Grace Chinenye Nkwocha was leaving the community library in Ajegunle, which is currently being renovated by Transforming Lives and Communities Initiative (TLCI), an NGO she leads. She was going to say goodbye to a kind sponsor when she heard familiar voices shouting her name. Two children, aged between 10 and 12, who used to frequent the library, excitedly called out to her.
Turning to look, she was startled by the sight of the children hawking, their hands clutching small wares containing fruits. This echoed the stories of other library users she had recently encountered, who had spoken of their return to hawking after school.
“I was bitter, pained to say the least, but I hid these feelings from them cos I know it’s that same plague called poverty.”, she wrote in another series of Facebook posts seeking the public’s attention for donations for the community library’s renovation.
Grace is the co-founder and project director of TLCI. Her team converted their office into a free library and resource centre for children in Ajegunle during the emergence of COVID-19. It was when children in the community were stuck and playing at home because of the lockdown. They had no access to the internet to keep learning like most kids. TLCI saw an opportunity to move from mere food donations, a prevalent gesture to low-income communities during that time, to establishing an initiative called Children Library and Discovery Center.
The small library was stocked with children’s books, computers and games procured through Grace’s team’s collective efforts and donations from individuals and organisations. Soon, it ignited a spark of learning within the community. Starting from five to seven eager participants, the project became a knowledge hub, attracting over 1,000 registered users and garnering local and international media coverage.
“50% of children who came to that library could not read even at 10-12, Grace told me. “We started to transform this through a program called ‘Reading Clinic,’” she explained, and many of them have become avid readers.”
The library has nurtured a budding child author, Adewusi Oluwadunsin,10. She drew inspiration from the vast collection of children’s literature that she had read at the library. “If they can write, I can write too”, she confessed after Grace quizzed her on her motivations.
“I can not forget to appreciate the management of TLCI Children’s Library and Discovery Center. Thanks for the positive impact on me and other children.” the acknowledgement page of her published short story reads in part.
Beyond reading and writing proficiency, the library has nurtured children’s technology and creativity skills, creating avenues for them to engage in competitions and exhibitions. Recently, two library users, Awemeh Daniel and Victor Nwaeze, were selected to present their talents in robotics and art in an event organised by the First Lady of Lagos, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu.
From a small makeshift library to a spacious building
The makeshift library that once housed the children’s dreams has been sold, and TLCI has received a notice to vacate. However, this coincided with a fortuitous partnership with the administration of the current Chairman of Ifelodun LCDA (Ajegunle), Honorable Olufemi Akanbi. The government agreed to allow TLCI to “transform an existing e-library built by the government and raise its standard of operations.”
In an interview with The Record, Grace candidly admitted that the two-story building library was not as active as expected, and previous attempts to collaborate with the past administration to use it proved unsuccessful.
This successful partnership, however, requires TLCI to renovate the ground floor and the first floor of the building for their programs, temporarily halting their regular activities during the construction period. So far, it has raised N2.8 million in public donations but needs N11 million to complete the project.
To bridge this funding gap, TLCI actively seeks donations from individuals, corporations, and partnerships that align with its mission of nurturing young minds and shaping a brighter future for Ajegunle kids. It welcomes donations of books, technological devices, and other resources.
With the funding and in-kind contributions, the organisation aspires to create a world-class experience featuring a reception with an integrated aquarium, an interactive Experiential Room for science practicals, a well-equipped ICT and Research Room, an immersive Virtual Reality Space, a stimulating Art and Creativity Room, a Food Court, and a vibrant Musical Room.
Access to technology and these kinds of resources is one of the key factors contributing to the educational gap between rich and poor students. According to a 2021 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report, almost all children (97%) from wealthy families finish primary school. Still, only about one-third (34%) of children from low-income families do.
While wealthy students often have access to the latest technology, such as laptops, tablets, and high-speed internet, students from low-income families may not have access to these resources at home or school. This can make it difficult for them to complete schoolwork, enjoy the learning experience, and prepare for university and the workforce.
For financial sustainability, TLCI plans to establish a printing press, Do Good Prints, offering “any printing services” to generate revenue that will support the library operations, such as stipends for volunteers, generator fuel costs and organising workshops, seminars, and other educational programs to enrich the community’s knowledge and skills.
Creating a safe haven in Ajegunle to reshape the community’s culture
Ajegunle often bears the harsh stigma of being one of the largest slums in Africa primarily because of prevalent social vices, poverty, poor sanitation and lack of access to quality education. For example, 8 people–including a child and a woman–were reported dead during cult clashes around the community in March 2023.
Being associated with such negative trends and accompanying perceptions brings disappointment to natives like Grace. In 2015, she led her team on “a mission to transform Ajegunle’s narrative”. They established TLCI to illuminate the community’s positive aspects while actively addressing its shortcomings.
For a long time, the organisation focused on sensitisation and periodic sanitation initiatives. However, after Grace travelled and returned from a teaching experience at an American-styled school in Kuwait, she recognised the urgent need to focus on capacity building for the young generation by providing ultramodern learning resources.
“When I was teaching abroad, I realised the gap even though I had never been well-acquainted with words like education inequality,” she told The Record. “I wanted to return to Nigeria and see how I can transfer the teaching experience and create a mini-abroad somewhere in the community.”
Ms. Bukola James, a Certified Librarian of Nigeria (CLN) who also has experience teaching kids, explains that creating well-rounded opportunities, experiences, and environments in a library, just like TLCI is trying to do, can promote children’s cognitive, social and creative growth.
“Libraries provide rich opportunities for cognitive development through access to books, extracurricular activities, and educational resources”, she said.
“Social and emotional growth is fostered in a library setting by interacting with peers and mentors, which also enhances communication skills.” Furthermore, libraries can offer a safe haven for self-expression and discovery, nurturing creativity through reading, art and cultural programs.
Grace also believes that establishing a freely accessible library in Ajegunle that embodies excellence could persuade parents not to send their children to hawk and encourage them to engage with the library’s offerings as they recognise the exceptional value they receive at no cost.
One proof for that, Grace maintained, is the positive reception of the library’s services by the major stakeholders: parents. In a conference TLCI organised in 2022, about 500 parents crowded the hall. The packed hall, she remarked, “melted our hearts” because it demonstrated parents’ recognition of the library’s impact on their children’s education.
Further demonstrating the project’s impact, Grace shared an anecdote about a parent who recently moved from Ajegunle and whose child inquired about a “Mrs Grace library” in their new neighbourhood.
*The story has been updated to include that the library has raised N2.5 million in public donations as of January 30, 2024, representing only about 23% of the required fund.