With a renewed sense of commitment to education, communities in remote Sokoto are working together to foster the success of thousands of children in the state. Click the photos to meet a student, teacher, government official, local partner and staff from Northern Education Initiative Plus.
“I enjoyed attending classes. I love my Mu Karanta books. I liked the pictures, especially the airplane. I know one day I will travel in it when I become a teacher,” says Hadiza, fourth grade student at Malamawa Primary School in Sokoto. Last year, Hadiza enrolled in a basic literacy program in a community-based non-formal learning center supported by Northern Education Initiative Plus.“Education is important to the development of every community. Without it, communities cannot progress. I’m encouraged to see parents now giving their full support to education and this reading program. They prepare their children early in the morning to go to school and to learn new skills,” says Abdulkadir Dilani Shehu, Chairman of the Wurno local government area in Sokoto. The project works hand-in-hand with local governments to implement the Hausa early grade reading program.“Education is important to the development of every community. Without it, communities cannot progress. I’m encouraged to see parents now giving their full support to education and this reading program. They prepare their children early in the morning to go to school and to learn new skills,” says Abdulkadir Dilani Shehu, Chairman of the Wurno local government area in Sokoto. The project works hand-in-hand with local governments to implement the Hausa early grade reading program.“My dream and goal for children enrolled in non-formal learning centers is for them to get basic education and grow to be honest citizens. One day one of these children might be president or governor because what has been planted in them in the early years,” says Cecilia Eseme, Executive director of Center for Peoples’ Health, Peace, and Progress, a local NGO that partners with Northern Education Initiative Plus to provide resources for non-formal learning centers in Sokoto.“Parents and students see the improvement of teachers and how they are now committed to their work. Before, teachers would not attend their own classes. With Northern Education Initiative Plus teacher training, teachers are more conscious of how they spend their time,” says Zahrau Abdullahi Yabo, teacher of Yazidu, at Nizzamiyya Islamiyya Model Primary School in Sokoto.“When Hadiza started school, I noticed how much happier she was. I’m seeing positive changes in that she’s learning. There’s a lot of learning being done at her school,” says Asmau Hamza, mother of Hadiza, a fourth grade student at Malamawa Primary School in Sokoto. Northern Education Initiative Plus engages parents like Asmau to practice reading skills with the Mu Karanta curriculum.
