Name: Efuanyah Dickens
Age: 48

The village of Ndumbin has existed since the 18th century. Education began for boys only in 1924, led by a Swiss mission named Basel. It was not until 2005 that girls were permitted to attend school but even at that time, there were no formal classrooms in the village. The CIC/ICA funded classrooms were constructed in 2011, also prompting the construction and opening of government funded classrooms.

Dickens, a long time champion for change in his village, told us that in 2016 child marriage no longer occurs in Ndumbin. He also stated that although local employment opportunities are scarce, he strongly supports any education initiatives as “it is the will of the people”.

When asked what barriers he sees to education, Dickens listed unemployment, school fees, the lack of secondary school infrastructure, no access to electricity or computers and a lack of qualified teachers.

Through our conversations, our group realized that having a community champion like Dickens makes a huge difference in seeing the dreams of the people through to fruition.

Community champions make all the difference!