A Thread of Hope: Rufaida and Raliya's Story
Rufaida and Raliya discover a new path to thrive after being out-of-school for a long time.
"After graduating from secondary school, we couldn't continue our education because there was no one to support us. We were at home doing nothing until this program began," says Rufaida.
Rufaida and her friend Raliya, both 17-year-old orphans, live with their extended families in Zaria city, Kaduna State. Rufaida, the youngest of three siblings, and Raliya, the eldest of six, had spent nearly a year idle at home after finishing secondary school, with no opportunities for further education or skill development.
In response to the challenges faced by out-of-school adolescent girls, UNICEF, supported by UK Eleva Foundation, collaborated with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to offer vocational, entrepreneurial, and life skills training. The program was further legitimized and supported by the leadership of Sarkin Kudu, Mallam Sambo Shehu Idris, a respected member of the Zazzau Emirate Council, whose role as chair of the community governance team broke down barriers that might have limited participation for young girls.
A 2022 UNICEF report highlighted that child poverty rates are highest among 16 to 17-year-olds in Nigeria. Kaduna, with Nigeria’s third-largest adolescent population, is home to an estimated 9,934 out-of-school girls in Zaria alone, offering few prospects for young women like Rufaida and Raliya.
When the two friends joined the program, neither had ever touched a sewing machine. Rufaida’s aunt, Safiya Salisu helped them enroll and quickly noticed a transformation in both girls.
They started buying fabrics from Amaru Market. They make small dresses and sell them for 800 to 1,000 naira. Sometimes, they buy fabric scraps for hijabs or pants, sew them, and sell them in nearby villages, she shares.
The girls currently borrow sewing machines from family or neighbors to sew dresses they sell locally. The impact of their new skills is profound.
I’m really happy. I didn’t know how to do anything before. At first, the teachers would cut the fabric and show us what to do, but now we cut and sew by ourselves. There isn’t a style we can’t make now, says Raliya.
For these two best friends, facing challenges together has turned into shared success, proving that when problems are shared, so are solutions.
