Groups Advocate Holistic Educational Approach For Reparation In Nigeria

Philip Daniel Yatai
Jun, Fri, 2025

Health

Groups advocate holistic educational approach for reparation in Nigeria

follow and like on:

44 total views today

By Angela Atabo

Neem Foundation and Global Survivors Fund (GSF) have advocated a holistic educational approach for the reparation of survivours of conflict-related sexual violence and their children in Nigeria.

Dr Fatima Akilu, the Executive Director of Neem Foundation, made the call at a “Policy Dialogue on Education as Reparation for Survivours and Children affected by Conflict-Related Sexual Violence” in Abuja.

Akilu said the approach would help the survivours and the children regain control of their lives, their dignity and place in society.

She said the foundation brought together stakeholders, governments, international, non-governmental organisations and the diplomatic community, to an important call to action.

She said the aim was to prioritise education as a form of reparation for survivors and children affected by conflict-related sexual violence in Nigeria.

“Education as reparation requires tailored measures that address the unique needs of children affected by conflict-related sexual violence.

“Combining trauma-responsive methods, flexible learning with economic support, and engagement with caregivers and communities, it ensures that the education children receive is accessible, inclusive, and transformative.

“At the heart of the Neem project in Borno is the Lafiya Sarari school, where nearly 80 per cent of enrolled students have been affected by conflict-related sexual violence,” she said.

Akilu said that students learn on-the-go and move at their own pace through a curriculum grounded in values such as peace, respect, and integrity – a deliberate counter to the hate that fuelled their trauma.

She added that the learning process is interwoven with mental health care, psychosocial support, and basic medical services.

“For children still carrying the physical and emotional scars of violence, this holistic approach provides a lifeline.This initiative is scalable.

“Training for more teachers is already underway, laying the groundwork to expand this model across the country and internationally.

“The changes we see at Lafiya Sarari can also be a reality for children in communities affected by sexual violence across the world, and Nigeria can lead the way,” she added.

According to Akilu, Neem and GSF in February 2024, started collaborating on a six-year initiative in Maiduguri that delivers trauma-responsive education to children aged eight to 14.

She said that most of the children were abducted, abused, witnessed violence, or were born as a result of sexual violence during Boko Haram’s insurgency.

“This comprehensive education programme, set up by Neem creates safe spaces for children to heal, regain confidence, and reconnect with a future that was violently interrupted.

“This is a bold, practical step towards justice and social reintegration. We are making schools where healing begins,” Akilu said.

Also speaking, the Executive Director at GSF, Esther Dingemans, said education is one of the most frequently requested forms of reparation by survivors.

“It empowers children economically and socially, reduces the risk of future abuse, and promotes long-term peace and reconciliation.

“In this context, education is not a luxury – it is a right, and a response to harm,” she said.

Dingemans said that the model being implemented in Borno had already proved that with the right approach, education could serve not just as a right to be restored, but as a remedy that transforms lives.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is being supported by the Governments of the United Kingdom, Korea, Japan, France, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Open Society Foundations.

Others are The European Commission, Education Cannot Wait (UNICEF), The Catena Foundation, UN Women, the Borno State Ministry of Education, Northeast Development Commission and the Damnaish Human Capacity Building Initiative.(NAN)

Edited by Chidi Opara

follow and like on: