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A School for Healing

Reparative education initiative helps children affected by conflict-related sexual violence rediscover confidence, connection and the joy of learning in Nigeria

By Education Cannot Wait

December 11^th, 2025

Adapted Story from the Field. Special Contribution by the Global Survivors Fund (Original).

In a quiet corner of Maiduguri, children settle into their seats at Lafiya Sarari School, their notebooks open and pencils ready. The morning is calm, and for many of the students here, calm is something they are still learning to trust. After years of insecurity, displacement and loss, school has become more than a place to learn – it has become a place to recover.

Sixteen years of violence by Boko Haram and other insurgent groups have left a deep and lasting impact on the childhoods, safety and education of countless children in northeast Nigeria, with schools and family homes regularly targeted in attacks and mass kidnappings.

Every student at Lafiya Sarari has lived through the insurgency, and many continue to navigate the weight of that experience. Fatima is one of them, a student who has rebuilt far more than her academic skills within these walls.

“Here, I started to see that I have a bright future.”

Her words echo the purpose of a groundbreaking initiative led by the Global Survivors Fund (GSF) alongside Neem Foundation and local partners, including the Youth Initiative Against Terrorism and Future Resilience and Development Foundation. With support from an Education Cannot Wait (ECW) Acceleration Facility grant, they are providing trauma-responsive, reparative education to children affected by conflict-related sexual violence across Borno State.

A student writes in her notebook in the Lafiya Sarari School in Nigeria. © ECW

Fatima’s Journey Back to Learning

Originally from Maiduguri, Fatima remembers the moment her life shifted in 2014. Boko Haram attacked her town.

“The attack was loud and it scared us all. I had to hide with my family. After a few hours, we thought they had left, and that no one would save us so we had to save ourselves. We stepped out. Boko Haram captured us.”

They were taken to the insurgents’ small village, where Fatima saw her father killed. During their captivity, she witnessed and endured far more than any child should.

Eventually, her family managed to escape.

“We walked for 11 days. We couldn’t sleep – it was raining. Only a few of us made it back. We lost many on the way.”

Returning to education felt impossible until she connected with Neem and joined a cohort beginning the trauma-responsive education programme at Lafiya Sarari. There, she found stability, routine and emotional support. After joining the new school, she could imagine a future for herself again.

Students in front of the Lafiya Sarari School in Nigeria. © ECW

Her experience mirrors that of many survivors across northeast Nigeria, where insecurity and overlapping humanitarian crises have forced more than 18 million children out of school, according to UNICEF. Protection risks have escalated, including abductions and attacks on schools. Out-of-school children face increased risks of forced labour, child marriage and recruitment into armed groups.

After their release or escape, Boko Haram survivors experience revictimization and stigmatization in their communities – often viewed as tainted, or labeled “Boko Haram wives” and assumed to hold the ideologies of the insurgent group. Their children are also cast off, and not allowed to associate with other children. Survivors carry with them the heavy psychological burden of their experiences. Every part of their lives – social, educational and economic – is severely disrupted.

Through all of this, education stands as a right and form of reparation which can enable children like Fatima to reintegrate in society, build life skills and transform their futures.

The art studio within the Lafiya Sarari School in Nigeria. © ECW

A School Designed for Healing

At Lafiya Sarari, all students have been affected by the insurgency and ~80% are survivors of conflict-related sexual violence – many having struggled to return to conventional schooling after years of instability.

The school is open to all children affected by the insurgency and addresses the unique obstacles they face. Students’ education attainments are measured over the course of six years rather than yearly goals that have to be met to progress. This model allows students to learn at their own pace, without the pressure of yearly academic benchmarks. The interactive curriculum includes classes centred on values including peace, integrity, respect, honesty and tolerance – values systematically targeted by Boko Haram.

“Formal education wasn’t a thing for these children,” explains Philemon Nyminiba, a biology teacher and educational psychologist at the school.

“Sometimes you feel a wall around them. Through art, movement and one-on-one support, we help them express what’s hard to say. When they cannot speak, they draw.”

The school is staffed by 17 teachers, two counselors and four psychologists, all trained in trauma-responsive approaches and psychological first aid. In play-based therapy sessions, staff see some students gravitate toward toys associated with violence, and anxiety and anger surfacing in class is not unusual. Students receive both medical and psychosocial support to address psychological wounds that are often overlooked in mainstream schools.

“When some of the children joined the school, I couldn’t have a session without them crying. They didn’t feel safe. We had to come up with activities that would make them feel free.” ~School psychologist at Lafiya Sarari

Support at Lafiya includes medical check-ups and help obtaining birth certificates, often a major barrier to mainstream education.

The initiative is a “compelling example” of education as reparation, says Zoe Bertrand, GSF’s Senior Advocacy and Policy Officer. “It shows how education can help children move from trauma to recovery and could inspire similar initiatives worldwide.” Medinat Malefakis, GSF’s Nigeria Country Lead, adds that it counters an ideology that opposes learning. “Boko Haram did not believe children should go to school, that boys and girls could sit in the same classroom, or that formal education was central to society.”

Outside class, the school supports wider community healing and reconciliation, bringing together families of survivors and former insurgents to share grievances and reflect on their experiences.

Since September 2024, 64 children have enrolled in the school’s six-year flagship programme. Another 100 children were supported in 2025 through the school or Neem’s community-based initiatives like ‘Learning-on-the-Go’ – a programme for girls and boys who are too far from away to attend the school – and the accelerated learning programme, where 80 girls and boys enrolled in 6-8 month programmes preparing them for private schools across Borno State, supported by trauma-responsive after-school activities. Since the start of the partnership with GSF and Neem Foundation, 144 children have benefited from trauma-responsive education.

Many survivors who completed primary school are continuing their education at secondary and higher levels in Yobe and Adamawa states with full financial, medical and psychosocial support, while others have chosen financial compensation to buy land or start a business.

Reimagining Futures

With support from the ECW grant, GSF and the Neem Foundation are helping children re-enter education with dignity, safety and tailored support. The initiative is rooted in co-creation with survivors to ensure they help define what reparations and supportive learning mean for them.

Every step forward matters. Fatima has now graduated from the programme, stepping into her next chapter with renewed confidence. She is an example of resilience and possibility as others look to follow in her footsteps as they enter the walls of Lafiiya Sarari.

“Almost everything we need to progress in life is provided here. This school makes us feel we have hope.” ~Student at Lafiya Sarari

The journeys of these students reflect a powerful truth: with the right support, education becomes more than a pathway to learning. It becomes a pathway to healing.

Students at Lafiya Sarari School in Nigeria. © ECW

Footnotes

Story by Jelena Borak

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FootNotes

Story by Jelena Borak

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