GOODNESS DANIELS

Goodness is a passionate Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) activist. Her work aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to education and inclusion. Her journey began in 2018 after a transformative encounter with a child with a disability excluded from Sunday school lessons, altering her career path. In 2020, she founded Book Barn Community, a book club that impacted over 190 youths and children.

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Q: Tell us a few things about you! Your background, your childhood and early beginnings! 

I grew up in the Southern part of Nigeria into a middle-class family of four children. Education wasn't seen as a luxury but my dear mother ensured I got one despite the cost. Having witnessed the benefits of education having gone through one myself, I have dedicated my life towards ensuring other children receive quality education.

My journey into education began with an encounter with a child with disability in a Sunday school class. witnessing his exclusion bothered me and led me into research on the different types of disabilities and how to teach children with special needs. 

This encounter marked a turning point in my career trajectory. I have used my classroom as a platform for advocacy, helping children with special learning needs to thrive as well sharing ideas with colleagues on how to help a child with special needs.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

There is largely an absence of basic amenities like access to clean water and proper sanitation, access to affordable healthcare, access to education and freedom of expression in Nigeria especially in rural communities. 

A lot of children are still out of school and government schools are still underfunded and in deplorable states making it hard for parents who cannot enrol their children in private schools with exorbitant prices to keep their children in school. 

A large percentage of Nigerians still live below the poverty line and there is currently mass immigration of the best brains and younger population in search of better employment and education.

Q: Share with us some of the hurdles that you had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them? 

Throughout life, we inevitably encounter challenges and adversity that shape our character. Resilience, in particular, is a trait possessed by a select few, cultivated through a myriad of life experiences that demand qualities like bravery, tenacity and audacity. For me, one such experience that significantly contributed to my resilience was leaving home at a young age to attend a boarding school. It forced me to develop essential survival skills and adaptability, skills that have served me well throughout my life.

A profound demonstration of resilience occurred in 2023 following a fire incident in the early hours of the morning, just after the presidential elections in my country. Fortunately, I had not traveled to my home state to vote. At this point in my life, I had recently secured employment at a school after completing my mandatory national youth service, a requirement for Nigerian university graduates. The fire left me with countless questions and uncertainties, such as, "Where do I begin?" and "How can I move forward?"

In response, I devised a plan, distinguishing between my temporary needs and long-term goals, and dedicated myself to methodically addressing each one. While this period was far from pleasant, I am proud that I navigated it without accumulating debt or succumbing to mental health issues. This experience underscored the significance of resilience in my life.

In the last two years, I have also faced resilience-testing rejections. For instance, I applied to attend the One Young World Summit four times through various organisations aligned with my values, and each time, I encountered rejection. However, I didn't allow these setbacks to deter me. Even when I was confined to a sickbed, I continued to pursue opportunities for learning, networking, and personal growth. Despite failures along the way, I never entertained the thought of quitting. It's this unwavering determination that I take immense pride in. This resilience has not only enabled me to overcome adversity but has also driven me to persistently seek new avenues for personal and professional development.

Conversely, I experienced a test during my first year working at the school I work, a colleague who had been teaching the first grade for a long time critiqued my method of teaching English language and even reported to the school administrator. I tried explaining my position on getting all learners to the same level of understanding without leaving anyone behind. She didn't buy the idea and argued that there was revision week before that, I had to explain my observations regarding literacy and why I needed to arrest it early and consolidate later during revision week. It ended in a compromise.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you? 

The role of mentors cannot be overemphasised as they shorten years of experimentation (trial and error), add speed and ease to the journey as well as borrow you credibility. As someone who did not study Education let alone Special Education, getting well-versed in education would require more than just reading books and taking online courses. Mentorship will help me reach milestones, get into the right cycle and avoid pitfalls.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share? 

I've learnt that to truly dominate and become very successful at a thing, you need to shut out noise, discouragements and truly look inwards to draw strength for the journey ahead.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives! 

Chess In The Slums, founded by Tunde Onakoya is doing remarkable things, helping children unleash their hidden talents through critical thinking, allowing them imagine possibilities and sponsoring their education. The same can be said of Slum2School Initiative by Otto Orondam.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are being made towards gender equality?

Gender based violence and gender pay gaps still exist in Nigeria. According to a report published by The Guardian in February this year, 22 women have died as a result of femicide and related violence. It also reports that over 100 cases of femicide were recorded last year. Also, a 2022 Global Gender Pay Gap report ranks Nigeria 123 out of 146 in gender equality. It further goes on to state that it would take Sub-Saharan Africa 98 years to completely close the gap. Although there is a law in Nigeria that manages employers to pay both male and female workers in their employ equally, sadly this law is not being enforced.

Q: Share with us a motto you live by.   

It is in my power to do great work.

Q: If you had all the money needed to launch the project of your dreams, can you describe what you would do? 

One project I would introduce would be the “LanLi project”– a language and literacy project to help children with disabilities who often do not start school at the required age due to stigmatisation and other factors. 

It would involve having communication buddies they can practice with, as well as reading both with a range of books and educational materials. It would be supervised by some teachers in the school who would quarterly feedback on the progress of the project.

Another one would be the “Earth4Art” project, which would see the repurposing of school-generated and household-generated wastes into artworks, teaching aids and reusable items. This would be in line with SDG 13 which entails creating a greener and safer climate for all to thrive.

Q: How is technology utilised for social impact in your country? For example are there mobile apps that support gender equality, inclusion, understanding of cultures?

The media has helped amplify the works of advocates of gender equality. From Twitter spaces to blog posts to LinkedIn post and WhatsApp channels and newsletters, technology has helped activists in community mobilisation, meeting interested funders and granters. I recently read of an initiative that utilises Artificial Intelligence (AI) to tackle pest infestation on farms as well as track crop yield.

There are apps that allows women to speak with health experts regarding breast issues like the BRANT app, which was developed by the Federal Government of Nigeria and Roche Nigeria, which helps women battling breast cancer to receive support as well as speak with healthcare professionals.

Q: Anything else that you may wish to add?  

I deeply appreciate programmes like this that helps girls like me from low-income communities to gain mentorship and support at no cost. I wish to do this for children with disabilities in the future. So help me God.