Meet Hussaini

Meet the boy receiving his education by radio

Written by: Lucy Brazier, Gifts in Wills Officer, Gifts in Wills.

Hussaini* is 14. In 2018, Hussaini had to flee his school and village in northern Burkina Faso after a devastating terrorist attack by extremist groups destroyed his school.

“I was in class in my village. We heard screaming. Then people started firing guns. They shot at our teachers and killed one of them. They burnt down the classrooms. I was scared. I felt weak and lost. Then we just ran,” Hussaini remembers.

Since his school was destroyed, Hussaini has not set foot in a classroom. “I used to love school, to read, to count and to play during recess,” says Hussaini. “It’s been a year since I last went to school.”

In West and Central Africa, an upsurge in attacks and threats of violence against schools, students and teachers have forced more than 1.9 million children out of school. As of June 2019, more than 9,200 schools were closed or had become non-operational. Once safe havens for learning, schools have become targets for violence.

Radio Education programme: Innovating to give children under attack a chance to learn

When children are driven out of school by violence, UNICEF doesn’t give up on their education. Instead we look for innovative solutions to keep children like Hussaini learning – wherever they may be. UNICEF is working with governments across West and Central Africa to offer alternative teaching and learning tools when the formal classroom-based learning is not possible.

One such innovation is to reach children via the Radio Education in Emergencies programme. Since 2016, UNICEF and the Children’s Radio Foundation have collaborated on designing and piloting the programme.

This initiative provides up to nine months of broadcast lessons in literacy and numeracy, along with life-saving messages about living in conflict. Depending on the context, radio lessons might be aired by national networks or community stations, or even circulated to listening groups via a USB key.

Hussaini learns through the Radio Education in Emergencies Programme

Thanks to a radio set he received as part of the first-of-its-kind Radio Education in Emergencies pilot programme, Hussaini has been able to continue his studies by learning at home.

“It’s good. All the family listens to the [radio] lessons now,” says Hussaini. But he still misses his old school. “We had good teachers,” he recalls. “I don’t know where they are today.”

Hussaini works with a trained facilitator, Abdoulaye*, 23, who visits him regularly to help with his comprehension.

Abdoulaye, 23, a trained facilitator in distance learning, visits Hussaini on a regular basis to make sure he is listening to the lessons and to help him with homework. “Abdoulaye is like my older brother. He helps me a lot,” says Hussaini.

Abdoulaye says attacks against educators have escalated. “At first, they only threatened schools. Nowadays, they actually kill us. They are targeting the population, forcing people into displacement. As facilitators, we try to be discreet because of the security situation. If people see what we are doing, we could get killed.” But he is determined to see that the next generation receives an education.

“It’s very important for these children to learn. They are our younger brothers and sisters. We must help them. Parents also want their children to learn, despite the risks,” says Abdoulaye.

UNICEF won’t give up on any child’s education

At UNICEF, we believe every child has the right to an education – whatever their background, gender or ethnicity. UNICEF wants to see a world where all children enjoy this right.

We work hard to find innovative solutions to keep children learning when they are forced out of school by violence. And with our partners we proudly educate more children around the world than any other organisation.

If you would like to help children like Hussaini, you can make a one off donation to help support our work below.

If you are interested in providing longer term support, you may wish to consider making a gift in your Will. Gifts in Wills help fund education and learning programmes so that children have a chance to change their world. Request your Gifts in Wills Guide today.

*names changed