Educate 270 Children in Northern Nigeria

The COVID-19 crisis disrupted the learning of children, young people and adults at an unprecedented proportion. Also, it magnified the pre-existing inequalities in access to meaningful literacy learning opportunities and disproportionally affected young people especially in rural communities that did not have access to the internet or computers to ensure the continuity of learning, including distance learning, often in combination with in-person learning. Furthermore, the swift shift to distance learning has highlighted the persistent digital divide in terms of connectivity, infrastructure, and the ability to engage with technology, as well as disparities in other services such as access to electricity, which has limited learning options.

In Nigeria, schools were closed for 7 months, although responses to the COVID-19 school closures included remote learning solutions ranging from distribution of paper take-home materials to providing lessons through broadcast media (such as TV and radio) and digital platforms. However, access to literacy learning opportunities was not evenly distributed with most children from low–income families and communities totally cut off from learning. According to a recent study by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) and the Teacher Task Force12; 826 million students (50 per cent) kept out of classrooms by the pandemic did not have access to a computer at home. Therefore, such contexts challenge the total shift towards digital and online learning for many children and youth.

Peace, Felicia, Rita and their classmates in CDM Secondary School Lila, one of the schools adopted by KIR Foundation which is located in Lila Village in Julvu, Mubi North Local Government of Adamawa State, North-East Nigeria were among the millions of secondary school children in underserved communities whose learning was affected by Covid -19 because they did not have access to radio, television or internet connectivity to continue learning. Therefore, when KIR Foundation received the Covid-19 Emergency Grant, we decided to bridge the digital divide for girls like Peace, Felicia, Rita, their classmates and their village. We donated four laptops installed with educational software and content which include academic material, fictional and non-fictional books and a projector to teach the students digital skills and to give them access to learning materials that will create opportunities for them in the technology ecosystem.

Lila is a village without electricity, or any government provided amenities. The parents of these children are poor peasant farmers that cannot afford to give their children access to quality education. However, dear donor your generous donation is changing the narrative for these young women and their families by giving them the skills they need to navigate a digital world. 15-year-old Felicia is in Junior Secondary School One and she is excited to be in school and on scholarship because it means she will not be married off like her friend Zion who got married after finishing primary school at the age of 15, because her widowed mother, could not afford to put her in secondary school. Felicia is the 4th of 8 siblings and wants to be a teacher, so that she can help more girls go to school and get educated. She is really excited about acquiring digital skills because it will help her to be a 21st Century teacher.

However, we still need $31,178 to ensure that young ladies like Felicia and her friends can continue their education and follow their dreams. CDM Secondary School Lila still needs desks, educational materials, scholarships for more girls, bookshelves, while CDM Primary School Lainde still needs flooring, windows, desks and educational materials. Kindly consider becoming a recurring donor and donate to our project; https://www.GlobalGiving.org/projects/educate-270-children-in-northern-nigeria/. Please encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to give so that we can invest in more young ladies like Felicia who wants to be a teacher, and acquire the digital skills they need to navigate the future of work and learn effectively during this Covid-19 pandemic.

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CONNECTING RURAL CHILDREN TO THE WORLD THROUGH STORYBOOKS

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
– Dr. Seuss

Dear Donor, 

In 2017, when Keeping It Real Foundation adopted four schools in the underserved rural communities in Northern Nigeria to educate 270 children, we discovered that none of the children had seen storybooks before and we decided to change that. Since then, we have donated over 500 storybooks to the children. Reading storybooks improves literacy skills, gives children the knowledge to follow their dreams and encourages a love for reading amongst other things.

Thus to commemorate the International Book Giving Day 2021 and our 10^th Anniversary, we donated 215 books (77 textbooks and 138 storybooks) to the pupils of CDM Primary School Lainde. Lainde is located on Mubi hills in Mubi North Local Government Area in the interior parts of Adamawa State, cut away from civilization and all forms of social amenities/infrastructure.

 The donation of the books will help the teachers and students because they lack the information and resources they need to support the development of their reading skills and stay engaged and interested in reading books. Furthermore, it will support community-wide reading activities because the school intends to set up a mini-library in the school that will be accessible to everyone in the community.

According to David, the Mobilization and Media Director of our implementing partner; CDM Foundation, “The pupils in the school have very little contact with or exposure to the outside world. The storybooks, in particular, will give them the opportunity to connect with the world beyond their immediate community and improve  their communication skills because some of the children are not fluent in the English Language”

 I2-year-old Sefiya who is in primary six was excited to get her first storybook, ‘The Shortcut’ by Susan Blackaby. Sefiya wants to be a teacher and her first storybook will help Sefiya on her journey to becoming one. Dear donors your investment will put books in the hands of underserved girls like Sefiya and her friends that will give them the knowledge to achieve their dreams.

However, we still need $31,355 to ensure that young girls like Sefiya and her friends continue their education and follow their dreams.  CDM Primary School Lainde still needs flooring, windows, desks and educational materials. Kindly consider becoming a recurring donor and donate to our project; https://www.GlobalGiving.org/projects/educate-270-children-in-northern-nigeria/. Please encourage your friends, family, and colleagues so that we can invest in more children like Sefiya especially in this Covid-19 season to give them a foundation for their future and dreams!

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