How 17-yr-old Mustapha Transformed from Almajiri to producer of shoes and handbags
Seventeen-year-old Abubakar Mustapha’s life has changed significantly. Once a child beggar, Mustapha has moved out from the Almajiri cycle and is now a proud producer of shoes and handbags.
Mustapha said, for years, he went from house to house begging. But, with the help of an intervention programme by UNICEF and the Eleva Foundation, he has now acquired skills to start his own business.
•Abubakar Mustapha at work
Notwithstanding, the Almajiri situation remains alarming in Sokoto State as it is among the states with the highest poverty index. But Mustapha is one out of the lucky ones who benefitted from the two-year programme titled: “Transformative actions to address the situation of Almajiri children and out of school adolescent girls”. It is being implemented in five North-Western states of Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina and Sokoto, which identified thousands of Almajiri children and out-of-school adolescent girls in need of support and enrolled them in the life changing programme.
Today, Mustapha not only supports himself but also his family of eight, as his father is currently living without a job. Mustapha’s success story has inspired others. He has trained four of his peers in the trade, providing them with a means to earn a living. His story serves as a testament to the power of skill acquisition and entrepreneurship in transforming lives.
“For years, I was going from house to house begging for food. To God be the glory, I have moved out of the Almajiri cycle to become a producer of shoes and handbags. I learned this in three months under the UNICEF intervention programme. In a day, I produce three to five shoes. The large quantity of shoes and bags you see here are productions ahead of the Sallah celebration. People do patronise me in my shop. I make up to N10,000, N15,000 to N20,000 in a month from this trade. From the proceeds I make from the trade, I cater for my family as my dad has nothing doing. We are eight in my family. I am the fifth.
“I have all it takes to produce quality shoes and bags, but my major constraint now is capital.
“I have trained four of my colleagues. I want to appeal to other Almajiri children to leverage on skill acquisition to develop themselves and better their lives,” Mustapha said.
Thanks to the intervention programme of the UNICEF and the Eleva Foundation, many Almajiri children and out-of-school adolescent girls in Sokoto State have found a safe haven at the Community-Based Friendly Spaces or Centres in Shuni, Dange-Shuni LGA and Kalalawa, Kware LGA as well as Digital village situated in Sultan Muhammad Machiddo Institute.
The centres provide a safe space for these vulnerable children to learn, play, and receive support. It also offers digital literacy training, financial inclusion, leadership skills, life education skills and vocational skills development, among others.
Maryam Ibrahim is another beneficiary of the programme who shared her life-changing experience at the centre. “I have learned so much and gained confidence. I am now empowered to make informed decisions about my life,” she said.
Cecilia Eseme, the Executive Coordinator, Centre for People’s Health, Peace and Progress, (3Ps) and an implementing partner in Dange-Shuni Community Based Child Protection centre, said they provide counselling, mentoring, training on skill acquisition for the children in the centre.
She said the programme has broken the culture of silence among the children as it has given them voice in the society.
She said Mustapha was one of the Almajiri children who benefitted from the skill acquisition in the centre and has turned a new life.
Cecilia’s counterpart who heads the Community Based Child Protection Center in Kalalawa, Kware LGA, Imam Hamisu Kalalawa, said the centre integrated a lot of components such as counselling and skill acquisition, while the children are learning the Quran. He said the programme has transformed the lives of the children as they can now make pomade, perfume and sewing, among others.
According to Godwin Odo, UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, the project was designed to provide a comprehensive approach or model to addressing the needs of these vulnerable children and finding a lasting solution to address the situation of Almajiri children and out of school adolescent girls.
“These implementation of the transformative actions to address the situation of Almajiri children and out of school adolescent girls is being implemented in five North-West states of Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina and Sokoto.
“As UNICEF, we supported the implementation by working with our respective state partners, but UNICEF cannot take over the role of government. What we can do is to showcase models that we see can work for the respective state governments to carry out their responsibilities to take up these models, implement it and ensure it sustainability,” Odo said.
