On a dry Wednesday in December, two trucks trundled into the sleepy town of Olorunda in Yewa North Local Government Area in Ogun State bearing early Christmas gifts for pupils of United Anglican Nursery and Primary School.
The journey to this quiet village, 40 kilometers from the capital of Abeokuta, was a difficult ride for volunteers of the Eziokwu Ebubechukwu Foundation (EEF). After hours of navigating rough terrain and jagged roads, the trucks came to a halt at the mouth of the run-down primary school in the middle of the village.
Excitement rent the air as the pupils spied volunteers offloading gift bags for distribution. The sleepy town came alive with word spreading fast that Santa Claus may have made an early stop in Olorunda. Volunteers corralled the children into columns, assisted by teachers with beaming smiles. 500 students. Sheer childlike excitement etched on each of their faces as they waited in line for their turn to receive their packages.
It was the fifth edition of EEF’s Book Drive, an initiative designed to provide children in rural areas with learning materials in an attempt to help them keep pace in a rapidly changing world. In this part of the world, access to basic writing materials can be considered a luxury while their peers in developed countries have unfettered access to digital learning tools.
According to the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), 500 million children are unable to achieve proficiency in reading and maths even with access to basic education. A chunk of this number is in sub-Saharan Africa with basic literacy skills a far cry for out-of-school children in the region.
Keen to bridge the yawning gap, EEF founder Eziokwu Ebubechukwu has made it his life’s mission to keep the flame of education alive among indigent children in rural and suburban communities in Nigeria. With one book drive at a time, the foundation is leaving a trail of projects spanning across multiple geopolitical regions in the country.
This time, the Southwest will be the largest iteration of the book drive, dwarfing all other previous five editions in its reach and scale. Each child received a backpack, stationeries, a lunchbox, a water bottle, and in keeping with the Christmas theme, a coterie of toys and a warm meal.
“We had a target to raise N1,000,000 for the kids but ended up raising a total of N3.2 million,” said Eziokwu.
The founder, still stomped by the monumental success of the book drive, remarked that the project exceeded its target amid sky-high inflation and a raft of economic headwinds. While impressive in its own right, Eziokwu noted that surpassing the target was not a flash in the pan but the culmination of several factors.
For starters, a strong track record of previous book drive and transparency in its operations have endeared it to the public. Nearly 70% of the funding came from public donations without a formal fundraiser with the founder footing all other logistical expenses.
Pitching his tent with book drives was an easy choice for Eziokwu. The 30-year-old grew up in Irogun Akere, one of Nigeria’s poorest neighbourhoods but through dint of hard work and fortune, managed to get an education. After graduating from the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) in 2018 with a degree in Urban and Regional Planning, Eziokwu is determined to preach the gospel of education as a way out for millions of indigent children.
“That’s my inspiration,” said Eziokwu. “To be able to give the orientation to parents and children alike that education is the easiest way and the only viable way as Nigerians to escape a raft of vices.”
A raft of challenges
The EEF faced an uphill climb in the latest iteration of its Book Drive, feeling the full impact of Nigeria’s galloping inflation levels. Double-digit inflation sunk its teeth into the amount of supplies that the foundation could have given out to pupils.
Accessibility to Olorunda was a major stumbling block that threatened to derail the project. A terrible road network across craggy terrain left a bad taste in the mouth of volunteers but Eziokwu says the smiles on the faces of the kids evened it out.
With Yoruba the main lingua franca in Olorunda, communication posed a minor challenge, requiring the services of interpreters to communicate with parents and village elders. As the trucks pulled into town, the first impression from adults was to dismiss the party as political agents aiming to seek support.
“We had to reorientate that this is not a political event,” said Eziokwu.
In this part of the world, government impact is only felt during the electioneering season, characterized by a beehive of activities involving candidates seeking to curry favor from the masses. After the elections, it is usually not out of place to hear from politicians until the next election cycle.
Gaining approval for the Book Drive was merely a formality from the elders of the community but the foundation had to weave and bob around red tape from the government authorities.
Raring to go again
While the team members are recovering from the long day at Olorunda, Eziokwu has his eyes on the future. The ambitious founder says he’s eyeing a Back To School Drive in January to build on the momentum gained in Ogun State but he’s still unsure of the region to carry out the project.
“I’m thinking of the South-South or the South-East,” said Eziokwu with a timbre of optimism in his voice.
He disclosed that after the Book Drive in Olorunda, the foundation still has items for 300 students that can be used to support the Back to School initiative in January.
Previous charitable efforts have seen the EEF leave imprints in Osun, Anambra, Niger, Rivers, Oyo, Ondo, and Edo. Founded in 2018, the foundation has given out over N10,000,000 in aid to indigent persons and shows no signs of slowing down.