PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMITTED BY FUTURE PROWESS ISLAMIC FOUNDATION TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL IN NIGERIA
20 OCTOBER 2013
- Title
EMPOWERING GRASSROOT CHILDREN OF INSURGENCY AND WOMEN IN CONFLICT THROUGH ENTREPRENEURAL TRAINING
Organization:
Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School
44 Ramat Street, G.R.A, P.O. Box 4172
Maiduguri, Borno State.
Telephone: 0803-618-8344/ 08153535349
E-Mail:
Web Site:
Contact Person/Proprietor: Barrister Zanna Bukar Mustapha
To: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL NIGERIA
- Information on Applicant Organisation/History of the Organisation
Describe briefly and concisely your organisation carrying out the project, including any previous experiences in this field of expertise. What is especially interesting about your organisation? Who are the other stakeholders? Who has what role? How is the project to be co-ordinated?
Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission on 27th, February 2007, and Certificate of registration Number BN002448 (MD) granted to operate School. The School commenced operations immediately. The school was also granted a Certificate of Registration of Private School by BORNO STATE Ministry of Education, issued to the proprietor on 30th January 2008 to establish and operate a Private Nursery / Primary School at its current premises in Maiduguri at 44 RAMAT STREET G.R.A.
The Foundation aims to positively impact on every aspect of the lives of OVC pupils and widows, through qualitative education that unleashes leadership capabilities of children. Our target groups are Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), Almajiri kids, Girl Child and their immediate family members or guardians and widows. The project is especially intended to address the problems of children in Maiduguri ravaged by arms conflict, religious intolerance and extremism which resulted in many death hence the need for help especially in terms of health, nutrition and education needs, due to scourge in this area which has increased the number of orphans, disadvantaged children and or worsening their condition of living. However, the major goal of this project is to help disadvantaged children get an opportunity to study for self-sustenance, health, nutrition and NOT dependence on the community they lived before the incidence which has disjointed them from the cultural norms of living together
Challenged to deliver education in difficult circumstances in recent times as Boko Haram Insurgency in Northern Nigeria, the school includes activities to meet needs for conflict resolutions, peace and state building processes such as human capital development approach to address exploitative child labor by, promoting educational, entrepreneurial and vocational training. We enhance livelihoods for youth and their households, support civic engagement, encourage youth to take on leadership roles within their communities and leveraged OVC relatives for peace building. Our pupil intakes are referred by the community. School fees are not charged; we provide school uniforms, shoes, bags, hijab to girl children and daily breakfast to all. We are place of refuge for Children and their families in crisis (See: )
Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School currently has 540 OVC pupils enrolled in classes ranging from kindergarten to primary six and also provide support to 565 former pupils of our school who have gained admission into junior secondary schools spread throughout Northern Nigeria.
Future Prowess has a Parents Teachers Association “PTA”, comprising of class teachers and parents of OVC pupils Future Prowess PTA serves as vehicle to advance education of pupils by encouraging the fullest co-operation between home and school.
It also provide the school with opportunity to carry out needs assessment and evaluation of the home environment of our OVC pupils relative to the abilities of parents to provide safe home and environment for their wards.
Total current OVC pupils family membership of in Future Prowess PTA is 650, family members of pupils who have gained admission to secondary schools are encouraged to retain their membership in the PTA.
Future Prowess PTA members volunteer in various capacities at the school where volunteers are required.
In the household of a typical OVC in our care, women (widows) are about 90 percent of head of households and providers due to the effect of insurgency in the host communities.
Participants for the EMPOWERING GRASSROOT CHILDREN OF INSURGENCY AND WOMEN IN CONFLICT THROUGH ENTREPRENEURAL TRAINING programme will be drawn from Future Prowess PTA members.
Future Prowess provide free breakfast and lunch to pupils, protein are sourced from fish ponds operated by the school.
The school currently has Five (5) ponds located within the school premises with installed capacity of 100,000 fish fingerling production per cycle.
●One (1) for brood stocks: Brood stock, or brood fish, are a group of mature fish used in
Aquaculture for breeding purposes as egg layers
●One (1) pond used as hatchery: This is where transition from egg to Larva is completed.
The Larvae are not able to feed themselves but carry a yolk-sac which provides their nutrition.
