Teacher: Victor Ayegba Mathew
Meet the teacherLinks
Victor Ayegba Mathew
Victor, a Nigerian from the northern region of Kano, is driven by a passion and a duty: education. With a degree in environmental science, he now teaches at the Sahel School. Faced with the environmental degradation of his region due to community behaviour, pollution and natural disasters, Victor knew that the environmental challenges were pressing. For the past 8 years, he has been at the helm of an ambitious and inspiring project, affectionately known by locals as “Vikipedia.” Today, he volunteers his time to teach students in over 16 public schools about crucial environmental issues and climate change.
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Overview
The Earth Storytelling Club is an initiative that harnesses the power of storytelling to educate and inspire young minds about environmental sustainability. The Club imparts knowledge and encourages critical thinking, enabling young people to question their natural and social environment and freely express their ideas while listening to different perspectives. The project aims to educate and equip the next generation of Nigerians to tackle social and environmental challenges at local and regional levels by promoting problem understanding, active listening, respect for others, and cultivating self-confidence.
Theory of Change
Victor found that in Nigeria, adults often interpret natural disasters and climate change as divine manifestations, influenced by their religion and place of birth. Victor tried to address this issue with adults but his efforts were in vain, this prompted him to turn to young people.
Victor identified school as an opportunity for students to be exposed to perspectives that differ from those of their parents. This exposure enables young people to question prevailing notions and independently devise answers to various problems. As an educator, Victor strives to simplify the theoretical aspects of climate change using concrete community examples. His aim is to raise awareness and motivate young people to tackle environmental and societal challenges, by promoting workable solutions. He feels that through education, young people have the potential to bring transformative change to their communities.
Approach and Actions
The Earth Storytelling Club is an extracurricular activity that promotes awareness of climate change through the use of storytelling techniques leveraging the power of narratives to emotionally connect learners with the natural world. The design of the intervention uses systems thinking to examine the relationships that exist in nature and to link these to potential actions students can take to live more sustainably. Concrete sustainable actions that the club promotes include tree planting – through each child planting a tree on their birthday- and also encouraging students to reduce and reuse plastics.
So far 16 schools have taken part in the project with both primary and secondary schools being targetted. The club is designed to be inclusive and a strong focus is put on integrating girls into the clubs- sometimes Victor and his colleagues have had to negotiate with families to allow their daughters to attend the club. The discussion that surrounds the storytelling element of the club provides a platform for open dialogue, expression of thoughts, critical reflection, and constructive arguments within the group. This creative environment has encouraged some female learners to continue their studies and has in some cases motivated them to postpone marriage.
Impact
So far 1,463 primary and secondary school students have taken part in the project, with 46% of participating students being girls. Victor feels that the Earth Storytelling Clubs has encouraged young minds, especially girls, to consider a different life trajectory with a strong focus on sustainability and preventing climate change. He is proud that the young people’s learning will be at the heart of the communities’ future homes.