Think Creative - Issue 1

how to heal

formal school teachers have been empowered to support students through Social Emotional Learning. 10,735

pillars of the curriculum in the non-formal learning centers, which are community-based classrooms that allow internally displaced chil- dren to receive state-accredited education. Developed by the Nigeria Education Crisis Re- sponse in collaboration with leading academics, Social Emotional Learning helps traumatized children develop social competencies needed tomanage their feelings, establish healthy social relationships and increase their senses of

repeat in a young and impressionable mind, erasing the traumatic and stressful memory seems unattainable. Susanna Hussein with the Nigeria Education Crisis Response works closely with crisis-affect- ed and traumatized children and adults with mental, physical and social-emotional effects. “Some people have lost their beloved ones. Some lost their properties. Some lost their homes; they are displaced,” says Hussein, who is based inMaiduguri. Throughout northeastern Nigeria, more than 2.5 million people have fled their homes—leav- ing an entire generation of Nigerian children stripped of their rights to an education. Expanding access to education opportunities for vulnerable, displaced students ages 6 to 17, the Nigeria Education Crisis Response project is re- sponding to the devastation with hope. Through education, the project helps to provide a sense of stability to traumatized communities. The three-year project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Creative Associates Interna- tional, the International Rescue Committee, the Nigerian government and local non-gov- ernmental organizations. In close and ongoing collaboration with gov- ernment, civil society and local communities, the project has reached more than 88,000 children in 1,483 non-formal learning centers with wraparound services like Social Emotion- al Learning support for internally displaced out-of-school children in five Nigerian states: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe and Yobe. In Borno—the birthplace of the violent extrem- ists—the emotional and physical devastation is overwhelming. Like in all states where the Education Crisis Response project works, in Borno a baseline as- sessment was done to test the mental stability of internally displaced teachers and children who were once in formal schools. “The results found adult teachers—over 93 percent—werementally destabilized, and the children weremore than 50 percent destabi- lizedmentally,” Hussein says of the Borno study. “That informed the reason why Social Emo- tional Learning is very important in learning through the Education Crisis Response project.” Social Emotional Learning is one of three

Learning facilitator Salamatu Ibrahaim incorporates Social Emotional Learning activities into her teaching, which plays a crucial role in supporting the psychosocial well-being of students.

Susanna Hussein (above) , Wraparound Service Specialist with Education Crisis Response, and Alhaji Bukar Shettima (below) , Director of School Services on the Borno State Basic Education Board, have both witnessed the effects Boko Haram has had on their community’s youth and are focused on helping them heal.

self-esteem, efficacy, motivation and purpose. “Learning facilitators, using the ‘Healing Class- rooms’ model, are trained how to infuse Social Emotional Learning into every aspect of educa- tion,” says Julia Finder, Technical Manager for Education in Conflict at Creative. “In addition to social emotional-specific les- sons and activities, the facilitators incorporate the same ideas into the broader curriculums to foster a positive and structured learning environment,” says Finder.

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