When 15-year-old Saratu Suleiman fled her village of Gatarawa one cold February night in 2024, she thought she was leaving behind not only her home but also her dreams.
Armed bandits had shattered the calm of the community, and her family ran through the darkness, guided only by fear and the faint glow of distant torches.
Months later, in the relative safety of Isa Town, the headquarters of Isa Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Suleiman sits under a corrugated roof, reciting the definition of basic science with a chorus of displaced children. Her face lights up as she talks about becoming a doctor.
“I thought everything was over for me,” said the J.S.S.1 student while clutching her exercise book. But this school gave me hope again.”
Young Suleiman is among more than 500 displaced children now enrolled at the Isa Continued Learning School, a community-led initiative providing a lifeline for children uprooted by armed bandit attacks.
Across Nigeria’s northwest, where conflict has torn through learning environments, schools like Isa’s stand as a model of resilience.
The violence that swept across communities in Isa LGA, including Kuran Mota, Shalla, Tsabre, Gatarawa, Gidan Sale, Gidan Abdulkarim and Tidibale, among others, forced thousands of families to abandontheir homes and livelihoods. Many schools were emptied overnight. Desks and textbooks lay buried in dust as teachers fled, leaving behind dreams interrupted.
By late 2023, hundreds of displaced children roamed the streets of Isa Town uneducated, traumatised, and vulnerable.
Touched by the sight of children forced out of school by displacement, a local youth network, Isa Youth Global Link Initiative (IYGOLINK), proposed the idea of a continued education system for the children. Inspired by this, the local government council stepped in and transformed one of the community’s schools into a temporary learning centre, giving the refugee children a chance to learn again and regain a sense of normalcy.
“When the idea came, I knew it could save an entire generation, so I acted immediately,” said Hon. Sharehu Kamarawa, the Chairman of Isa Local Government Area.
“The infrastructure was already in place, so we provided free uniforms and learning materials for the children and mobilised teachers who had fled from insurgency-affected areas and are now taking refuge here to teach the children since they are still on the government payroll.”
He said that the school in use was once a primary boarding school that had been shut down during the previous administration. “Rather than letting the facility waste away while children wandered aimlessly without access to education, we saw an opportunity to revive it.
“Through a deliberate initiative, we restored the school and stationed adequate security personnel around it, transforming it into a safe and conducive space for learning.”
According to Kamarawa, this progress was made possible through the unwavering commitment of the governor of Sokoto State, Ahmad Aliyu, to education.
“Beyond reopening the school, the government has also strengthened security arrangements to ensure the full protection of the pupils, considering the security challenges facing the area.”
The Chairman said he sees the initiative not just as a school but as a message that even in the midst of violence, hope can be chosen.
The modest beginning has grown into a functioning school with more than 18 teachers and many volunteer educators, many of whom are themselves displaced.
For Abdulrazak Yakubu, 14, the school is more than a classroom; it is a place of healing.
He remembers vividly the day his village, Takalmawa, was raided. His uncle, “Kawu Dahiru”, who was a local vigilante, was shot dead by the bandits.
His family fled through the bush, walking for hours before finally reaching Isa.
“I still remember when they brought my uncle’s corpse,” he said, his voice heavy. “Not long after, the bandits kidnapped another of my uncles during one of their raids. My family had to pay a ransom to get him back; it was a huge amount, though I don’t know exactly how much.”
He paused for a moment with a tear in his chin, then added softly, “We lost everything. But when I came here and saw other children learning, I felt alive again.
The school’s principal, Abdulwahab Umar Mai-Salati, said that the school has transformed many children’s silence into laughter.
Mai Salati, who assumed the role of a principal in December 2024, said the school is not just an academic centre for the children but a place of healing.
“Many of our pupils and students have seen violence up close. At first, they were withdrawn and fearful, but with time, they began to see their confidence return. The new learning environment they find themselves in gives them something to hold on to”
He said the school also collaborates with local NGOs to provide trauma counselling and play therapy for affected children, which helps them forget their experiences.
According to him, the school has enrolled over 600 displaced children, with 184 in the secondary section and 435 pupils in the primary section
The principal explained that the students were enrolled based on the classes they attended in their former schools before displacement. However, the documentation process has not been easy, as many of the children fled their villages without proper school records or credentials.
“It is difficult to trace their academic backgrounds or confirm the exact classes they were in, so we conduct placement tests to assess their knowledge and determine the appropriate class for each child.”
He commended the local government’s initiative, noting that providing a safe and structured learning environment has kept many displaced children off the streets.
“This effort has stopped them from roaming around or hawking during school hours while others are in class. This initiative is also helping to curb crime in the area. When a child is educated, there is little chance they will turn to criminal activities,” he explained.
For many parents, education has become the only inheritance they can still give.
One of them is Malam Isyaka Amadu, a 75-year-old father of 9 from Tozai village.
For him, life has not been the same since insecurity forced him to flee his village a year and six months ago. Once a large-scale farmer who harvested enough grain to feed his family throughout the year, Amadu now struggles to make ends meet in Isa, where he lives as a refugee.
Though he has managed to secure a small piece of land to cultivate, he says it is nothing compared to the vast farmlands he once tilled back home. Yet, amid the loss and hardship, one thing gives him hope – his children’s education.
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