Beyond Displacement: Why Peace Education Must Follow Every Child into the Classroom

Report Written by Juliet Moses Shehu,

Programme Assistant, PEPNET

See Highlight Here: https://youtube.com/shorts/12J_0daA6P0?feature=share

Dear Peace Lovers,

On 24 September 2026, the Peace Education and Practice Network (PEPNET) visited Lola Cater Academy at Karonmajiji IDP Camp, Abuja, to engage with children whose education and everyday lives have been shaped by displacement and the wider consequences of conflict.

The visit was a reminder of an important truth: finding safety is only the beginning of recovery. For children affected by displacement, rebuilding their lives also means restoring opportunities to learn, develop meaningful relationships, regain confidence and imagine a future beyond the circumstances they have experienced.

It raises a question that deserves greater attention from all of us:

What does it take to ensure that children affected by conflict do not inherit the conflicts of the generations before them?

Education must be part of the answer. But education must go beyond access to a classroom. It must also equip children with the knowledge, values and practical skills to understand differences, manage disagreements peacefully, build relationships and contribute positively to their communities.

This is why peace education matters.

A Classroom Can Be More Than a Place to Learn

For a child growing up in a displacement-affected community, a classroom can represent much more than a place to study Mathematics, English or Science. It can be a space to develop confidence, experience belonging, learn cooperation and discover constructive ways of responding to conflict.

Through peace education, children can learn how to communicate respectfully, recognise the perspectives of others, manage their emotions, resolve disagreements without violence and appreciate the dignity of people from different backgrounds.

These skills are relevant to every child, but they are particularly important in communities navigating the consequences of conflict, insecurity and displacement.

At Lola Cater Academy, our engagement reinforced PEPNET’s commitment to making peace education more accessible to children and young people, including those growing up in difficult circumstances.

However, one visit, no matter how meaningful, cannot meet the long-term needs of a school or an entire community.

The real question is how we move from occasional engagement to sustained investment in children’s learning, wellbeing and capacity to build peace.

Children Affected by Conflict Deserve More Than Sympathy

Across Nigeria, insecurity and displacement have disrupted education, separated families from familiar environments and placed additional pressures on already vulnerable households.

Behind every statistic on displacement is a child with a name, a story, an ability to learn and a future that deserves protection.

These children should not be defined solely by what they have experienced. They are future teachers, entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals, public servants, innovators, community leaders and peacebuilders.

But potential does not flourish through encouragement alone. It requires opportunities, supportive relationships, safe learning environments and sustained investment.

When children are denied quality education or opportunities to develop the skills needed to navigate differences peacefully, the consequences can extend far beyond the classroom.

Conversely, when we invest in their education, dignity and development, we help strengthen the foundations upon which more peaceful communities can be built.

Children affected by conflict deserve the opportunity to shape a different future, not simply survive the consequences of the past.

Peace Education Must Go Hand in Hand with Better Learning Conditions

We must also acknowledge a practical reality: educational aspirations cannot be separated from the conditions in which children learn.

Schools serving displaced and underserved communities need appropriate learning spaces, desks, books, teaching materials, sanitation facilities, educational technology and teachers who are adequately supported.

The specific needs of each school must be identified and prioritised in consultation with its management, teachers, learners and community.

Peace education must also be sustained through appropriate learning resources, teacher capacity development, practical activities and opportunities for children to apply what they learn in their daily lives.

A child deserves both the knowledge to pursue a meaningful future and the values and skills to contribute to a peaceful society.

This requires collaboration among government institutions, school authorities, development partners, foundations, businesses, civil society organisations and individuals who believe that every child deserves a fair opportunity to learn and thrive.

No single organisation can do this alone.

From a Single Visit to Lasting Impact

For PEPNET, the engagement at Lola Cater Academy is part of a broader commitment to advancing peace education and strengthening community-based peacebuilding.

Our work seeks to make peace education more accessible, support the development of peacebuilding capacities and create opportunities for children, young people and communities to participate actively in building peace.

