Education for All (E4A)

Education for All (E4A): A Three-Year Strategic Plan.

Project Title: "Education for All (E4A): Taking 900 children off the Streets and enrolling them in Schools across the Federation".

Executive Summary: The Education for All (EFA) project is a comprehensive three-year program designed to identify, rescue, and integrate 900 street children into formal educational systems. This transformative project addresses the urgent need to break the cycle of poverty and vulnerability that keeps children on the streets, providing them with educational opportunities, psychosocial support, and life skills necessary for successful reintegration into society.

 Our holistic approach combines immediate intervention with long-term sustainability, ensuring that rescued children not only enter schools but also complete their education and develop into productive members of society. Through strategic partnerships with government agencies, educational institutions, and community organizations, we aim to create a replicable model for street children rehabilitation that can be scaled across the region.

 Key Targets:

• 900 street children enrolled in formal education within 36 months

• 85% retention rate through completion of basic education

• 95% improvement in health and nutrition indicators

• 100% of participants equipped with essential life skills

Problem Statement.

 The Crisis of Street Children:

 Street children represent one of society's most vulnerable populations, with an estimated 100-150 million children worldwide living on the streets. In Nigeria, according to UNICEF (2024), approximately 18.3 million children, out of whom 12.5 million are from the North, are currently out of school and surviving on the streets, facing daily threats of exploitation, abuse, malnutrition, and death. These children, aged 6-17 years, have been driven to the streets by poverty, family breakdown, abuse, natural disasters, and conflict.

 Critical Challenges:

• Educational Deprivation: 95% of street children have never attended school or dropped out before completing primary education (Ministry of Education Analysis 2021)

• Health Hazards: Malnutrition affects 85% of street children, with 60% suffering from chronic health conditions (Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med 2023)

• Exploitation and Abuse: 70% face physical, sexual, or economic exploitation (Child Abuse and Neglect, 2018)

• Substance Abuse: A Great number of them are involved in drug use as a coping mechanism

• Criminal Activity: The Majority of them engage in petty crime for survival, leading to criminalization

Long-term Impact of Inaction: Without intervention, these children face a bleak future characterized by continued poverty, criminal involvement, early pregnancy, HIV/AIDS infection, and premature death. The cycle of poverty perpetuates as these children grow up to have their own children who often end up on the streets, creating an intergenerational problem that undermines social and economic development.

 Project Objectives.

Primary Objective: rescue 900 street children and successfully integrate them into formal educational systems within three years, providing them with comprehensive support services that ensure their proper development and successful reintegration into society.