A year ago, you would not have found eleven-year-old Sakiya on any road to school. You would have found her at home in Garin Gunja, a farming and cattle-rearing community in Nangere Local Government Area, Yobe State, fetching, carrying and minding her younger siblings while the adults worked. Sakiya could
For Aisha, the future seemed already decided. At sixteen, she was expected to marry. But one encounter with girls who knew their rights helped her imagine a different future. The sound of celebration once filled Aisha Aliyu’s home. Her family had found her a husband, and for them, it was
He hung up on me before I could even finish my first sentence. He was so convinced I was a scammer that he didn’t even give me a chance to explain. I just sat there staring at my phone, my heart racing, thinking, Did I really choose the wrong job?
At just 12 years old, Abdul has already experienced more loss than most people face in a lifetime. Abdul is growing up in the midst of the protracted humanitarian crisis in Northeast Nigeria. Today, he is in JSS 2, living in an IDP camp and growing up without the family
“I like my school now.” For Masho, a 10-year-old pupil at Nyaja Danbo Primary School, in Taraba state, these simple words capture a huge change. For years, her school’s three-classroom building was in disrepair. The roof needed attention, the classrooms had deteriorated and broken desks made learning difficult. Today, Masho walks
At around 10:00am, Nanimaya Senchuri was sitting beside her bed, following her daily prayer routine, when she heard the roar of the Trishuli River. “In all my life, I had never seen a flood like this,” she says. Nanimaya has spent much of her life caring for her family. She
In Geidam, Yobe State, when a borehole breaks down, people used to wait. Sometimes for weeks. Sometimes for months. Women and children would walk for hours in the sun just to fetch water, returning home exhausted. ‘‘That used to be my life. My name is Aisha. I’m a mother
Lucy Odo Ede still remembers the long days that seemed to never end. On her rice farm in Ihenyi community, planting season meant bending for hours under the sun, working slowly through the fields with nothing but her hands. “Before, I spent months planting rice by hand,” she says. “Sometimes
Grace Bamisile lives in Ilupeju-Ijan with her husband and their four children. Thirteen years ago, soon after she became a mother, she opened a small shop selling drinks and household items. Back then, the electricity worked, and her business did well. Cold drinks were popular, especially during the dry season, and she could
Mayo-Ndaga sits on the rolling hills in Gembu, Taraba State. The air is cool, the land is wide, and a strong community shapes daily life. Over 15,000 people live across 1.034 km², with children making almost 55% of that number. Neighbours in this community know and support each other. Families rise early, farmers tend their fields, and children