But the scale of the need calls for more than goodwill. It calls for partnerships, resources and people willing to turn shared concern into practical action.

This is where you can make a difference.

We are inviting individuals, foundations, businesses, development partners, educational institutions and other organisations to join us in strengthening the relationship between education, dignity and peace.

There are two complementary ways to support this work.

1. Invest Directly in Lola Cater Academy

Lola Cater Academy, located at Karonmajiji IDP Camp, Abuja, needs support to improve its learning environment and expand educational opportunities for children affected by displacement.

Following PEPNET’s engagement with the school on 24 September 2026, we are inviting individuals, businesses, foundations, development partners and compassionate citizens to support the school’s priority needs, including:

• School renovation to improve the learning environment.
• School uniforms and sportswear to promote dignity, confidence and participation.
• School shoes and socks to help children attend school comfortably.
• Classroom chairs and tables to provide suitable furniture for teaching and learning.
• Teachers’ salaries to support educators and sustain classroom learning.
• Whiteboards and markers to provide essential teaching materials.

Your contribution, whether financial or in the form of relevant educational materials, can help address these needs and create a more supportive learning environment for the children.

Direct school support should be sent to the designated account of Lola Cater for the Needy Foundation.

Beneficiary: Lola Cater for the Needy Foundation

Bank: Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank)

Naira Account Number: 0472145507

Dollar Account Number: 0472145514

Before making an international transfer, please confirm the appropriate account currency, transfer requirements and any applicable charges with the foundation or its bank.

2. Support PEPNET’s Peace Education and Community Peacebuilding Work

PEPNET works to expand access to peace education, strengthen peacebuilding capacities and promote constructive approaches to conflict transformation.

Your support can help advance this wider mission, including efforts to reach children and young people, develop peace education resources, strengthen community engagement and build partnerships that make peace education more accessible.

PEPNET Donation Details

Naira Account

Account Name: Peace Education and Practice Network (PEPNET)

Bank: Zenith Bank

Account Number: 1226474253

International Dollar Transfers

Account Name: Peace Education and Practice Network (PEPNET)

Bank: Zenith Bank

Account Number: 5074459958

SWIFT Code: ZEIBNGLA013

Online Donation via Flutterwave

https://flutterwave.com/pay/fullmembership

International Support through Peace Catalyst International

https://www.peacecatalyst.org/moses-abolade

Online Donation via Qgiv

https://secure.qgiv.com/for/mosesabolade

Where the payment platform permits, please indicate “PEPNET 2026 Education & Peacebuilding Support” in the donation note. For support intended specifically for Lola Cater Academy, please use the foundation’s designated account and confirm any special instructions directly with the foundation.

PEPNET and Lola Cater for the Needy Foundation are separate organisations. Please ensure that your contribution goes to the intended beneficiary.

Watch Our Engagement at Lola Cater Academy

We invite you to watch highlights from our engagement at the school and reflect on why education must remain central to our collective response to displacement.

Watch on YouTube:

Please watch, like, comment, share and subscribe. Helping more people understand the connection between education, displacement and peacebuilding is also a valuable contribution.

A Shared Responsibility, A Lasting Possibility

The future of peacebuilding is not shaped only in conference halls, policy documents or high-level negotiations. It is also shaped in classrooms, in the relationships children build, in the skills teachers nurture and in the opportunities communities create for their youngest members.

A child learning to resolve a disagreement without violence is practising peace. A teacher equipped to manage classroom conflict constructively is helping to build a culture of peace. A school receiving the support it needs is better positioned to give children opportunities to learn and grow.

These efforts may appear small in isolation, but together they can contribute to stronger relationships and more peaceful communities.

Our engagement at Lola Cater Academy is a reminder that the responsibility to build peace extends to the places where children learn, grow and begin to understand the world around them.

We invite you to stand with us: support the school, strengthen peace education and help create opportunities for children affected by conflict and displacement.

Support a child. Strengthen a school. Invest in peace.

Peace Education and Practice Network (PEPNET)

Building Peace Through Education, Practice and Partnership.