Meet Anfela Tolulope: Lady Running Tuition-Free School In Nigeria’s Poor Communities

Anfela Tolulope is a perfect example of how a woman brings light to those in darkness, hope to those in despair, and smiles on the faces of the less privileged. She has raw passion and drive to make a significant difference in the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children. In a nation where political elites would rather lavish billions of naira on frivolities and white elephant projects, rather than provide quality education for the populace, Tolulope rose to be a beacon of hope by establishing a free school programme for the underprivileged children in Ogun State. Her selfless commitment to their education is bringing hope and opportunities to communities that have long been neglected.

Tolulope’s journey began six years ago when she discovered a troubling reality. She noticed that many orphans and children of poor widows don’t go to schools not only because their parents cannot afford the fees, but also because they live in far-flung, poverty-stricken communities where no school is in the vicinity. Tolulope only had a certification in Science Laboratory Technology, and no money, yet she was not deterred. She remained determined to create a positive change in her community, and took it upon herself to establish a school called ‘Sought-After Creative Academic’. “I started Sought-After School because of my love for children,” she said.

 “I have always believed that every child has special talents that could be a blessing to us in this country, to their family, and to themselves, if they get the opportunity. Whenever I walk on the streets, I feel bad when I see orphans and children who can’t get basic education because of lack of money.

“The incident that made me decide to start Sought-After was when I was walking around the Obantokun community, and I met this boy around seven or eight years old. He was working inside a farm during school hours. When I asked the mother- who is a widow, why her little son wasn’t in school, she told me that she could not afford school fees. I was prompted to go further, so I followed them to their house, which was not far from where they were farming. When I got to their house, I was moved to tears at the kind of place they were living. I couldn’t imagine how a human being could live in that kind of environment. So I left there and went straight home to pick a few things like food and clothes to give to them.”

“After I left, the pitiable condition of the widow and her child never left my mind. So I developed a strong drive to set up a school where little children can acquire basic education for free. Although I didn’t have the financial capacity to start at that time, the vision remained with me because I knew I would be more fulfilled and passionate about doing that than another thing.

“So one day I just made up my mind that I think I’ll pursue this vision. I didn’t have the money but I didn’t want that to deter me. I believe there are people out there who would support me in the quest to create a school for the less privileged. I mustered courage and started Sought-After School in 2017, and got it registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC),” she added.

Indeed, education is a bedrock of national development. But sadly, over the years, politicians have shown more interest in bandying ‘Free Education’ promises as an election campaign gimmick. And when they get into power they show abject nonchalance about improving the education sector. Even political leaders that claim to have enthroned free and compulsory education policy, raise concerns on the quality and the condition of the public schools in their states. Their unseriousness is exposed by their percentage of budgeted allocation to education, and their reluctance to renovate and build a standard learning environment for the masses. But for Tolulope, she is not interested in the hypocrisy of most Nigerian politicians, as she has gone ahead to brave every challenge to not only set up a tuition-free school to impact basic education on children but also create a haven where the children can play, learn and encouraged to be creative.

The idea of operating a tuition-free school would raise valid concerns about the quality of education the pupils could be getting at such schools. But when the AF24NEWS crew visited Sought-After Academy situated inside Saraki community at the Ikuforiji axis of Ogun State, it noticed that the school operated like the normal regular kindergarten and primary schools in suburban towns in states like Lagos, Enugu, Akwa-Ibom and Rivers. Although the school building and the classrooms are yet to be painted, however, children between the ages of three and 10 years, dressed in their white shirts on checkered blue shorts/skirts uniforms, were seen sitting inside various classes listening to their teachers with rapt attention.

 On the walls hang various colourful educational posters showing alphabets and numbers, diagrams of a skeleton and parts of the body, colours of the rainbow, etc. From what can be seen in Sought-After Academy, you would deduce that with Tolulope’s savings and the assistance of local volunteers, they have been supporting vulnerable children as much as they can cater for, and they have transformed dilapidated building inside a sleepy community into a vibrant and welcoming space for learning.

 “The name ‘Sought-After’ actually means us going out to poor neighbourhoods to seek after children,” Tolulope told AF24NEWS. “And we got so many of them and brought them to school. But the first challenge we had back then was the distance. Many children want to come and learn at our school, but they live in farther communities, and we couldn’t get a school bus to convey them. So at some point, I had to arrange a taxi to bring many of them to the school. All I had was passion to be doing what I was doing. I didn’t have any money in my savings.

