Finding the jewel within: Nusaiba’s story of creativity born out of adversity
When 18 year old Nusaiba, a resident of Kofar Ruwa community in Dala Local Government Area, Kano state had to drop out of school because her parents could no longer afford to pay her school fees, she thought it was the end for her.
She was in Senior Secondary School 2 and had just one more year to graduate but with no hope of a means of payment for her tuition, she had to stop. Nusaiba did not give up on her dream to have an education and so she set out to find work or a means of livelihood with which to pay for the exams.
Several search attempts were unsuccessful and she spent her days praying and doing chores at home while she looked out for any opportunity to earn a living. It was while discussing her ordeals with her neighbor that she first learned about the Safe Space sessions on the Girls Improving Resilience Through Livelihoods and Health (GIRL-H) program. This expressed her interest and her neighbor who was a mentor on the program, registered and enrolled her on the program.
The program is implemented in five local government areas of Kano state namely Kumbotso, Dala, Fagge, Ungogo and Tarauni LGA and participants have to meet the criteria of being marginalized, out-of-school and aged between 10-14 years and 18-24 years, to be enrolled in the program.
In line with the program’s aim of improving girls’ well-being by increasing their access to and uptake of life skills, health information, basic numeracy and literacy, and financial literacy, as well as foster pathways to formal education, economic opportunities, and civic engagement, training sessions are held with the participants.
During the training sessions, Nusaiba was opened up to entrepreneurship, financial literacy and life skills. Speaking in Hausa, she said, “I learned about the importance of owning and managing a business. We were also trained on confidence, personal and environmental hygiene, respect for norms, delinquency, effects of drug use and abuse, peer to peer mentoring, passive and assertive behavior and even parental skills.”
She was presented with an option of skills to be trained on and she chose bead making. The training period lasted for 12 weeks, after which she transitioned to business mentorship for other girls. This afforded her the opportunity to put to practice the training on peer-to-peer mentoring.
Sharing her experience as a mentor, Nusaiba said, “We were given funds as support for the training rendered to mentees. I got NGN10,000 for each mentee and received a total of NGN30,000 for my three mentees.”
It was with the funds received that she purchased the materials for her bead making business.
Expressing her joy at the support, she said, “I feel very happy because I used to work with my trainer’s equipment but I now have my own independence to be creative.”
She started by making for members of her family and then for neighbors and friends. With time, she began to make pieces of jewelry for sale in the market.
Nusaiba’s business has grown but she is still limited and believes that with more finance, she would be able to expand her business. “Increased finance will help to sustain my business, as I would be able to get more materials and reach a larger market,” she said.
She has also not given up on her dream of finishing school and has big dreams for her business. “I need to go to school, if possible, through a scholarship. I also want to be a celebrated bead maker, one of the most known in this field,” she said.
Speaking about her plans for the future, Nusaiba revealed that she wants to be a lifeline and to give hope to others just as she had been given. “I hope to be able to set up a vocational center, so that I can teach others this skill and help them become entrepreneurs.”
About the GIRL-H program
Girls Improving Resilience through Livelihoods + Health (GIRL-H) is a Mercy Corps-implemented 36-month programme targeting adolescent girls, boys, and young people in Kenya, Uganda, Haiti and Nigeria. The programme aims to improve girls’ well-being by increasing their access to and uptake of life skills, health information, basic numeracy and literacy, and financial literacy, as well as foster pathways to formal education, economic opportunities, and civic engagement.
The overall goal of GIRL-H is that adolescent girls, boys, and young people experience improved well-being and increased access to educational, economic, and civic engagement opportunities, contributing to individual and household resilience.