The Makoko Dream New School Building Project

Angela Dutton is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

“My passion spans advocating for children’s rights to education and mentoring youths in choosing their career path.”

Emmanuel Agunze, Founder, The Makoko Dream

*UPDATE*

We are happy to provide an update on what has been accomplished with our new school! Since the time we began this GoFundMe page approximately one year ago, we have raised $5,000 in funding and/or in-kind donations (e.g., labor, materials, etc.). This money has been spent on the work that has been done thus far on the first floor of our school! (Please see the photos and descriptions below.)

We are now focused on completing the build-out of the first floor. This will include the installation of two toilets! This is particularly noteworthy, considering there are virtually no toilets in the Makoko community, and no sanitation system. Makoko is a slum community on water, and all human waste goes directly in the water…the water is black as a result.

But we wanted something different for our school. We wanted the children to have the respect of having a private, sanitary place to go. So, we will be utilizing a Bio Digester system, which uses anaerobic technology, whereby microorganisms break down biodegradable materials in an oxygen-free environment. In essence, this system breaks down waste within a 24-hour period, and water is produced, which will be used for flushing. This will provide a clean, environmentally safe method of managing waste.

We will also be working on the sand-filling and build-out of the remaining space on the first floor, in order to create additional classroom and office space. We estimate the cost of all of these additional improvements to be $7,200; with this, we will have the entire first floor of the school completed!

Here is the progress we have made since our original posting:

Work began on framing the initial classroom space.

A roof was added...

Walls, windows, and doors were constructed, and an entryway to the space was added. Existing block foundation was reinforced.

Additional brick-laying began.

And continued...

Let there be light!

Solar lighting was used…

Desks and chairs were added inside...

And some other finishing touches were made.

Then the painting began!

The children pitched in to help paint their school!

Everyone wanted to help...and this helped to reduce labor costs.

They were proud of their efforts!

The children were happy to see how their school was turning out!

Then it was time for some artistic touches…

The children were interested in learning how this work was done.

This was a rare opportunity for them to learn about this work. They listened closely to the explanations they were given.

Angel wings are a must! The children are taught that they can fly as high as they want to go. They enjoy taking photos with the angel wings!

Time for a photo op in front of the new school!

While we are proud of what has been completed of the new school, there is still work to be done on the first floor. This section has yet to be built; and the toilet system needs to be installed.

Although Makoko is a community on water, with homes built on stilts in the water, our school is on land. However, due to the heavy rains during the rainy season, even the land areas become flooded. Due to the extensive amount of sand-filling that we have done, the inside of our school is not flooded. However, until we can complete the rest of the of the first floor area, we don’t have enough space to accommodate all of the children at one time. As a result, children end up standing in black water in order to learn their lessons. This must be rectified as soon as possible.

The children are diligent about their studies, even under adverse conditions. Nevertheless, we want to expand our sand-filling to the external area of the school, so this does not occur.

Even though we have done extensive sand-filling, we have to do much more in order to enable the children to have a safe, dry environment. Sand must be brought in via canoes.

The sand must then be moved from the canoe and transported to the school by hand. It is a slow, tedious process.

There are some who enjoy the sand-filling process…

Like these twin boys!

This is why we do what we do. These are two new students who are just entering our tuition-free school. Can you imagine what potential may be hiding inside of them? It would be heart-breaking to think that they would otherwise not be able to attend school, and would be relegated to a life of child labor in the slum community of Makoko. This is the norm for the 30,000 children in this community who are not in school.

This is what we are trying to change…one child at a time. With your help, we CAN make a difference! Every contribution, no matter how small, is appreciated!

Please see the following for our original posting, and the background of this project!

The Makoko Dream is expanding again! We are striving to raise money to be used to build a brand new school building! When completed, this building will have two floors, and will be used for both Nursery School and Primary School children.