“But at some point, I could no longer finance the cost of the children’s transportation. So I spoke with their guardians and mothers; most of them are struggling widows doing petty business. I suggested that we could split the cost of the transportation. I proposed that they pay for the children from their houses to their schools, while I take care of the fare from the school to their homes. They agreed and tried to keep to the arrangement, but they gave up because their meagre earnings could not sustain the transportation cost of bringing the children to school. Most of the widows have the interest to send their children to school but they don’t have the money. So many of the children had to drop out. We started with 24, but presently we have over 70 pupils. But we still have children coming from different communities inside Igborin, Itokun and Saraki,” Tolulope said.

It is indeed profound to establish a free school that impacts the lives of the orphans and the community as a whole. Vulnerable children who were once deemed hopeless are now filled with hope and dreams. However, running a free school programme in a poor community has not been without its challenges. Tolulope says she consistently grapples with financial constraints, relying solely on donations to keep the school running. Additionally, the lack of resources and infrastructure poses ongoing obstacles.

She said, “We provide uniforms and educational materials for the children. And like I said, I wasn’t doing any other job aside running the free school. And we have had so many challenging moments, especially with paying salary of the teachers. There was a time when we couldn’t pay salaries for almost eight months because no money was coming in. but I kept believing in God, and talking to kindhearted people to support the school. At that point, some of our teachers had to leave because they needed to feed their families.

“So our number one challenge here is finance because running a regular school requires a lot of money, not to talk of running a free school. It’s challenging because I have to go out to meet people and distribute letters soliciting for funds. At some point, I felt like a beggar because at times I get demoralising responses. But I also encounter people who appreciate what we are doing and encourage us with kind words, others go further to support us with their widow’s mite.

“Our school wants to impart knowledge, not only in terms of academics but also in terms of morals, and spiritual activities. We desire to have a hostel where we can keep these children in a place where we can groom them. The next challenge is still related to finance and that is the school staff aspects. Presently, we have seven teachers with two non-teaching staff -one cleaner, one administrator. We don’t employ just anybody; we go for experienced teachers to give the best to these children. But we need money to get these qualified teachers. We want to employ a very good teacher but it requires money because the teachers wouldn’t want to work for free. That is why we seek qualified volunteers or kindhearted individuals who would step in to sponsor the payment of one or two teachers in the school. That would be a very big relief for us.”

Tolulope admits that the challenges can be overwhelming, but she finds solace when sees the changes the children radiate from the education they have acquired from her school. “The truth is that most of these children and orphans when we bring them to Sought-After School, are all timid and can’t even express themselves in English. But after staying a term in our school there is so much transformation. They become sharper and brighter. When I see them play and express themselves, I become convinced that we are not wasting time running this school because we are actually impacting knowledge. I get reassured by our school’s slogan which is ‘Awakening the Giants in You’ because we want to reawaken the greatness in the hearts and minds of these children. So whenever we see these pupils becoming smarter it encourages me to keep believing in this vision.

“So we call on kindhearted Nigerians, government, non-government organisations and corporate bodies to support us in any way they can. This is a vision that we have been running for six years and counting. We’re trusting God to help us because these children are children that we believe in their tomorrow. The truth is, there are so many children out there that need this little opportunity that we are offering here in Sought-After. We need financial support so we can admit more children. We need to feed them because many of them come to school hungry. Some don’t come to school because they don’t have anything to eat during break time. Many of them trek down long distances all because they just want to be in school. So we must encourage their drive. We would be grateful for any support we can get because it would be a big boost to us.

“My biggest dream is to establish more schools in more states. Abeokuta is a large town, I would like to site our school in two or three more areas in Abeokuta. Then we move to towns in Oyo, Ekiti, Lagos, and Osun, we have orphans and vulnerable children there too. Our goal is quality education for every child. And with the standard that we are running here, we want our children to be able to stand toe-to-toe with children from those big schools. So no one would notice any difference. That is the vision.”

Tolulope’s selfless effort is breaking the cycle of poverty and empowering these children to create a brighter future. Her story serves as a powerful reminder that education is the pathway to a better life, regardless of the circumstances one is born into. Tolulope can do more with your support. The bank details are: 1012305598, Keystone Bank, SoughtAfter Creative Academy.