For children growing up in a community school, their world is often defined by what is familiar. Opportunities for experiential learning, such as excursions, cultural exposure, technology-driven education are often out of reach.
But if a child cannot imagine a future, how can they dream of becoming it?
This question gave life to The World Beyond Our Village, an annual program created to spark imagination in children and break the invisible ceiling of their immediate surroundings.
What we set out to do
Our longterm vision of The World Beyond Our Village is to reach hundreds of students across public schools in Abuja, offering them immersive learning experiences that combine technology, culture, and play.
The program is intentionally designed to:
- Expose students to global perspectives through real-life experiences
- Reinforce the importance of digital skills in public education
- Support teachers through shared learning and exposure
- Engage parents and communities in their children’s education
Bringing the vision to life
For the pilot edition, Teach the Child, in partnership with the Ithaca, NY (USA) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, organised an educational excursion to the Discovery Digital Museum, Abuja. Thirty students from Junior Secondary School, Dawaki were selected.
At the museum, students explored interactive digital exhibits, encountered new technologies, and experienced how history, culture, and innovation can be told through immersive storytelling. Concepts they had only heard about, or never encountered at all, suddenly became real.
One student said:
“I’ve seen things I have not seen in my life before.”
Kabiru, another student from JSS Dawaki, shared:
“I’ve never heard of VR. I’ve never seen it. I didn’t even know it existed. I was shocked at the technology.”
Moments like these capture the true impact of the program, as the students left knowing that the world holds more possibilities than they had ever imagined, and that they, too, belong in it.
What next?
The pilot edition is only the beginning. As we expand this initiative to more schools and more children, we remain committed to one belief that when children are given access to new worlds, they begin to believe in new futures.
And that belief can change everything.