This will be the third Makoko Dream School that has been established. Our two former schools have been turned over to local managers to continue and maintain. Some people may recall our Nursery School renovation project that we completed on Makoko Dream School 2 in 2019. Here is a link to that project, which shows our successful completion of this building project: Nursery School Renovation

We are very fortunate that, through the receipt of previous donations, we were now able to actually purchase land in the heart of Makoko, which was a challenge in itself. We were also able to begin the foundation work! We are so grateful for the donors who made this possible! Of course, we have a long way to go. Any and all donations are appreciated so much!

We will be posting updates on this page as they occur. Our immediate goal is to raise enough money to complete Phase 1 of the project…the first floor of the school.

Here is what has taken place so far…

Cleaning up and clearing the land:

Preparing the land:

Everything is hand-carried to the site:

Imagine carrying these stones on your head!

Children helping to gather all the stones at the site:

The smaller children “supervise”.

The foundation work has begun!

The children are happy to see the start of their new school building!

Parents are excited also!

The foundation wall is complete!

Sand was brought in via canoe, and hand-carried to the site.

A layer of sand was added to prevent flooding.

An excited mother carrying a future student.

Since 2016, over 1,000 children have benefitted from our school projects. This third school is in another area of Makoko, where children are ready, willing, and able to attend school, but simply need an opportunity.

Presently, we have been sharing space with another school that has graciously allowed us to co-exist with them temporarily. We currently have 150 Makoko Dream children utilizing that space, who need a permanent school. In addition, we have more children who are waiting to be enrolled in the new school. The capacity of this new school will eventually be 600 children.

Some of the Makoko Dream children waiting on a new school building:

While building this brand new school building is a big goal, more than 30,000 children in Makoko are not currently in school because their parents cannot afford it, and there are insufficient schools available.

The majority of Makoko children are not in school:

The difference in a child’s life, being in school…

The Makoko Dream’s emphasis is that every child's dream to be educated is valid, and that every child should have the opportunity to be in school, regardless of family status, income, etc. Your help in this project could mean the difference between a child being in school…or not. It can make an indescribable difference in the life of a child, who would otherwise be relegated to the ranks of child labor. Every donation, no matter how small, helps us work toward making this difference.

My dream is valid.

Enabling a child to realize their full potential not only benefits that child and the community of Makoko; but conceivably, could have global impact. No one really knows what these children might go on to accomplish in their lives, when properly motivated and educated. These children are encouraged to dream and believe that all things are possible. Many of us take for granted that we have been able to go to school. However, for the children of Makoko, it is an opportunity that has, up to this point, only been available to a small minority.

To put this in perspective, a description of Makoko, also known as the “Venice of Africa”, might be helpful. Makoko is a slum community of approximately 250,000 people; roughly half of the people live on the water, in wooden shacks built on stilts in the blackish, thickly-polluted lagoon in the heart of Lagos, in Nigeria. Most of the houses lack public water, electricity, or waste disposal. Makoko Waterside settlers are exposed to water-borne diseases like Cholera, Dysentery, Malaria etc. Over-population and wooden houses can cause fire outbreak if generators are not carefully used. Travel is via canoe, along the vast maze of waterways throughout the community.

The Makoko indigenes live on less than $1 per day. The Waterside residents are predominantly fishermen. Child labor is a major problem in Makoko community. Many children's childhoods are taken away from them. At the same time, there is a high number of unemployed youth, who need a means of livelihood and decent work.

Many Makoko children and youth have not been exposed to the world outside Makoko. These children have been confined to living on water most of their lives and have a phobia of land. Due to the neglect of the Waterside children in Makoko, most of them are ignorant of happenings outside the community.

The water community of Makoko:

Travel is via canoe in Makoko.

The Makoko Dream was founded in 2016, with the goal of enabling children in the community of Makoko to dare to dream for greatness, via the means of education and literacy. The mission of the organization is to reinforce the philosophy that “Every Child Counts” by enabling the children of Makoko to have access to quality education and developmental activities, encouraging the empowerment of young girls and women, and collaborating as a community partner to address educational, social, economic, spiritual, and overall health issues and needs. One touch…many lives.

Every child counts…