Learning to read and write, Nigeria. Damisa Rahila, a volunteer of the USAID funded SMILE activity teaches children In Sakwatawa, a small community in Nasarawa state, Nigeria.

The school, which holds classes in an open space, has about 75 students who are learning to read and write. Previously, most of these students had never received any formal education, they were instead engaged in street hawking, and the nearest school was 5km (3 miles) away.



Damisa Rahila teaches numbers to children In Sakwatawa, a small community near Keffi in Nasarawa state, Nigeria,

The school, which holds classes under a mango tree for younger students and inside an old building for older students, has about 75 students. "Before we started school they don’t even know how to say the ABCS, maybe identify some numbers," said Damisa, who has taught at the school for three months. "They have improved. Some of them can say the whole alphabet and can count from one to thirty. Even if it’s the life of one child here that at least I will impact something on, let me do it with God by my side."

Before this school opened in November 2016, most children in Sawkwatwa didn't receive a formal education because the nearest government school was too far -- and too expensive.

SMILE is a five-year cooperative agreement between Catholic Relief Services and the U.S. Agency for International Development to improve the wellbeing of 600,000 vulnerable children and 150,000 caregivers. Photo Credit: USAID Nigeria. Original public domain image from Flickr