Violent conflict in northeast Nigeria has created a complex humanitarian emergency. Children often bear the most significant impact, with their childhoods uprooted amid fighting, high levels of poverty and lack of social security nets.

10-year-old Ibrahim* and his family were forced to flee their home after armed insurgents attacked their town, which left them without any belongings. To help support his family and earn some income, Ibrahim began working by pushing a water truck, which then prevented him from going to school.

The stressful circumstances were understandably harming Ibrahim’s mental health, resulting in aggressive behavior when interacting with others. Ibrahim’s caregivers were also experiencing heightened stress, which created a challenging household dynamic and eroded Ibrahim’s connection with his family.   

Recognizing these challenges, Street Child registered Ibrahim for child protection services through the ‘Education for Every Child Today (EFECT)’ project, implemented by Street Child in partnership with Education Above All Foundation’s Educate A Child (EAC) program.

After a thorough assessment of his situation, Ibrahim was enrolled into school and offered mental health support through the project. At the same time, his caregiver Hadiya* participated in positive parenting sessions and counselling to support her mental health. Hadiya also received business training, which assisted her in setting up a business selling food items to support her family, which eliminated the need for Ibrahim to earn income.

Ibrahim now attends school regularly and has begun demonstrating empathy towards others, building many friendships with children his age. He’s also helping care for his younger siblings at home when he isn’t in school.

 The EFECT project aims to place and retain 96,000 school-aged children in quality primary education across Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria by 2026. The project focuses on building schools, enrolling students, training and recruiting teachers and supporting caregivers to send children to school.

*names changed for safeguarding