Equipping Nigerian Youth with Life Skills

Sept. 5, 2006—Today millions of girls and boys across the United States will excitedly return to classrooms, greeting new teachers and reconnecting with school friends along the way.

But this is not the case for the 115 million children worldwide who are not able to attend school this year.

Girls are the majority of out-of-school children around the world. In poverty-stricken areas, families may keep girls out of school to care for sick relatives, take care of household chores, or contribute to family income by selling market goods or working as domestic staff.

In Nigeria, over seven million children will not have the chance to attend school this year. Nigerian girls face many obstacles that prevent them from staying in school. Over 30 percent of out-of-school girls are no longer in the classroom due to child marriage and pregnancy. And, where resources are limited, some Nigerian families’ cultural and religious preferences are to send their sons to school first before their daughters.

CEDPA works to empower youth in Nigeria’s southern state of Akwa Ibom by raising their education, health status and quality of life through the Better Life Options program, which was launched September 12 in the area of Eket. Over 200 community leaders attended the launch, including Obongawan Emem Ette, a prominent Eket woman leader, and Mrs. Ndarake, President of the National Council of Women Societies in Akwa Ibom State.

The Better Life Options program targets at-risk Nigerian girls and boys aged 10–19 years with high-quality, participatory life skills training. CEDPA is working hand-in-hand with local community partners to educate nearly 4,000 youth and better prepare them to make healthy and productive life choices.

The program will focus on building beneficial peer relationships, family life education, leadership training, skills in communication, decision-making and problem-solving, and adolescent health. CEDPA and its partners will also work to build community support for youth leadership.

“CEDPA is empowering Nigeria’s youth,” said Project Director Tammie Kammonke, from Calabar, Nigeria. “Working with parents and our community partners, the project encourages youth to make better life choices and take on leadership roles within our communities.”

CEDPA is adapting the program curriculum from its Choose a Future! training manuals using input from girls, boys, parents and community and traditional leaders from Akwa Ibom State who are helping determine the program’s focus and shape modules. It is made possible through the support of the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Educating Women and Girls Initiative.

Over the past twenty years, CEDPA has held youth development programs in Egypt, India, Nepal, Ghana and South Africa, reaching over 100,000 youth. Young people who have completed these programs have gone on to achieve a higher level of education, demonstrate greater HIV/AIDS awareness, and show greater ability to make decisions about marriage, spending income and education.

Read more about CEDPA’s youth development programs and the Choose a Future! curriculum.

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