Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
19
Project title
NAFS(Nurture A Future Scheme)
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Nafs(Nurture A Future Scheme) is an initiative coming from me to the Pacesetter Youth Initiative to support students who repeat classes or examinations in Nigeria, by reaching them on the exact date results are released to Educate, Engage and Empower them that failure doesn’t determine success it makes us prepare stronger for that success because most students here in Nigeria turn school dropouts after Failure and some commit suicides, we restore their hope by making learning enjoyable for them
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
The Idea behind NAFS came from an heartbreaking incident involving a very vibrant and intelligent young girl, who was known to be intelligent and capable. Despite everyone’s expectations, She performed poorly in her examinations, Failing almost all the subjects. When the results were released, She was so overwhelmed by the outcome of the exams, That she couldn’t return home, Sadly she took her own life herself. The incident really got me Thinking, I began to realize that academic failure wasn’t just about poor grades or performance, but some students couldn’t stand the shame, Fear of disappointing their parents and the pressure they’d be getting from their classmates, and from that some of them would turn school dropouts and end up on the street, putting their future at risks and they’d influence other kids from there. So we decided that something have to change due to what we got from further research and interviews, we realized this issue is literally rampant and not isolated. And that was our Aha! Moment. We realized failed students shouldn’t lose hope, Their failure should be a stepping stone for them. This inspired us to establish NAFS( Nurture a Future Scheme) to reach these students, encourage them, restore their confidence and provide practical school supplies and support that would make almost learning enjoyable because Failure shouldn’t be a full stop
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
In Nigeria, academic failure is often treated as a source of shame rather than an opportunity to learn and improve. Students who fail examinations or repeat classes sometimes face embarrassment, pressure from parents, rejection from friends and the fear of being seen as failures. For some, the emotional burden becomes so heavy that they lose confidence, withdraw from society or make harmful decisions. Sadly, some even consider suicide, while others abandon their education and turn to street life. What makes this worse is that attention is usually focused on the results themselves, with little consideration for the emotional state of the students receiving them. This matters to us because one examination result should never determine a young person’s worth or future. We believe that every child deserves another opportunity, encouragement and the right support to keep learning. Through NAFS, we want to change how our communities respond to academic setbacks. Instead of condemning students who fail, we want to help them understand that failure is not the end of their story another part is they need motivation because they believe their worth is tied to their grades and this creates an environment where admitting failure becomes frightening and asking for helps becomes difficult. We believe this mindset needs to change, starting with how we speak with young people .
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
NAFS (Nurture a Future Scheme) tackles this problem by reaching students who repeat classes or examinations at a critical moment: the day their results are released. Rather than waiting for students to struggle with disappointment alone, we organise a targeted Back2School intervention in their schools and communities. Our approach has three major parts: Educate, Engage and Empower. First, we Educate students through talks and interactive sessions with invited speakers, mentors and resource persons. We discuss academic setbacks, emotional resilience, self-worth, goal setting and the importance of staying committed to education. Next, we Engage them through interactive activities, edutainment and an open, welcoming atmosphere where they can express themselves, connect with others and realise that they are not alone in their struggles. Finally, we Empower them with practical school supplies that make returning to school easier and more enjoyable. These materials also serve as a reminder that their community believes in their potential. We also provide refreshments and create an environment where students feel welcomed rather than judged. And we also make the intervention more inclusive, although repeaters are our main goal and focus, but we extend our educational supports to other students in the participating schools like book and pen while repeaters get full school set Our goal is not to celebrate failure, but to change the way students experience it. We want them to leave knowing that repeating a class or examination does not make them less intelligent, less valuable or less capable of succeeding. By combining encouragement, education, engagement and practical support, NAFS turns a potentially discouraging day into an opportunity for renewed hope
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
