Can you KARI? How UNICEF is powering Zahra’s dreams
In northeast Nigeria, a young girl’s dream of becoming a dentist takes off with learning in her mother tongue.
Zahra was five-years-old when she left home for the first time. From Ngamdu, her community in Nigeria’s northeastern State of Borno, her parents sent her to live in the city with her newlywed eldest sister, Hafsat Mohammed.
Hafsat hoped that living in a city would mean that Zahra would get to go to a formal school. But for many years the move did not translate into much for little Zahra. It took Hafsat five years to enroll Zahra in school.
Our parents, especially our mother, was against formal education,’ said Hafsat in the comfort of her home in Damaturu. She forbade me from enrolling Zahra in school. I had no choice but to enroll her in a local Islamic seminary instead. Ironically, it was the Mallam at the seminary who noticed her brilliance and advised me to register Zahra in a formal school. That was last year.
As new pupil, Zahra did not only struggle with adapting to the school environment, but also the language of instruction. All her life, the little girl had conversed only in Kanuri, her mother tongue. She could also not comprehend in Hausa, the predominant language in northeast Nigeria.
The language barrier initially made learning challenging for the 10-year-old. But change came three months after.
One afternoon, Zahra told me that her teachers have started teaching them in the Kanuri language. It was unbelievable at first because I had never seen learning materials written in the Kanuri language. I was so curious that I started reading her textbooks too, said Hafsat.
Zahra, who was sent to live in her eldest sister’s house based on the belief that the presence of a child in a new family would fast-track the birth of children, now had a new found meaning.
She became one of thousands of children benefitting from the Kanuri Arithmetic and Reading Arithmetic Intervention (KARI) project in northeast Nigeria. Initiated by UNICEF in collaboration with the government in the region, the KARI project enables minority children in the region to learn their indigenous language in Kanuri.
For previously out-of-school children like Zahra, the intervention is boosting enrolment, promoting inclusivity, and improving learning outcomes. Through the Partnership for Learning for All (PLANE) project of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), UNICEF is collaborating with State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB) in the region to produce textbooks for the Kanuri-speaking children. Kanuri-speaking teachers were trained in the delivery of literacy and numeracy modules, while exercise books, bags, pencils, and other learning materials were also provided to the children.
Zahra particularly liked the songs composed in the Kanuri language by teachers to teach the children good manners, hygiene, discipline, and hard work.
We sing and demonstrate those songs at home,’’ said Zahra. She wants to become a medical doctor, a dentist. “I remember once when our mother had a toothache. Zarah jokingly told her to wait till she qualified as a dentist. She said she would operate on our mother’s teeth herself. My mother, who fears hospitals and drugs, was horrified!’’ recalled Hafsat.
According to Hafsat, learning the Kanuri language has not only made comprehension easier for Zahra but also encouraged the family to embrace the gains of education.
My husband was happy when he saw her results and has resolved to sponsor her education to the highest level. Zarah is an obedient child. I was childless for three years, but God gave me a child after Zarah came to live with me. My husband and I will support her education to the end, added Hafsat.
For Zarah, the decision to become a dentist is to help people in her community. “I love seeing nice teeth. They are beautiful. That’s why I want to help people to have nice teeth,’’ she said.
