prospects for young people in this most populous country in Africa. We are starting from the grassroots with children in rural communities where many are not enrolling into formal education and more are dropping out of school.
To make going to school more attractive, we have begun with renovating and equipping classrooms, and providing educational and play facilities for the children. We are also enrolling children into primary school, and for the young people who have dropped out, we are providing skills training to enable them start a trade.
Every Village Matters Scholarship Programme
This is our most urgent appeal!
Our main objective is to drive down the numbers of out-of-school-children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Starting from Amaimo, we're offering scholarships to some of the children from very poor homes and have enrolled 70 children from seven community schools into our Community Scholarship Programme. To help promote gender balancing for equal opportunities, we aim to sponsor five boys and five girls in each school and pay their learning costs until they graduate into secondary school. It costs just $61 to sponsor a child for a whole year and with your help, we will cover the children's tuition fees, textbooks and writing materials, school uniforms, shoes and bags. $610 can help keep ten children learning in each school for the whole year! Would you like to sponsor one or more of these children? We have provided all the information you will need in an easy-to-understand spreadsheet covering the six years of the programme. Click here to access the information and please get in touch if you would like to engage further with us about our scholarship programme.
Why undertake a classroom renovation project?
In May 2019 when we first visited Holy Rosary Model Primary school, we had plans to build a library and playground to serve not just the school, but all the children and young people in Amaimo and surrounding villages. These are facilities rarely seen in the rural communities, but the state of the classrooms in the school tugged at our hearts. There were no windows nor doors, the roofs were leaking, and the children had to walk long distances to and back from school each school day carrying their owns desks. We couldn’t agree more with the school authority that the classrooms needed renovating.
The state of the classrooms on our first visit to the school
Then COVID-19 happened, and we could do nothing at the time. Kudos to the school, with the help of community members they were able to complete a new building and rehouse the primary classrooms. However, they couldn’t do any more.
The classrooms after new building construction by the school
Post COVID-19, we were back and ready to put our hands to the plough. With the limited funds we were able to raise then, we tiled the classroom floors, painted the walls and put up partitions to create six different classrooms from the long open hall space that accommodated the classrooms. In addition, we provided pupils desks and other furniture, and made supplies of stationery and other classroom equipment.
“The children are so excited and happy to see their newly decorated classrooms. We aim for the best standards for them, like the one I experienced at the seminary school in Okpala where I attended school as a child…”
Rev Father Joe (Priest in charge of the village church parish)
The classrooms after renovation by Every Village Matters
Our library and playground…
A space fit for a library, donated by the school
Never under-estimating the power of books and play in a safe, mentally-stimulating space, we are now re-visiting our original plan to construct a youth library and playground in the community. The school has generously provided a space in their newly constructed building for this purpose, and we can’t wait to see the excited faces of the children when they see this long, empty hall transformed into an attractive wonderland filled with books, toys, computers and TV sets in a brightly decorated and well-lit lounge and library.
To kick off a new campaign to promote sustainability, we also plan to install solar electricity to power all the facilities in the library and around the school for more reliable electricity. Our campaign will seek to ensure that every rural community primary school is powered by solar electricity and has at least five computer desktops to aid the teaching of computer literacy in the schools. We believe that these facilities will help stimulate a desire and passion for learning in the young minds, engender a positive mindset towards formal education and promote healthier mental development in the children.
The pictorial design of our proposed library
We have also been given a land space about 900 Sqm to construct a children's playground and create a recreational space for the school and all the young people in Amaimo. The playground will provide a safe place for the young people to play, and will feature various exciting play equipment such as swings, merry go round, slides, and a garden area with trees and plants, benches, and some spots to sit, eat drink, and relax.
Surely these children also deserve the opportunity to be just that - kids who love to play and have some fun!
Another space donated by the school for our playground construction
Our plans for the playground
Our Youth Vocational Training Scheme
A youth vocational scheme trainee learning tiling
We do not wish to leave out young people in the community aged 16 years and above that have dropped out of school and are unable to get back into formal education. We've heard stories of many of the young people having to resort to gambling, financial fraud, thuggery and other criminal activities just to survive and have therefore designed a vocational training programme to ensure they are positively engaged and stay out of trouble. Through this pathway, they can learn a trade and obtain skills that will enable them to earn a living and help their families with household costs.
Pictured above is Chimaobi, one of our trainees. He's learning new skills to help him become a Painter and we have allocated him a trainer and mentor, provided him with some training kit,and are also paying him a monthly stipend to help with personal expenses. We are keenly following Chimaobi's progress through our periodic and mid-term reviews and we plan to help him to set up trade after he completes his training. With your help, we can train more young people to become a painter, dress maker or tiler, support their family with living costs, and bring economic prosperity to their community.
To hire a project coordinator
The project coordinator will be the middle person between the charity, our beneficiary community and other stakeholders and will provide all necessary feedback to ensure mutual understanding and continued cooperation among all parties involved in our work. Your kind contribution will help us to continue to pay his salary and other project overhead expenses.
For any questions, or if you would love to learn even more about what we do?
Please get in touch with us at hello@everyvillagematters.org
Thanks for supporting our work!