In just two years, NAFS has reached students across six schools, growing from two schools in our first year to four schools in our second year, despite limited donations and support. One thing we are particularly proud of is that our reach has doubled in terms of participating schools and even with our limited resources, We did two years in our first year and now we did four. We have continued to show up because we know that the needs doesn’t disappear because of limited resources. We don’t wait for the future, We create it Our impact has been both practical and personal. Students who repeated classes received complete school supply sets to encourage them to return to school with renewed confidence. We also provided notebooks and pens for other students across the participating schools, ensuring that the support extended beyond the repeaters. For us, the impact goes beyond the materials distributed. It is about reaching students at a vulnerable moment, reminding them that academic setbacks do not define their future and showing them that their community still believes in them. We are proud of how far we have come with the support available to us. However, we recognise that there is still much more to do. Our goal is to reach more schools, support more students and build a stronger intervention that combines emotional encouragement with practical educational support
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
What makes NAFS different is its timing and approach. Many educational support initiatives focus on rewarding high-performing students, providing scholarships or helping students prepare for examinations. While these are important, students who fail or repeat classes are often left to deal with the emotional consequences on their own. NAFS focuses on this overlooked group and intervenes on the very day their results are released. We believe this timing matters. Rather than waiting until a student has completely lost confidence or disconnected from school, we meet them when they need encouragement the most. Another unique aspect is our three-part approach: Educate, Engage and Empower. We combine mentorship and awareness, edutainment and social interaction, as well as practical school supplies in one intervention. Wr also avoid making the students feel like the initiative is only for those who did poorly by extending our supports to the wider students population and we create a more welcoming environment where repeaters are not publicly isolated or labeled and this allows us to address the needs of our target group while promoting a culture of encouragement and educational support within the institution and community as a whole on its own. We do not approach these students as people who have failed in life. We treat them as young people with potential who may simply need another chance, the right guidance and a supportive environment. Our innovation is not necessarily inventing a completely new educational system. It is changing where attention is directed, when support is provided and how students experiencing academic setbacks are treated. We want to replace shame with encouragement and turn the day of disappointing results into a fresh beginning.
How many people are on your team?
13
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
NAFS is driven by a team of committed young people under the Pacesetter Youth Initiative. Our team works together , with members contributing to planning, coordination, school engagement, logistics, publicity and student support. Responsibilities are shared according to members’ strengths, and we encourage everyone to contribute ideas and take ownership of their roles. We believe leadership is about working together towards a shared purpose. If I’m still building I’d like to have a Willing youth
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, we want to strengthen NAFS and reach more students across different schools and communities. Our first priority is to expand our school outreach and build stronger relationships with school administrators, teachers, parents and community leaders so we can identify and reach students who need this support. We also plan to improve our engagement sessions by bringing in more experienced speakers, counsellors, educators and youth mentors who can address academic challenges, emotional well-being, confidence and personal development. Another important step is to secure partnerships and sponsorships to provide more school supplies and reach a larger number of students without compromising the quality of our intervention. We also intend to document our daily activities and outcomes more effectively by keeping records of participating schools , beneficiaries, materials distributed and feedbacks from students there We also want to introduce a follow-up system to stay connected with students after each outreach, understand how they are doing and encourage them to remain committed to their education. In the long term, we hope to make NAFS a recurring intervention that schools and communities can look forward to whenever examination results are released. Our vision is simple: no student should feel that one disappointing result has ended their future.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
We believe that creating change requires more than a committed team. It requires a community that understands the problem and is willing to be part of the solution. Through the Pacesetter Youth Initiative, we engage young people, volunteers and other stakeholders who share our passion for education and youth development. We encourage people to get involved by sharing the message behind NAFS, participating in our outreach activities, volunteering their time, supporting the provision of school materials and helping us reach schools and students who need the intervention. We also use conversations, awareness campaigns and our social networks to challenge the negative perception of academic failure and encourage parents, teachers and young people to respond with understanding rather than condemnation. We want more people to understand that a student who repeats a class does not need ridicule or rejection. They need support, guidance and another opportunity to succeed. As NAFS grows, we hope to build a wider network of volunteers, educators, mentors, sponsors and community partners who believe that every child deserves a future worth looking forward to.
