An Empathetic Educator: Hafsat’s Story

A teacher at the Education Cannot Wait-supported, UNICEF-run learning centre in Hajj Camp goes above and beyond for her students affected by armed conflict in Nigeria

By Education Cannot Wait

March 5^th, 2024

Adapted Story from the Field. Special Contribution by UNICEF Nigeria (Original).

“It would be correct to say that teaching is in my blood. I don’t see myself doing something else.” ~Hafsat

Twenty-seven-year-old Hafsat always felt the calling to become an educator, having grown up surrounded by passionate teachers in Nigeria.

With a mother who is an assistant headteacher, and two sibling lecturers at a polytechnic school in Maiduguri, teaching is a family affair. “Our house is like a school. We teach one another difficult subjects. We also discuss children in our various schools. It is fun," she says.

Years ago, when she arrived at the University of Maiduguri as a student with an interest in science and a love for education, a degree in Biology Education made sense. Since joining UNICEF’s network of student teachers in 2018, she has worked to reach the students left furthest behind, including almajiris – those who migrate from their homes to acquire Quranic education – and children living in internally displaced persons camps.

Today, at the Hajj Camp in Maiduguri, Hafsat teaches children of repentant former members of armed groups.

Hafsat smiles as she teachers her students the alphabet at the ECW-funded temporary learning centre in Hajj Camp. © UNICEF/Ahmad Mari

“I have always worked with disadvantaged children. It is quite challenging because they need to be monitored and followed up.”

Hajj Camp in Borno State, Nigeria serves as a temporary home for surrendered armed group members and their families – supporting them on their path to reintegrate into their communities. The camp also supports children who have never been to a school with integrated education services, mental health and psychosocial support, and health and nutrition support services.

With funding from Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the UN system, and support from UNICEF and the Government of Norway, temporary learning centres have been constructed in the camp to provide vulnerable children and youth with foundational literacy and numeracy skills.

At this centre, Hafsat touches the lives of countless girls and boys. This work has only confirmed the young teacher’s belief that teaching is what she was born to do.

Hafsat works with students at the temporary learning centre in Hajj Camp, Borno State, Nigeria. © UNICEF/Ahmad Mari

The children at Hajj Camp were born into conflict.

The decade-long Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria has resulted in widespread armed conflict and violence, disrupting the education of nearly 2 million school-age children. Attacks against schools and other grave violations of children’s rights are regularly registered in the region. Thousands of children and youth – in particular girls and young women – have been abducted. Many girls have been enslaved and sexually exploited and boys have been forced to become child soldiers.

These are the experiences many of the inhabitants of Hajj Camp have lived through. For those in Hafsat’s classroom, the holistic support from ECW and strategic partners often means their first time in a safe learning space.

“I look forward to when the children will forget their harsh experiences in the bush and adjust to normal life.’’

Hafsat engages students in learning basic literacy and numeracy skills in Hajj Camp. © UNICEF/Ahmad Mari

The first challenge is to get children into the classroom.

To reach as many girls and boys as possible, Hafsat says she and her fellow teachers have dedicated every Monday to visiting the residential areas in the camp “to create awareness so that the children can come to class.” Once children and families are aware of the opportunities that an education can unlock, and they finally enter the classroom, the next step is to keep them engaged and attending regularly – something that, Hafsat says, can be a challenge.

For many children, their early life experiences have made adjusting to the classroom difficult.

“You see the children pick up chalk and draw guns all over the wall. That is all they draw. They are special children who need time to adjust to their new reality.’’

Far from discouraging Hafsat, these experiences inspire her to continue her work. In the future, she hopes to open her own school to support these marginalized girls and boys with education and psychosocial development on a longer-term basis.

A young student points to an apple on the board during class in Hajj Camp. © UNICEF/Ahmad Mari

Such dedicated educators are at the heart of ECW investments in Nigeria and all around the world.

During a recent high-level joint mission in Nigeria, ECW announced a planned allocation of up to US$15 million to renew ECW's Multi-Year Resilience Programme in the North-East of the country. The new catalytic grant funding for the planned programme will build on ECW's US$23.6 million investments in the region, which have reached more than 400,000 children since 2018. The investments are delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Education, UN agencies, and international and local civil society partners.

With a focus on building lasting solutions applying the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, ECW investments in North-East Nigeria have provided children with learning materials, supported teacher training and incentives, provided school feeding, essential mental health and psychosocial support for girls and boys impacted by the conflict, and worked with the national and state governments to get children back to school.

Students gather in a circle to learn the alphabet from their teacher, Hafsat, at the ECW-funded temporary learning centre in Nigeria. © UNICEF/Ahmad Mari

Students at Hajj Camp are typically at the learning centre for two months before their family is reintegrated back into their community. For Hafsat, this is a bittersweet moment.

“I get emotional when children, especially the ones consistent in class among them, are discharged from the camp.’’

Following their transition period at Hajj Camp, UNICEF refers the children from the learning centre to the Borno State education authorities to enable them to continue their education at local schools in their communities. Through local government area facilitators, UNICEF continues to follow up on the children and youth to monitor their progress and support their education journeys.

While it is difficult to say goodbye, Hafsat knows she is making a difference in the lives of her students. At the temporary learning centre and throughout their continued education, students receive the tools necessary to build a more peaceful world than the one they were born into.

“I love children and I also believe that my line of work is important for peace-building.”

Every child deserves to learn and grow in a safe school with dedicated teachers like Hafsat. To continue supporting passionate teachers as they work to educate the next generation of change-makers, ECW calls on governments, donors, philanthropic foundations and the private sector to step-up and fully fund the Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Nigeria that is transforming young lives and entire communities.

Education, these inspiring educators, and the countless girls and boys they reach cannot wait.

Students at the learning centre in Hajj Camp, Nigeria. © UNICEF/Ahmad Mari

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