A few years ago, Maryam Dauda’s mornings were spent by the roadside, helping to sell food to support her family. Survival, not school, was at the centre of her world.
Like many children growing up in underserved communities, she felt circumstances beyond her control constrained her future. Education was an aspiration rather than a certainty, and opportunities that other children took for granted often seemed beyond reach. Today, Maryam is a scholarship student at Federal Government College, Kaduna, one of the most competitive secondary schools in the state. She dreams of becoming a medical doctor and has already begun a journey that few could have imagined when she was younger.
Her transformation began when she enrolled at the Access Bank Fifth Chukker School, an educational institution established through the long-standing partnership between Access Bank, Fifth Chukker and UNICEF. For nearly two decades, the partnership has provided vulnerable children with access to quality education, helping them overcome barriers that often keep young people permanently trapped in cycles of poverty and exclusion.
Once allowed to learn, Maryam quickly distinguished herself. Teachers observed a pupil eager to participate, committed to excellence, and determined to make the most of every opportunity available to her. Academic success soon followed, and she emerged as one of the school’s brightest pupils, earning a place among a select group of graduates admitted into leading secondary schools.
