Personal interview with Anklin from Back2School Africa. Don’t miss it!

Thank you very much for keep supporting Back to School Africa Initiative, from Nigeria!

 

As a return to your valuable support, we would like to share with you this month’s Newsletter from the organization that we hope you’d enjoy!

 

 

This month, Anisia from Airfunding had an interview with Anklin, the founder of Back to School Africa Initiative, and we’ve had the chance to know a little more about him, his motivations, dreams and experiences in Back to School Africa. Please keep reading!

 

Interview with Anklin, the founder of Back to School Africa

 

 

  • Hi Anklin! I’m very happy to see you. I would like to ask you some questions, so your supporters get a chance to know you and your work better. To start, can you please tell us a little about you?

 

Hi! My name is Chukwuma Anklin Amadi, I am the founder of Back to School Africa Initiative. I am passionate about creating a change in the world around me and I am grateful that Back to School Africa allows me to do that in all respects. My passion for social impact stems from my experiences growing up. I lost my father at a very young age and it was difficult for my mum to afford education for I and my siblings. This gave me a first hand experiences on how lack of money can hinder children from achieving their dreams and becoming assets to the society. This ignited in me a strong passion to use my skills and network to advocate for children who are going through the same experiences that i went through as a child.

 

My positive impact actions and outstanding leadership in sustainability has provided me and my team with access to several awards and recognitions in and outside of Nigeria, and we are motivated to do so much more.
I am currently studying for my masters degree in International Management in the Berlin School of Business and Innovation, Berlin, Germany.

 

  • When and how did you established Back to School Africa?

 

I created Back to School Africa Initiative in January, 2018 as a solution to the problem of lack of basic education that is prevalent in remote communities in Nigeria.
The organization was founded in Calabar, a city in the southern part of Nigeria where I worked as a high school teacher.
During this time, I could see so many brilliant children drop out of primary and secondary schools because their parents could not afford their fees.
One case that stood out for me was the case of a young girl named Endurance. She was the most brilliant student in my class but was about to drop out of school and forced into early marriage because her single mother could not afford to pay her fees. I could not allow this happen under my watch; hence, I took over the responsibility of paying Endurance’ fees.
While i was helping Endurance, I found
that there were many more children in that school and community who had similar problems, but I could not help all by myself as I had limited finances. This motivated me to post my work on social media to create awareness and also to encourage people to support. Over time, I received tremendous support and so many people volunteered
to work with me. Over the past three years, we have experienced incredible growth with more than 300 volunteers from 12 countries and 2,400 beneficiaries in 18 communities in Nigeria.

 

 

  • Can you tell us a little your activities in Back to School and about the volunteers that are part of the initiative?

 

Our activities are geared towards resource mobilization and collaborations to implement campaigns and projects that would eradicate child illiteracy and negligence in remote communities across Nigeria. Over the years, we have executed several projects in Lagos, Cross River, Kano, Delta, Benue and Anambra States. Our volunteers are the back bone of the organization because they go an extra mile to see that we realize our vision of an ideal Nigerian society where every child has access to the right education and skills that would enable them to realize their potentials. Our strategy for recruiting volunteers in Back to School Africa is that we focus on expressing the benefits of volunteerism instead of focusing on our needs. “We need help!” may be true, but it doesn’t make the most compelling case for volunteering. Instead, we focus on what volunteers stand to gain by giving their time. Things like making a difference, using their knowledge and skills for the greater good and working for a cause they believe in.

 

  • What are the biggest challenges that education faces in Nigeria?

 

The biggest challenge for education in Nigeria is poverty. The alarming rate of poverty in Nigeria is most severe in remote communities where the only source of income daily wage labour and subsistence agriculture. Most caregivers in these communities are not educated and cannot afford to send their children to school, these children also grow up illiterates and the cycle continues. This cycle of illiteracy caused by poverty is what Back to School Africa seeks to break through education, care and skill empowerment. Education is the key to opportunities and a ticket out of the poverty that has bedeviled these communities for years.

