Obstacles to Opportunities: Aisha’s Story

In crisis-stricken North-East Nigeria, out-of-school children find new hope thanks to an accelerated learning programme funded by Education Cannot Wait

By Education Cannot Wait

April 8^th, 2024

Thirteen-year-old Aisha beams as she settles her school bag across one shoulder and waves goodbye to her mother. Using both hands, she turns the pedals of her mobile handcycle and sets off for school.

Before this year, Aisha had never entered a classroom in her life.

“Before I came to this school, I was not doing anything. Not even any form of informal education. I was just idle at home.” ~Aisha, 13

Thanks to the support of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, and partners like UNICEF, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council, Aisha is finally learning alongside other girls and boys in Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Aisha shares a laugh with her mother on a sunny afternoon at their home in Maiduguri, Borno State. © ECW

Aisha’s young life has been marked by obstacles. She was paralyzed as a toddler. Later, at the age of 4, Aisha’s village was attacked by a group of armed men, and Aisha and her family were forced to flee to Maiduguri. Even though she had escaped the brutal violence of Boko Haram’s insurgency – which has plagued North-East Nigeria for over a decade – Aisha was still unable to attend school due to her disability.

Through the ECW-funded Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Nigeria, Aisha was provided with a handcycle and enrolled in an Accelerated Education Programme for out-of-school children. For the first time in her life, she was able to go to school, learn and play like other girls and boys. This newfound independence has been life-changing for the 13-year-old.

“The mobile bicycle has made my life a lot easier. Before now, it was difficult getting things done and it made me feel sad. But now, I can go anywhere on my own.”

Aisha rides her handcycle outside Pompomari Primary School. © ECW

Upon completing the nine-month Accelerated Education Programme and passing her examination, Aisha transferred to Pompomari Primary School to continue her studies. Finally given the opportunity to learn alongside and engage with other children, Aisha has blossomed.

“Aisha used to think that nobody loved her in this society. Before, she could not talk or interact with others. But with ECW’s support, she now knows she is somebody in society. Now, she is able to talk and interact with others. She is reading and writing, and interacting and playing with her friends.” ~Rukaya H. Umar, Assistant Head Teacher

While she has only spent two terms at Pompomari Primary School, Aisha is already quite popular with her peers.

A few weeks ago, when she didn’t come to school in the morning, countless students volunteered to comb the school grounds looking for her. Aisha explained when she arrived a little later, “One of the bolts on my mobile handcycle broke yesterday, so I had to look for someone to push me to school.”

No roadblocks will keep her from continuing her education. With her handcycle fixed, Aisha is back in the front row of her classroom every day.

Rukaya H. Umar, Aisha's teacher, helps Aisha in the classroom in Pompomari Primary School. © ECW

Aisha is one of millions of children facing immense challenges to accessing a safe, inclusive, quality education in Nigeria.

According to a recent ECW study, 72 million of the crisis-impacted children in the world are out of school. Approximately half of all out-of-school children in emergencies are concentrated in only eight countries – Nigeria, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Mali.

Violence of the Boko Haram insurgency and other armed groups has disrupted the education of nearly 2 million school-age children in North-East Nigeria. 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.

ECW and implementing partners in the country are working to protect children and adolescents impacted by ongoing violence and reintegrate them back into formal learning environments.

Aisha draws a picture of a teacher, what she would like to be when she grows up, in her classroom in Pompomari Primary School. © ECW

During a joint high-level mission in Nigeria in February, ECW’s Executive Director Yasmine Sherif, announced plans to renew its multi-year investment in the country – a programme that has already exceeded its targets and reached over 400,000 children and youth with quality, holistic education in areas affected by the crisis in North-East Nigeria. The planned US$15 million catalytic grant will focus on building lasting solutions, applying the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.

“Children pay the heaviest price of the horrific violence that has plagued the North-East of Nigeria for more than a decade. Their learning is lost and development delayed. In response, safe, quality, holistic education and learning opportunities are crucial to rehabilitate and protect children and youth from exploitation and empower them to become positive changemakers. Working with the Government of Nigeria and our implementing partners, ECW’s expanded funding in the North-East is an investment in their young lives as well as in a more stable, prosperous and peaceful future for the region and beyond.” ~Yasmine Sherif, ECW Executive Director

To date, ECW investments in North-East Nigeria have provided children – like Aisha – with learning materials, supported teacher training and incentives, school feeding, provided essential mental health and psychosocial support for girls and boys impacted by the conflict, supported inclusive education, and worked with the national and state governments to get children back to school through permanent community-based programmes.

Aisha listens from the front row as Teacher Rukaya H. Umar leads a lesson in Pompomari Primary School. © ECW

ECW calls on additional strategic donor partners – including governments, the private sector, philanthropic foundations and high net-worth individuals – to join our efforts in mobilizing an additional US$600 million to reach the Fund’s target of US$1.5 billion, which will enable partners to reach a total of 20 million girls and boys in crisis-affected areas of the world by 2026.

With a backpack full of school supplies, a classroom of new friends, teachers that encourage her and a blue handcycle which gives her a freedom of movement she never had growing up, Aisha now sees a future of possibilities ahead of her.

“When I grow up, I want to become a teacher so I can teach other kids.”

Aisha plays with her friends during break time at Pompomari Primary School. © ECW

Access high-resolution photos from this story and our full media library on ECW’s FLICKR.

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