●One (1) pond for fish Juveniles: Larvae are transferred to juvenile pond when the Yolk –sac disappears, fish juveniles becomes capable of feeding themselves
●One (1) pond for fingerlings: Fingerlings are tiny fish the size of fingers. The transition stage continues until fish fingerlings have developed scales and working fin adult fish pond
●One (1) fully grown fish pond with installed capacity for 100,000: Fully grown, mature and interacting with other adult fish
Current production is limited to 50,000 fingerlings per four months growth cycle.
Headquartered in Maiduguri, Future Prowess foundation has community outreach mechanism in all local government areas of Borno State.
Future Prowess has the staff capacity ranging from competent and experienced program personnel, M&E / programme advisor and field staff at the community levels. Family members of OVC pupils also serve as volunteers in various capacities depending on their expertise
2. Brief summary
Problem statement: The effect of insurgency in host community has led to higher proportion of households headed by females than National average. The 2008 NDHS indicates that the average household in Nigeria comprises of 4.1 persons in urban areas and 4.6 persons per household in rural areas. The proportion of households with 9 or more members is higher is higher in rural areas (10%), while the proportion of households with 9 or more members is 7% in Urban areas.
The 2008 NDHS wealth index also indicates that women ages 15 to 49 has 36% working in subsistence agriculture are employed by family members while 62.9% were self-employed.
The effect of insurgency and the resulting security challenges in Borno have resulted in inability of subsistence women farmers to go to farms and therefore lacked source of income and livelihood. Women heads of households in our target group are therefore unable to generate income to sustain large family members resulting in families seeking to enrol their wards at Future Prowess School because of assurance of education and free breakfast and lunch provided to pupils.
The school currently has a waiting list of over 5000 prospective pupils.
In order to stem the tide of poverty and hunger among the family members of our OVC pupils, and create safe environment for the children, EMPOWERING GRASSROOTS CHILDREN OF INSURGENCY AND WOMEN IN CONFLICT THROUGH ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAINING is programmatic intervention to improve the socio-economic status of poor widowed women and men who are immediate family members of OVC pupils in our care by mobilizing them and building their capacities to alternative source of livelihood and living standards; aid peace building through linkages to all groups and communities ravaged by insurgency and developed peer and Community /Religious leadership based counselling and dispute resolution system.
Training activities will commence with a Psycho-social support activity with Future Prowess convening a day to day interactive Post trauma focus group session for participants with Post trauma councillors from Borno State Ministry of Health, community leaders, interfaith religious leaders , clergymen and women as facilitators.
Expected output of the post trauma session will be to help refocus and redirect the minds of participant from being victims of circumstances to people a life of productivity and ready to be trained for the task as fish farmers and fish production skilled workers ready for employment.
It will also serve as mechanism for building the bond between OVC pupils, their family members and across communities as they are provided with opportunity to interact in a neural safe environment
It will also enhance community healing processes through interaction between community members who otherwise would have been suspicious of each other due effect of insurgency in Borno State.
Linkages built between OVC family member will leverage on linkages already build between their OVC wards in our care resulting bonding across communities which lead to safe space.
Future Prowess Foundation aims to accomplish these objectives by utilizing its 5 existing fish ponds and facilities to train and equip participants with
●Fish farming and fish marketing techniques to enhance abilities of OVC family members to generate income
● Improve standard of living and employable skills.
●Improve their diet and contribute to their families well being
●Sustainable community development through empowering poor widows, who ar victims of violent civil unrest and insurgency in Borno an Yobe State with knowledge and skills to make sound livelihood decisions
Target groups are women and men (widows) victims of violent insurgency and are immediate family members of OVC pupils currently in our school.
Participants will be drawn from members of Future Prowess OVC pupils Parents Association
Project Description
Identified participants will learn processes of formulating fish feeds, hatching, general fish and ponds management techniques including sales and marketing skills.
Participants will be encouraged to build small businesses out of the skills learnt, e.g., those with sales and marketing skills upon graduation will be encouraged and given daily stock at cost and on credit by the school from the fish harvested, which they can take to the market for sale. They will retain their profit and retire the cost of fish stock advanced at the end of each day.
Those who are proficient in areas of feed formulation and other area of fish farming will be encouraged to develop their new skills either to a small scale business or use their new skills for employment.
The project is a WIN-WIN project for the School, OVC pupils and their family members and community at large; The school gets additional production capacity beyond the current sustenance fish farming which are mainly used for feeding OVC pupils in our school breakfast and lunch programme for pupils.
The resulting additional income to the school will be used to scale up the project while OVC pupils gets an emotional and economically empowered stable home and improved self-esteem of family members.
Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School will be leveraging on its established activities, community participation and activities for Empowering Grassroots Women in Conflictthrough Entrepreneurial Training programme delivery.
The entire process from hatchery to fully grown fish is a four month circle, it is envisaged that the programme will graduate 25 OVC family members on a four monthly circle, with 100 participants in the first 12 months.
It is envisaged that the training period will be for one year, with a four month of structured teaching on process of fish production and marketing.
Successful participants will be appointed as distributors and sales agents for marketing fish produced during the four month period for individual income generation
Objective:
To offer an enabling environment for assisting in the mitigation of the impact of Insurgency and conflict on Orphans and Vulnerable Children and their families, from the school’s catchments areas of Borno, through the provision of sustainable skill acquisition programme, qualitative education, Psychosocial, Care and Support
Summary of activities
- Psycho-social support:
A one day interactive Post trauma focus group session for participants with Post trauma councillors from Borno State Ministry of Health, community leaders, interfaith religious leaders clergymen and women as facilitators.
Expected output of the post trauma session will be to refocus and redirect the minds of participant from being victims of circumstances to people a life of productivity and ready to be trained for the task as fish farmers and fish production skilled workers ready for employment.
- Socio-economic Support for close family members of our OVC pupils, to encourage family ties and
skill acquisition using our fish pond project.
ii) Programme sustainability through Business management and fish harvest distribution chain techniques that incorporate our OVC pupils families sales and distribution of harvested fish.
Budgetary request for funding:
N23363.546
3. Background
Describe the background / context in which the project activities are being planned and designed.
The school’s new premises in Maiduguri currently comprises of classrooms building, with well-furnished classrooms, an Administrative building with the Head Masters office, Staff Room, a well- equipped Computer Room for pupils and Dinning facility. There are plans in place for additional buildings and facilities as enrollments increases and funding sources improves. The school is connected to the Internet and can be accessed at: , or via e-mail:
Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School is a faith based school specifically for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, 540 students are currently enrolled in the school.
The School has a policy of encouraging enrollment from all sources, irrespective of tribe religion, race and ethnicity but subject only to availability of funding and classroom space.
The challenges faced by educationist in the core Northern states in meeting the educational needs of the society, is very daunting with issues such as attitude of parents towards schooling and what they consider to be western education, individual and peer resistance to Girl child education, etc.
Our OVC pupils come from homes and families in which either one or both parents have died from insurgency, HIV Aids related complications, where the extended families have stigmatized the children of HIV Aids infected within and used it as an opportunity to cast the children out on the street, having considered them to be untouchables and evil, or children abandoned to fend on their own (Almajiri).
In view of the modest gains we have achieved, we are faced with the uphill task of educating a hungry child, who may not have eaten any tangible meal in days in a dysfunctional family due to effect of communal unrest and insurgency in Borno and Yobe State. Boko Haram Crisis in some parts of Northern Nigeria, especially in Borno and Yobe State, have resulted in many school aged children dropping out of schools, thereby compounding the challenges faced by educationists in meeting the educational target needs of OVC and girl child education. Our pupil intake has grown to 450 pupils since the commencement of crisis in Maiduguri, an increase of 80% which placed significant strain on our finances. There are currently additional 1000 OVC on our waiting list for admission into our programmes.
It is therefore against this background that we seek funding from The SDGsin Nigeria to enable the school to provide a learning environment conducive to allowing for building OVC family ties, while at the same time providing life and entrepreneurial skills to enhance sustainable income opportunity to OVC pupils family members
4. Strategy / Project objectives / Activities / Expected results
Describe briefly and concisely the project strategy, the overall aim and target group(s), planned results and activities.
Objective:
To offer an enabling environment for assisting in the mitigation of the impact of HIV and conflict on Orphans and Vulnerable Children and their families, from the school’s catchments areas of Borno,through the provision of sustainable skill acquisition programme, qualitative education, Psychosocial, Care and Support.
Strategy:
Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School, having designed its OVC/community outreach programme and strategy to encourage enrollments from the grass root, specifically, the poor and underserved within the society in the catchments areas which are currently Yobe and Borno States;further encouraged by the successes recorded in the implementation of our outreach programmes is therefore desirous of implementing a socio-economic support programme which will provide opportunity for OVC pupils to interact with their family members while at the same time impact life and
Entrepreneurial skills necessary for sustainable incomes to participating OVC family members in particular and future prowess OVC programmes in general.