Hamzat Bala Lawal, Benjamin John and Olabukunola Williams emerge among 22 new advocates from six countries into the Education Champion Network 2020 Cohort by Malala Fund.
This is the the largest new cohort since the programme launched in 2017. The year 2020 also marks the Education Champion Network’s expansion into Ethiopia.
Malala Fund’s Education Champion Network invests in local leaders to accelerate progress towards girls’ secondary education around the world. These individuals best understand the needs of girls in their community, the barriers that keep them out of school and how to overcome these obstacles.
Maliha Khan, Chief Programmes Officer at Malala Fund, said:
“We launched the Education Champion Network to bolster the work of local activists. As individuals and collectives, these Champions are making progress for girls at local, state and national levels. As COVID-19 threatens to force millions more girls out of school, Champion-led programmes and advocacy work is now even more important.
We are proud to welcome this cohort of innovative advocates into our network, as well as expand our support in sub-Saharan Africa with our first Ethiopian Champions.”
The Education Champion Network now supports 58 advocates working across Afghanistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
NIGERIA
Hamzat “Hamzy” Bala Lawal, Founder and CEO, Connected Development Initiative (CODE)
30-year-old Hamzat Bala Lawal is an accomplished advocate, data analyst and media commentator who can bring national attention to social issues across Nigeria. In 2012, he founded Connected Development (CODE), an organisation that uses open data and technology to increase government accountability. With his Malala Fund grant, Hamzy will use CODE’s Follow The Money model to train and launch citizen-led teams — composed of students, development workers and volunteers — to identify barriers to girls’ education in Adamawa state in northeastern Nigeria. Hamzy’s team will track the state government’s spending on education and encourage state officials to invest in gender-responsive school infrastructure.
Benjamin John, Programs Manager, Restoration of Hope Initiative (ROHI)
As program manager at Restoration of Hope Initiative, Benjamin John leads advocacy for the adoption of the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) in Adamawa and Borno state. With his Malala Fund grant, Benjamin will advocate for Adamawa and Borno states to sign the SSD and create guidelines for its implementation at the state level. Restoration of Hope Initiative (ROHI) will also train state level officials on the SSD guidelines and establish SSD desks in the state governments. If passed into law in Adamawa and Borno, the SSD has the potential to make schools safer for over 372,000 girls.
Olabukunola “Buky” Williams, Executive Director, Education as a Vaccine (EVA)
Olabukunola Williams is the executive director at Education as a Vaccine (EVA), a nonprofit that works with girls to teach them how to tell their stories, advocate for their rights and hold governments accountable for policies that impact youth in Nigeria. Using her Malala Fund grant, Buky will mobilise girls and community leaders to conduct a state-wide campaign for the implementation of free secondary girls’ education in Kaduna state. EVA will also train girls to use social media and radio to share personal stories about girls’ education. If successful, the implementation of free education in Kaduna state will benefit an estimated 691,000 girls.
