Learn more about the girls that received a scholarship from Back 2 School Africa in Kano State, Nigeria.

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!

Article written by Anisia, Customer NGO Specialist from Airfunding, based on an interview with Anklin, the founder of Back to School.

 

Learn more about the girls that received a scholarship from Back 2 School Africa in Kano State, Nigeria.

 

In collaboration with the Berlin School of Business and Innovation, last month 10 girls received a scholarship to continue their studies in private school institutions.
The scholarship consisted of school materials, the uniform, and the fees for the entire year.
These girls were carefully selected because of their vulnerable background and were enrolled in private schools with good reputations around the country. According to Anklin, the founder of Back 2 School Africa, “we didn’t want just to give them the right to education, but to guarantee that they would receive a good one”
The chosen school has the resources needed for the children in order to learn and has also safety measures which make it an ideal place for the young girls to learn and a safe and stimulating learning environment.
Most of the girls dropped out of school and didn’t receive any kind of education for several years. The worst case is from one of the girls hasn’t been able to go to school for almost 3 years. This kind of situation is not exceptional or unique in Kano state. Kano State is one of the poorest states in Nigeria and there are many children that don’t have a formal education and there is also a high rate of street children. According to Anklin, one of the reasons for the existing extreme child poverty is the existence of polygamy in the country.
Polygamy is still nowadays a common practice in Islam, especially in the African continent. Under Islamic law, a man is entitled to marry more than one wife, if the wife allows him to do so. This is still one of the most controversial Islamic practices even for Muslims. In the last decades, most Muslims just marry one wife, and is even taboo to ask for a second one, but is it still possible to see this practice in certain regions of Africa.
In polygamist marriages, a man can have up to 20 children from different wives what makes it hard for them to cover the fees of the school and to feed all of them. Most of the street children come from polygamist families. Due to they can’t even eat on a daily basis in their homes sometimes they choose to leave their families and to live in the streets to try to look for food and be able to survive.
All the girls that have been selected have a family and live with them. Due to the lack of funds, is still not possible for Back 2 School Africa to support these children because the organization can’t afford the cost of building a home for them, their food, and the staff needed to take care of them. However, building an orphanage where children can study is one of the main future goals for Anklin. Taking these children off the streets and giving them a bright future is one of the main goals for Anklin, but unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to raise the moment needed for building an institution yet.
Even though Back 2 School Africa can’t support street children yet, is very remarkable all the work that they have been doing to empower these young students from poor backgrounds, and from Airfunding we expect to see this organization growing and achieving more goals in the future.
We would like to say thank you to all the supporters that have made it possible for these girls to enroll in a high-quality school and we hope that you keep supporting Back 2 School Africa in the remarkable work they do. Thank you!

Girls saying thank you for the scholarships received.
Curiosity of the month:popular drinks in Nigeria

A man drinking Burukutu, a local Nigerian drink.

Top 10 Popular Local Drinks in Nigeria

Many ethnic groups in Nigeria have special drinks that are consumed only from them. There are also very popular drinks that are consumed by many Nigerians no matter their ethnic group.

Nigerians have different kinds of drinks such as fruit juices and different kinds of milk and brews. Even though these drinks have high levels of sugar, most of them have a lot of nutrients to help the locals to have a balanced diet.

Let’s explore the top 10 popular local drinks in Nigeria.

1. Palm Wine

This is probably the most popular drink in Nigeria. It is consumed by almost all ethnic and tribal groups in Nigeria. This drink is also used during many important rituals and celebrations.
Palm wine is one of the most nutritious drinks in Nigeria because it is an important source of nicotinic acid, vitamin C, protein, thiamin, and riboflavin.
2. Burukutu
This drink is peculiar to ethnic groups around the middle belt region of Nigeria. It is a local brew made from fermented sorghum and other protein-enriched grains. The fermentation of sorghum to produce Burutku is carried out by using 48-hour pasteurization achieved through boiling and maturation. Burukutu is a popular local alcoholic drink for the people of the middle belt region.

3. PitoThis fermented alcoholic drink is very famous in the northern part of Nigeria. Pito is produced from the grains of guinea corn. The drink is further sweetened to enhance the taste.

4.Kunu

This is a fermented traditional non-alcoholic drink also from the northern part of Nigeria. It is also very popular among Nigerians.

Kunu is a millet-based food drink that is best consumed within few hours of its production. Kunu is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and is high in fiber.

5. Adoyo

Adoyo is a yellowish local drink that is produced from ripe pineapple juice and supplement derived from Ogi, a product made from maize or sorghum. Adoyo is highly nutritious as it contains high ascorbic acid. Adoyo is also said to be very therapeutic as a cure for malaria, even though there is no medical evidence.

6.Omi Wara

Omi Wara is another local drink from the northern part of Nigeria. It is obtained from cheese and water. Omi Wara is mostly enjoyed by northern locals.7.Zobo

Zobo is the local Nigerian non-alcoholic red wine. This drink is popular around all ethnic groups. Zobo is made from dried dry ingredients including red calyces and sepal of the Roselle plant.
Other basic ingredients for the zobo drink include garlic, ginger, pineapple, water, and sometimes honey, ginger, chili flakes, orange, lemon, and sugar syrup or concentrated juice powder. The drink is made by boiling all these ingredients in water. Zobo drink is loaded with lots of health benefits and is said to help reduce high blood pressure, aid digestion, and promote a healthy urinary tract.

8. Ogogoro
Ogogoro drink is derived from palm wine and is also a traditional drink used to carry out traditional rites in festivals and traditional worship. The drink is sometimes derived from ripe plantain and other fruits through distillery methods. When not properly prepared, ogogoro can be very dangerous due to ethanol which is its active ingredient. This is also one of the few local Nigerian drinks that adds no major nutrient to the body. The alcoholic content of this local drink ranges between 30-60%.
9. Local Chapman

This drink is a combination of some other popular drinks like Fanta, Sprite, orange juice. Other ingredients like lime or lemon, pineapple, cucumber, Grenadine syrup, Angostura aromatic bitter, or Alomo bitters are also added to this local mix. Some people prefer the non-alcoholic type, while others prefer to mix alcohol. It is best when served chilled. The fruit content of this drink makes it rich in vitamins and minerals.10. Peanut Milk Drink

The peanut milk drink is made from raw peanuts and cool water. It is made by peeling raw peanuts, blending with water, and straining. Because peanuts have a lot of proteins it is a highly nutritious drink.

A local making palm wine.

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