 

 

  • What are your objectives for Back to School Africa, short/long term?

 

The goals of Back to School Africa includes:
– To provide quality and equitable STEM blended education to all out of school and less privileged children in Nigeria.
– To foster equality and access to inclusive development to marginalized and hard-to-reach communities in Nigeria.
– To promote reform based leadership that would eliminate socio-economic differenced and achieve a sustainable and equitable economic growth.
– To improve human capital development policies.

 

 

  • What have been the biggest achievements of the organization so far?

 

The biggest achievement of Back to School Africa is the extent local, regional and global awareness it has created on the poor state of child literacy in Nigeria. This achievement not only motivates my team, but also many young people from other parts of the world to contribute and care – building a culture of responsibility for everyone to call for actions to protect the rights of children. We have also achieved a more global visibility through our collaborations with local and international organizations such as Airfunding. These collaborations are instrumental to the success of our campaigns and projects. The achievements of our projects has also proven its feasibility to be replicated and scaled up in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

 

  • How your experience with Airfunding has been so far?

 

I knew about Airfunding through a good friend, Nahoko. She knew about Back to School Africa and our projects and was very supportive. She encouraged me to use Airfunding as our crowdfunding platform for one of our projects (The Swap Project) in 2020. I did and it turned out very successful. Since then, Airfunding has been incredible. They have helped us in so many ways, especially in the aspect of crowdfunding. We are truly grateful to be partners!

 

 

  • A case of success: Endurace

 

This is Endurance (right on the upper pic). She is our first beneficiary at Back to School Africa! Endurance was at the verge of dropping out of school and forced into child marriage because her single mother could no longer afford to pay her fees. We found Endurance and gave her another chance at achieving her dreams by taking over the responsibility of paying for her studies.
Endurance graduated high school this year and was the best in her class! Back to School Africa will grant Endurance a scholarship till the end of her university education!

 

The case of Endurance is very common in Nigeria: girls that are forced to drop from school to get married. But thanks to your support and contributions, we hope many children like Endurance will have the right of education and a better future.

 

 

  • Some curiosities about Nigeria. Did you know that?

 

1. Nigeria is the seventh-most populous country in the world, home to more than 200 million people. While that may be a lot of people, population numbers would likely be even higher if it weren’t for the country’s high mortality rates and low life expectancy.

2. While there are a number of different religions practiced in Nigeria, the majority of the population is either Christian or Muslim.

3. The town of Igbo-Ora is known as the nation’s home of twins. Many of the local Yoruba people believe their consumption of yams and okra leaves to be the cause of their high birth rate of twins. While some fertility experts believe that certain yams contain a natural hormone that could cause multiple ovulation, there is no scientific evidence of this phenomenon.

4. Nigeria is a diverse multiethnic country with more than 520 spoken languages. While English is the official language, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo are also major languages in the country.

5. Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria before being moved to Abuja, is the country’s largest and most populous city and has been dubbed “Africa’s Big Apple,” in reference to New York City.

6. The country’s film industry, known as Nollywood, is one of the largest film producers in the world, second only to India’s Bollywood.

7. Nigeria is home to Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa. Dangote’s business interests in agriculture, banking, cement, manufacturing, salt and sugar have earned his net worth of more than $12 billion.

8. Largely due to its export market, Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa. While the agricultural industry accounts for approximately 70 percent of the country’s employment, petroleum products are the primary export—accounting for more than 90 percent of Nigeria’s exports.

9. Like in other African countries, some Nigerians consider the left hand to be unclean and using it to be a sign of disrespect. Those that believe this do not eat, shake hands or receive items with their left hand.

10. Despite gaining their independence in 1960, Nigeria has remained a member of the British Commonwealth, an association of 53 sovereign states. The country is also a member of the African Union.

 

 

Remember that you can directly communicate with Anklin in the Supporters Community in Facebook. Don’t forget to join the community if you haven’t done it yet, by clicking on the following link!