Written by Lydia Chinonye Chilaka, Global Schools Advocate in Nigeria
During one of our 7 a.m classes, my students and I brainstormed on the best way to remind the entire school - teachers, students, and even visitors - about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We finally agreed on painting a portion of our school wall.
We had accomplished the first hurdle: we had a goal! The next hurdle to cross was getting approval from the school leadership. The school leadership all reacted to the proposed project with joy. Next, we worked on finding materials for the project. I discussed the intended project with some of my colleagues, and we were able to raise funds for the materials amongst ourselves. With the funds for the materials ready, my students and I decided to create the wall during the first weekend in October 2021. Since it was a holiday weekend, we planned to work on the wall on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The final hurdle we had to overcome was the weather. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford oil paint and had to make do with emulsion paint. Therefore, you can imagine our dismay when it started raining only a few minutes after we painted the background color on the wall. Yes - we ignored the weather signs and hoped for a miracle as we were too pumped up. We wanted to see what we had pictured in our minds come to life. Unfortunately, our efforts washed away with the rain as we watched helplessly.
However, we persevered! We came to school the next day and started all over again even though we had to buy more paint than was budgeted for. Thankfully, it didn't rain on Saturday. It rained on Sunday, but our paint was spared this time as the icons were being painted with gloss.
We initially planned to dab the icons on the wall using cardboard cutouts, but a female student came up with the idea of drawing the icons directly on the wall while others painted them.
Finally, we had finished. We were very creative in using board markers, and I joined in the painting. We painted until we ran out of paint colors on Sunday. The project was a fulfilling exercise for my students, and now everyone talks about our colorful SDG Wall.
On October 11, The International Day of the Girl Child, girls were celebrated in our school and were welcomed with pink brooches made out of ribbons. The wall became the background for mostly all of the pictures taken. The SDG Wall was also celebrated as an achievement, and we celebrated all the girls who drew the icons and painted parts of the wall.
The Agricultural Teachers used the wall as a backdrop on World Egg Day, and students related it to Goal 2: No Hunger. The wall generally has become the spot for most activities in our school.
Thank you, Global Schools Program!
Written by Lydia Chinonye Chilaka, Global Schools Advocate in Nigeria
