Send Out-of-School Children in Lagos, to School

She had been out of school for nearly three years. In October, she received a school bag, a uniform, and a pair of shoes. At her week-six check-in, her mother told our community tracker: "She wakes before everyone else and packs her bag the night before. She has found something that belongs to her." She has not missed a single day.

That is what your donation did.

This term, 100 girls across five communities in Lagos, Ikorodu, Yaba, Somolu, Kosofe, and Oshodi, returned to school through the Access to School Project. We are proud to report that 90 of those 100 girls (90%) met our attendance target of attending at least 80% of school days across all three monitoring checkpoints: week two, week six, and week twelve. They did not just enrol. They stayed.

Behind that number is a network of School-Based Management Committee volunteers conducting household visits, mothers forming voluntary walk-to-school groups in their neighbourhoods, and community trackers responding individually to every girl whose attendance showed early warning signs. Where we found barriers, financial pressure, domestic responsibilities, a placement that did not fit, we responded. No girl has formally withdrawn from school this term.

Our work does not end at enrolment. In April 2026, we will conduct our six-month retention assessment. We are aiming for at least 75 of the 100 girls to still be in school and attending consistently. Based on what we have seen this term, we believe we can exceed that.

There is more to do. Ten girls are still not attending as consistently as they should, and we are working with their families. Two safeguarding cases remain open and are being actively tracked. We are building a formal referral system with Lagos State government so that when a child needs protection, the response is faster and more accountable.

• A2S_2025_Retention_Report.pdf (PDF)
  

This year we set out to return 100 out-of-school girls to classrooms across five LGAs in Lagos. The plan was simple and local. Work with the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board and School-Based Management Committees. Find the girls who had slipped out of learning. Remove the small but stubborn barriers that keep them away. Walk beside families for the first fragile weeks until school feels normal again.

 Volunteers and SBMC members visited streets and compounds, spoke with caregivers, confirmed names with headteachers and matched each child to a nearby school. Accuracy mattered more than speed, since a place offered must be a place kept. By the time the handover ceremonies took place, every girl had a path back that her community understood and owned.

Kits were kept practical with a sturdy bag, exercise books, pens and pencils, a simple set of hygiene items. Nothing fancy, everything useful. Children who arrive prepared have fewer reasons to miss the next day. SBMC representatives received each kit on behalf of a named beneficiary and signed them out one by one, a public gesture that built trust. In several schools the headteacher asked the girls to open their bags together so the first lesson began with a small shared ritual and a lot of laughter.

Ten girls each returned in Yaba, Somolu, Kosofe and Oshodi. Ikorodu, where SBMCs mobilised quickly and several schools had space, welcomed sixty. Behind these numbers sit real lives. In Yaba a guardian who had been putting aside coins all summer told us she could finally stop choosing between notebooks and supper. In Kosofe a girl who feared she had forgotten too much raised her hand in mathematics and got the answer right. In Oshodi a headteacher kept four seats free for children whose caregiving duties had delayed them, and those seats did not stay empty for long.

Families also needed assurance that this return is not just for a week. SBMCs now use a light checklist for the first week in class, then short notes at weeks four and eight. ATLAS staff review these with headteachers to spot patterns early. A child who misses two mornings in a row, a girl who struggles with transport, a caregiver who needs help rearranging market hours, these are problems we can solve if we notice them quickly. All enrolment formalities are underway and will be completed by 13/11/2025. That date is not a formality, it is a promise to each family that a named child will have a confirmed place, a teacher who expects her and a routine that can be kept.

Impact shows up first in small signals. A girl in Ikorodu laid out her uniform the night before and woke early so she would not be late. In Somolu a child who used to slip away after break now stays to the end because she has the books needed for the afternoon lesson. In Oshodi a father who once planned to withdraw his daughter asked about scholarships instead. These are modest signs, yet they are the foundations of retention.

Your support turned careful planning into ordinary school days. It paid for the mapping that finds the right children, not just the nearest. It provided the kits that turn encouragement into action. It resourced SBMC mentoring so attention stays on attendance after the ceremonies end. Most of all, it told a hundred girls that people beyond their street care whether they learn.

The next steps are steady and practical. Complete enrolment by 13/11/2025. Accompany the first week in class. Check attendance at weeks one, four and eight. Keep caregiver conversations going, with respect for the trade-offs families face. Strengthen data habits in SBMCs so good practice travels across LGAs. Keep the path open.

A girl with a pencil in her hand is a powerful sight. A hundred girls, across Yaba, Somolu, Kosofe, Oshodi and Ikorodu, are more powerful still. Thank you for making this possible. If you choose to stay with them through the term ahead, you will help turn a bright first morning into a lasting routine, one school day at a time.

• A2S_2025_Report_Updatedcompressed.pdf (PDF)