Why We Chose Agege, Lagos
Understanding local educational needs and bringing learning opportunities closer to the children who need them.
The decision to hold the 2026 Free Summer School in Agege was intentional.
Earlier in the year, Okachi Charity Foundation (OCF) began working with Ahmed Memorial Muslim Primary School as part of its public school engagement and support activities. Through this relationship, the foundation gained a closer understanding of the learning conditions and family circumstances affecting pupils.
What we encountered was troubling.
Some children who had progressed into upper primary classes were still struggling with basic reading and writing.
Among the pupils observed, some in Primary 4 and Primary 5 had difficulty spelling or writing their own names correctly. These are skills children are normally expected to develop much earlier in their education. Yet here were children approaching the end of primary school who still needed substantial foundational support.
Their difficulties could not simply be dismissed as laziness or a lack of interest.
OCF’s engagement also revealed the effects of financial hardship on families. Some parents struggled to provide essential learning materials. Others faced difficult choices between education-related expenses and basic household needs.
There were concerns about children attending school hungry, falling behind, or becoming disconnected from learning.
For these families, being enrolled in school does not guarantee that a child is adequately equipped to learn.
For children without reliable academic support outside school, the holidays could extend the period during which their difficulties remained unaddressed.
Agege therefore became an important location for OCF’s second annual Free Summer School Programme.
We had observed learning gaps requiring attention, and we had an opportunity to respond directly rather than develop a programme based on assumptions about what the children needed.
Bringing Pupils from Different Schools Together
The summer school brought together pupils from three schools:
- Ahmed Memorial Muslim Primary School, Agege
- Moses Orimolade Nursery and Primary School
- Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Shilo Primary School
Ahmed Memorial Muslim Primary School served as the central learning venue.
Bringing the pupils together created opportunities to learn alongside children from other schools, meet new classmates, participate in group activities, and experience a different educational environment.
For some children, the most important part of that experience may be realising that their struggles are not theirs alone.
Other children also find reading difficult. Others need help with mathematics, while some are learning to write more clearly.
All of them deserve the chance to improve without humiliation.