From Street to School: Restoring Education and Changing the Future of Children in Northern Nigeria

In the bustling communities of Northern Nigeria, thousands of children wake up each morning not to prepare for school, but to prepare for the streets. Instead of carrying school bags filled with books, they carry trays of goods on their heads, moving from one busy road to another in search of daily earnings. For many families facing economic hardship, child hawking has become a survival strategy—but it comes at a heartbreaking cost: education.

Ten-year-old Musa was one of these children. Every day, while his peers sat in classrooms learning how to read and write, Musa navigated crowded markets under the hot sun, calling out to passersby in hopes of making enough to support his family. His dreams of going to school felt distant and uncertain. Like many children in similar circumstances, Musa risked growing up without the basic education needed to shape a better future.

Musa’s story is just one example of what is possible when a community comes together to act. Across Northern Nigeria, countless children are still waiting for the same opportunity—a chance to trade their hawking trays for notebooks and their street corners for classrooms.

We believe that every child in Northern Nigeria deserves more than survival; they deserve opportunity. They deserve the dignity of education, the safety of a classroom, and the hope of a brighter tomorrow. Every child deserves a pen, not a hawking tray.