Lafiya sarari initiative

You are here:
  1. Home
  2. Projects
  3. Lafiya Sarari Initiative

Through a collaborative partnership, Neem Foundation and Catena Foundation have created a safe, accessible and confidential space where learning and psychosocial support is delivered to 100 young girls who are victims of the Boko Haram crisis in North East Nigeria. The learning centre embeds concepts such as creativity, critical thinking, tolerance, character building, acceptance, etiquette, and hygiene. The Lafiya Sarari initiative also supports the development of life skills in the selected girls who currently have no access to education. The initiative improves the quality of their learning experiences and prevents radicalization by raising the overall standard of teaching. The initiative is designed to give beneficiaries a safe and supportive environment and the necessary tools to ensure that they succeed both in school and life in the future.

Since the commencement of Lafiya Sarari initiative, the project has been adjudged very successful by community stakeholders, actors in international development as well as government.

View/Download Full Report

Objectives

  • Create learning spaces that will become hubs which impact basic literacy and numeracy as well as other life skills in line with the national curriculum in a non-formal setting.
  • Provide a safe and conducive environment where children are free to express themselves, think creatively and get psychosocial care.
  • Develop a methodology for the implementation of a creative and value-based national curriculum.
  • Improve the learning experiences of beneficiaries by creating a well-equipped learning environment.
  • Build the capacity of teachers to implement student-centred and creative learning.
  • Produce tools that promote interactive student-centred learning.
  • Develop tolerance, empathy by embedding values into subjects.

Our model

Neem Foundation has enhanced teaching by developing teaching guides and lesson plans that can support teachers. We are achieving this by:

Neem Foundation has enhanced the existing national curriculum by utilizing already developed teaching guides and lesson plans to support teachers in classrooms. By leveraging on our experience, our teaching guides and lesson plans help embed key concepts such as a sense of national identity, critical thinking, life skills, independence of thought, and acceptance into beneficiaries. We have also identified eight core national values – peace, tolerance, respect, unity, integrity, faith, justice and honesty – that are part of the core values of the learning centre. We have produced various educational materials based on these values, including books and puppets that promote interactive learning. Important topics, values and concepts are taught through classic subjects such as Mathematics and English. These materials promote interactive learning and inherently impact basic literacy and numeracy. Beyond that, teachers use the developed lesson plans to give beneficiaries an opportunity to explore new ideas and express themselves. We believe that extensive play time and competitions in Drama, Art and Music allow children to mull over and interact with ideas, form and present their own thoughts.

Neem Foundation, through her team of expert psychologists, provides psychosocial support and therapeutic interventions as part of the learning experience of beneficiaries. Our team of psychologists and resident counsellors help beneficiaries that suffer from trauma or abuse, by supporting and providing a warm and welcoming environment that offers help to them on issues such as depression and anxiety, grief counselling, drug abuse, sexual and domestic violence, as well as social transition issues that affect self esteem, confidence and sense of identity.

Neem Foundation has also introduced a mentorship programme designed to empower and inspire children and teachers. Mentoring helps all beneficiaries develop vital skills such as communication, relationship building, networking, and leadership, and receive support in making vital career and life decisions.

Neem Foundation operates Lafiya Sarari on a value based system. In the content and delivery of the curriculum, implementation of activities and programs, these eight values are reinforced into the ethos of the school:

Integrity, Honesty, Respect, Tolerance, Justice, Faith, Unity & Peace.

View/Download Full Report