By Elijah Osagie | Project leader
Dear Donors,
Imagine reaching adulthood without ever having had the chance to sit in a classroom, learn to write your own name, read a letter or confidently count the money in your hands.
For some women in northern Nigeria, this is their reality.
Their education may have ended before it ever began. Poverty, family circumstances, early marriage and long-standing barriers to girls' education have kept many women from gaining basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Yet adulthood does not mean the opportunity to learn has passed.
This belief is at the heart of Give Nigerian Girls Right to Education and Freedom.
Through this microproject, we plan to support 50 women through primary education from Primary 1 to Primary 6. School fees, uniforms, writing materials, sandals and transportation will be covered so that lack of money does not stand between them and the classroom.
Learning to read and write can change ordinary moments in a woman's life. She can read information for herself, write her name instead of using a fingerprint, understand basic documents, calculate expenses, keep simple business records and help her children with schoolwork.
Education is only one part of the project.
Participants will also receive information about property and inheritance rights. This matters for women who may face disputes over their homes, land or possessions after the death of a husband or family member. Where necessary and possible, the project will connect participants with appropriate legal support.
We are grateful to the donor who has already supported this young project. We also thank our partners, teachers, volunteers and community members who believe women should have the opportunity to learn regardless of their age.
As support grows, we will work with participating women and education providers to prepare enrolment and determine the learning needs of each participant. We will share further reports as enrolment and classroom activities begin.
If this project speaks to you, please share it with your friends, family and social media community. You can also become an individual fundraiser on GlobalGiving and invite others to help these women return to the classroom.
For a woman who was once told that school was not for her, walking into a classroom for the first time can carry a simple message:
It is not too late to learn.
With gratitude,
Elijah Osagie
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a FundraiserEvery microproject is intended to use the donations it receives in accordance with its stated description; however, it is important to provide project leaders with the flexibility to maximize the potential benefit from the donations they receive. This means that your donation may be used as a part of the main project that supports this microproject, specifically Educate 300 Vulnerable Girls in Northern Nigeria. In this event, the project leader is required to post an update to the microproject detailing the results and reasons behind this change.
If you or any other donor is unhappy with the way their funds have been used, he or she can reallocate their donation using the GlobalGiving guarantee.
