Education Must Continue Initiative: Helping the Escaped Chibok Girls and Countering Terrorism, One Book at a Time!
What is the most violent terror group in the world? If you guessed “ISIS,” you are wrong. In 2015, Boko Haram surpassed ISIS as the most deadly terror group in the world (Global Report on Terrorism) with 2.6 MILLION Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in northeastern Nigeria – over 1 million of them children! Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden”, is notorious for its systematic bombings of churches and mosques, destruction of schools, kidnappings, and brutal murders. Consequently, many towns and schools have been utterly destroyed with the children unable to continue their education for two whole years. On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from their high school in Chibok. Although a few were able to escape in transit, 219 of the school girls are still missing. Today is the 2nd year anniversary of that incident which horrified the world.
Opening Doors for Education Because Education Opens Doors:
Hearing terror-related news stories can make one feel overwhelmed and helpless. However, one college student took the bull by the horns to make a practical difference in the lives of the escaped Chibok girls. Nubwa Gadzama, a student at the University of Michigan in Flint, was visiting her family in Nigeria when she met the escaped Chibok girls. She spent her summer break filling out school applications for them to go to school in the US. With the help of her brother, a US-trained college grad, the first set of escaped girls successfully applied for US visas. By the end of her summer break, they first set headed to school in America!
In a world where it’s easy to shrug at bad news, the story of EMCI – the organization born out of a teen’s summer break – gives hope on the power of love and practical action to overcome evil and redeem shattered lives.
Today, EMCI has gotten almost 3000 of Nigeria’s displaced children back in schools established by Nubwa’s parents, Becky and Paul Gadzama, out of concern for the future of communities without education. They are inspiring humanitarians who are themselves victims of Boko Haram terrorism. In fact, their home was bombed by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) and many relatives abducted by the terrorists.
EMC’s International Director, Emmanuel Ogebe, is a Human Rights lawyer and a top Nigeria expert who brought the girls to the US. He was the youngest law graduate in Nigeria and was himself exiled to the US after being imprisoned by a military dictator for his human rights work.
Their life-changing work, “bringing our girls back to school” is a strategic investment for rebuilding northern Nigeria.
More than a hashtag:
After global headlines and a worldwide call for #BringBackOurGirls, Mr. Ogebe was continuing his life’s work documenting Boko Haram atrocities when he stumbled upon an escaped Chibok girl who had not received any medical treatment, trauma counseling, education or assistance from any sources. After providing for the brave schoolgirl’s medical treatment, he gave her donated school supplies from his daughter’s Fairfax County class and said, “Education Must Continue.”
A couple of months later the first girls set foot in America. In a 12 month period, 12 girls came – actress Danai Gurira generously sponsoring one girl to come. As a dramatic example to the world on overcoming atrocities, those courageous young ladies are now continuing their education with hard work and determination. Many are making the honor roll at their US high schools and, in 2016, three EMCI scholars were admitted into college under a new project called “Escaped Schoolgirl College in America Program for Empowerment” (E.S.C.A.P.E.)
Already, one of the ESCAPE scholars scored 160/150 in her college science class even as survivor of a head wound from a terrorist attack.
Thanks to many kind professionals, and Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, they are receiving medical, dental, optical and trauma care as well as mentoring. Some plan to return to Nigeria as doctors, lawyers and teachers and we are sanguine that their lives will be a blessing to Nigeria’s healing.
As Helen Keller aptly stated, “While all the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
Some of these girls took their lives into their hands, jumped off trucks, braved the dangerous forest, got blisters from walking barefoot and broke their legs to escape. It’s the least we can do to meet them halfway.
Click here to learn how you can help the Chibok girls
Learn more about EMCI: www.emcinitiative.org
