“With education, the world is limitless, and through education, we can rewrite the African narrative for the better.”
Victoria Ibiwoye, founder of the One African Child Foundation for Creative Learning, says that while her country of Nigeria provides a lot of opportunities, it is also one with high levels of inequality.
“For children who live in the community where I come from, it’s a struggle to meet day-to-day needs,” she says. “A lot of children in Nigeria can afford to go to school but not all children can receive the best quality education that can present them with life changing opportunities.”
Reaching out for resilience
Such inequality and uneven education can lead many young people into the grip of organized criminal groups.
“We find that a lot of times, young people say that if they would have been informed earlier on the dangers of the organized crimes they were committing, they would not get themselves in harm's way,” Victoria says.
To help build resilience against these pitfalls, One African Child recently made a visit to a juvenile correctional home for boys in Lagos, Nigeria. “We educated the boys on the dangers of organized crime, we also taught them on the importance of personal accountability so that they can make better and informed choices.
“They now know that they can write their own narratives and as a result, they need to make decisions that they will be proud of in the future.”
Victoria says that these sorts of interventions are effective for two reasons – one, because the trainers and facilitators themselves were young people, helping the kids to relate to them.
Secondly, “we find that a lot of young people want a better future for themselves, but they are lacking role models.” Writing on sticky notes, the boys committed themselves to become those role models for others, by educating their peers on the dangers of organized crime.
A lifelong education
Victoria believes education is a lifelong process – and she herself is no exception. She joined the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Network of Women in Law and Policy against Organized Crime in West and Central Africa, which connected her to her own role models.
“I met with superstars, like the first women judge in Mauritania,” she says. “I found examples from this network that I can take back to my own community of Nigeria to inspire other young girls, because we also educate children in our communities to see a world where they are limitless.”
But the impact of the Women’s Network on Victoria doesn’t stop there, she notes. “A lot of women struggle with impostor syndrome and they believe the feeling of inadequacy. Being part of the Women's Network has given me the confidence I need to become a better leader and advocate. It has helped me see that I have a voice, that I am doing meaningful work, that my work is making a difference, that my voice needs to be heard.”
From the regional to the local
Victoria’s experience was so positive that she decided to establish the first Gender and Human Rights Working Group in her organization. “Interestingly, we found a lot of interest not just from women in our organization, but also from men who want to become allies in the fight towards gender equality.”
The visit to the juvenile correctional facility in Lagos? A brainchild of the new Working Group, Victoria shares. The project was extended to Ibadan and Kwara State in Nigeria.
“Altogether, we reached over 200 children and young people,” Victoria notes proudly.
“The opportunities and potential of the network are endless.”
