I have seen a lot of young women my age who are not able to fend for themselves for lack of any kind of education in both its formal and non-formal sense. As a teacher who has been in the classroom for over fifteen years, I have taught students, girls especially, who had no hope of ever furthering their education beyond Grade 6 – and are either taken back to their villages or hounded as house helps to total strangers or relatives. These memories remain indelible in my mind – and have pushed me in this direction: to be a voice of advocacy and a hand of practical help to these vulnerable ones. Since 2012 when I stepped feet in Adamawa State, I have set my heart and hands on reaching: children whose parents cannot pay school fees or examination fees; young girls who are orphaned; out-of-school children in villages, low income and underserved communities; carried out regular mentoring sessions through the ‘Read to Lead’ I started at my place of employ and public schools in my community; donated books and other educational materials; mentored girls in the art of public speaking; collaborated to convene annual public speaking competitions for schools with laptops as prizes for the best three and a mix of Ipads and smartphones for the other seven winners – since 2014; enrolled and sponsored fifteen out-of-school children into schools; enrolled divorced child mothers into literacy and apprenticeship programs; convened life skills sensitisation in national values and the SDGs in schools and villages; and have utilized mass media to advantage in creating awareness on the benefits of education to children, especially the girl-child. These have led to the founding of our Non-Governmental Organisation, Reach African Child Educational Empowerment Initiative, formerly known as the Initiative for Educational Transformation (IET) prior to its certification by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

Oluwabunmi Anani is a graduate of English Literature from the University of Lagos, Nigeria; and has been actively engaged in and outside the classroom for over fifteen years having started her teaching career since the age of sixteen (16), upon completing her secondary school education. She has taught through the following levels: kindergarten, nursery, primary, and now secondary (Lower Basic and Upper Basic). Beyond the confines of the classroom, Oluwabunmi Anani has interacted, engaged with, and taught children in deeply rural areas, slums, underserved schools, orphanages, camps for the internally displaced, communities that have suffered insurgent attacks. Out of school girls and child mothers are the major focus of her community outreaches.