The Director of the Betharbel Free Elementary School for the IDPs in Durumi, Abuja, Monisola Aiyekueshin has spoken on the importance of education in the life of all humans. She said her utmost belief in getting everyone educated encouraged her to establish a free school for kids in the Internally Displaced People’s camp within the Federal Capital Territory.
She said, “I am encouraged by what the former president of South Africa Mr Nelson Mandela said about education. He said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ And this is very true.
“When I was based in Bayelsa State I did a lot of working with kids in the education sector. I was running a school over there and doing a lot with the West African Examinations Council and NECO. I was forced to abandon everything I had developed in Bayelsa because of issues with my marriage and that was how I moved over to Abuja. When I got to Abuja I started some other jobs as I prepared to rebuild and when I came in contact with the IDPs, I knew I just had to start something as quickly as possible.
“I saw a lot of kids doing nothing but playing the whole day while their mates were in classrooms. I was moved to work out something and I was also worried about Nigeria could be with a bunch of illiterates in like 20 years from now and deep in the Federal Capital Territory.”
Despite the start-off challenges, the school is running in its third year. The challenge of funding is still on but the school has continued to navigate across problems by the sheer will to succeed and be remembered by posterity.
“Concerning the funding challenges, the greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say at the end, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’ This is what highly respected Maria Montessori said about training children. I am holding on to this vision.
“We run a hundred percent free school, relying on donations from individuals, organizations, and philanthropists but help has been limited, making it quite difficult to sustain the school. We have 110 displaced children and six staff members. Payment of staff has been challenging but my staff and I will never give up on these kids. We will do all we can so that they can become the best version of themselves.”
Monisola Aiyekusehin is a trained educator who studied Accounting and Education, got certified by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, and later earned a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Benin.
She is educating the young ones to become a better version of them but she has received the marriage institution knowledge in a very unpleasant way.
She explains. “I left Bayelsa due to domestic violence; suffering 10 years of constant abuse in my marriage. The experience was incredibly challenging, and I was subjected to physical, emotional, and financial abuse. I was isolated from my family and friends, and my career was threatened. Despite being pregnant with twins, I was locked out of the house and had to sleep outside. The final straw came when I was constantly raped during pregnancy, and I realized I had to escape to save my life and the lives of my children.”
Monisola has been able to move well from the marriage issues by giving full attention to the work with the kids from the IDPs. Last month the Betharbel School in conjunction with Queen Vee Chess Academy received Canadian philanthropist, Daven Prashar-Savoie. The children were excited to learn chess and other basic techs as a part of their Economic Resilience Tech Bootcamp. They pray they get more of such visits and help.
While they are thankful to their current donors, everyone at Betharbel Free Elementary School is hopeful that sooner or later financial help will come their way to enable the school to operate in ways that get above the minimum standard demanded by UNICEF.
Betharbel Free Elementary School is a non-profit educational institution established by Betharbel Foundation to provide free education to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria. The school aims to bridge the education gap created by the North East insurgency, which has left many children without access to formal education. Since its inception in 2021, the school has successfully integrated over 110 displaced children, aged 6-15 back into formal education. The school provides a comprehensive curriculum, including technology education, to equip these children with essential skills for a brighter future and provide daily school meals.
