Molato community is located in Akure North Local Government of Ondo State. The community is made of 6 camp settlements and members of the community are predominantly farmers with cocoa farming as the main occupation. The community is a diverse group of about 8,500 inhabitants from different parts of the country who have settled in that area to engage in cocoa farming.Molato community lacks basic amenities such as pipe borne water, good roads, health centre and a school. The only primary school made up of a block of 2 classrooms without toilet and recreational facilities built by the government in the 1990s had become dilapidated and unsuitable for use in a community with about 300 children who are of school age.This situation prompted ActionAid Nigeria through her partner, Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) working in the Partnership Against Poverty (PAP) programme in Ondo State to develop an intervention in the community. The process of intervention involves facilitating the process for members of the community to come together to identify their problems/needs using participatory methodologies, analyse the problems and identify possible solutions.
This process led the community to resolve that the construction of a block of four classrooms with two teachers’ offices and two toilets will go a long way in improving their living conditions by providing access to education and a more conducive learning environment for their children. Recreational facilities like slides, swings were also provided for the pupils to encourage them to go to school. The provision of these new classrooms has actually increased the enrolment of pupils in the community primary school as intended.However, these classrooms have now become inadequate for the number of pupils attending school and there is an urgent need for the community to be provided with more classrooms.The community on their part were not able to do much about their situation due to the capacity gaps they lacked and mainly because their consciousness had not been aroused to hold their duty bearers accountable. ActionAid through Ondo PAP already put in place the process of building capacity of members of the community and also facilitated the process of forming Community Development Committees (CDCs) made up of both men and women leaders that will be in the forefront of engaging with duty bearers on issues that affect the community.As we may all know, every child has a right to quality education and denial of access to education is an infringement on a child’s right.The Local Government Authority within any State is charged with the responsibility of providing basic educational facilities to the communities by building classroom blocks, providing books, desks, chairs and posting adequate teachers to the schools. Good quality education ensures that boys and girls of school age are able to attend schools that have been furnished with chairs, desks, books and adequate number of teachers in a conducive environment that will help inspire their creativities, build their self esteem and prepare them to become great leaders.
The dilapidated building has discouraged children who are of school age in the community from going to school as the environment is not conducive for their learning. Beyond this, the children were exposed to harsh weather conditions since the building had torn roofs, no windows, doors, desks and chairs. The children always sit on the bare floor with health consequences such as catarrh, cough, flu and pneumonia especially during the rainy season.
It is a known fact that education provides opportunities that can guarantee better future while it also acts as a catalyst that can bring people out of poverty. The importance of quality education therefore cannot be overemphasised, the children and their parents because of the importance of education were eager for a change in their community by way of getting access to educational facilities that will provide a better learning environment for their children.
The PAP programme in Ondo State with the support of Molato community by way of pulling resources together were able to construct a block of 4 classrooms including 2 toilets and 2 teachers’ offices. The provision of some recreational facilities is also a way to attract the children to school inferring that they can learn and also have time to play!
The community effort in the project was the donation of 2 plots of land, clearing of the site, provision of water and unskilled labour while ActionAid through Ondo JDPC provided funds for building materials, provision of desks and chairs. The total cost of the construction of the block of classrooms and other facilities was about N3.7million.
The construction of the classrooms is also to serve as a model with which the community will use to advocate/ appeal to the Local Government Education Authority to build more classrooms for the community even as school enrolment has increased significantly.
The parents and the children are very happy with their new building, the children are eager to go to school and some of them that stopped attending school before have gone back to school. The table below provides enrolment statistics between 2005 and 2009 in Molato Primary School.