SOS Schools in Nigeria

In Nigeria, a third of young girls aged between 15 – 24 years are illiterate

In Nigeria, there are currently three SOS Nurseries and three SOS Primary Schools. These facilities provide education to children from SOS Villages and from the wider community. Staff members are well trained and the resources available to students are of a high standard.  Below you can find an overview on the SOS Children education projects.

Wasiu's Story

Wasiu is an eight-year old boy and describes his first day back at school in primary three year. “My first day at school was interesting. The first lesson I received was revision of last term’s work. I enjoyed the lesson. My most remarkable memory is the story my teacher told us in the class about the benefits of being an obedient child. I was happy to see my friends and classmates.”

Gwagwalada : SOS Schools

The SOS nursery at Gwagwalada has around 85 pupils, nearly half of whom come from the SOS village and the rest from the local community.

• Children take part in a wide range of learning and play activities to develop their individual skills. More unusual recent activities have included watching a display of Gwari Dance at a friendly sports match between two local teams and teaching the children how to prepare food for the rainy season.
• On one school outing, the children were taken to Wonder Park in Abuja, where they had lots of fun on all the exciting play equipment.

The SOS Primary at Gwagwalada has around 140 students.

• As well as maintaining high academic standards, the school has recently invested in five new computers and a small generator to enhance computer knowledge and teaching.
• As well as the annual Speech and Prize-Giving day, pupils take part in a range of events including spelling, art and football competitions and the celebration of special days such as Children’s Day and Hermann Gmeiner Day.

Isolo : SOS Schools

The SOS nursery at Isolo has around 90 children, around half of whom come from the SOS village and the rest from the local community.

• The nursery has classes for reception, nursery level one and level two children. In addition, a programme has begun where two-year olds are invited to come into the school three times a week to prepare them for starting at nursery. The nursery also runs an education programme to support pupils with special needs.
• The children take part in all kinds of events, including competitions for spelling, arts and crafts and the celebration of special days such as Valentine’s Day, Children’s Day and African Child Day. At Christmas, the children have a Carol Night and recently audiences were thrilled by their rendition of “Feliz Navidad” in the Igbo language.

The SOS Primary at Isolo has over 200 students, over a quarter coming from the SOS village and the remainder from the local community.

• Outside of normal lessons, pupils are encouraged to take part in all kinds of clubs and activities, such as Brownies, where the children recently celebrated Brownie Day for the 90th Anniversary.
• Recent outings for pupils of the school have included trips to the National Art Theatre in Iganmu-Lagos to view the FIFA World Cup and to the Gobal Peace Games.

Owu-Ijebu : SOS Schools

The SOS nursery at Owu-Ijebu has around 80 children, around a quarter from the SOS village and the remainder from the local community.

• The nursery organises its children into three groups – Reception, Cats and Elephants. A special SPED intervention unit also caters for children with learning disabilities and behavioural problems.
• Nursery children take part in a biennial sports day competition, where they have fun in relay, three-legged and other kinds of races. A biennial talents competition is also held with the sister SOS Isolo Nursery school, where the children take part in recitation, spelling bee and arts and crafts competitions.

The SOS Primary at Owu-Ijebu has around 140 students, nearly a third of whom come from the SOS village and the remainder from the local community.

• Pupils at the school perform well, with all students in a recent year who were entered for secondary schools being admitted to their chosen schools. Performance also improved among children receiving special education support.
• Students take part in a wide range of extra-curricular activities and events. There is a biennial sports day, as well as regular sports fixtures through the year with local schools. Pupils also compete in an annual talent contest, where they show off their skills in singing, fine arts, public speaking and general knowledge quizzes. Recently, the school participated in a musical competition held in Lagos, where they were awarded 1st place and received a television set as the winning prize.