AUN-AID Gives Hope, Skills To Displaced Survivors

Years of conflict and displacement have upended many lives in Northeast Nigeria, leaving communities struggling to rebuild and dreams put on hold.

Yet amid the hardship, stories of resilience, hope, and renewed opportunity are beginning to emerge.

Through persistence, local support, and targeted interventions, survivors are finding ways to transform adversity into opportunity. One of the organisations involved in this recovery is the Atiku Institute for Development (AUN-AID).

Established on 17 September 2014 by Dr. Margee Ensign, then President of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), and supported by AUN’s founder, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, AUN-AID provides education, livelihood support, and community programmes aimed at helping those affected by conflict rebuild their lives.

The impact on individuals is evident. Fatima Yusuf, once a displaced mother of four, now runs a successful tailoring business in Gombe State and trains over a dozen apprentices, many of them displaced youth.

“What I learned at AUN-AID didn’t just change my life; it gave me the tools to help others,” she said.

For Aisha, a 22-year-old from Borno, learning to make leather bags has allowed her to support her family.

Maryam, a secondary school student in Yola, discovered her entrepreneurial spirit through soap-making and now dreams of running her own business.

The approach of combining education, relief, and skills training has had ripple effects beyond Northeast Nigeria.

The Boko Haram crisis, which erupted in 2009, left deep scars across the region. In its aftermath, AUN-AID has become one of several organisations offering support, working alongside international and local partners including UNHCR, USAID, UNICEF, GIZ, and ActionAid Nigeria. Its programmes focus on both immediate relief and longer-term skills development.

AUN-AID’s Waste-to-Wealth initiative, known as Yola EcoSentials (YES) and launched in 2012, trains women to recycle plastic waste into products they can sell, providing income and promoting environmental awareness.

Other initiatives include financial literacy training for over 200 women, the Feed and Read programme combining education with nutrition for out-of-school children, and vocational training in tailoring, shoemaking, and soap-making to support economic independence.

The Girls Education and Enhancement Program (GEEP) aims to improve educational access for girls. At its launch on 30 October 2023, Prof. DeWayne Frazier, AUN’s current President, noted how education for girls can transform not just individuals, but entire communities.

AUN-AID also integrates humanitarian relief with community development. Through partnerships with organisations like the International Rescue Committee and ActionAid Nigeria, it trains professionals in the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus framework, ensuring that interventions are sustainable and inclusive.

Dr. Abubakar Sadiq Hussaini, Administrator of Grants and Contracts at AUN-AID, stresses the role of education in long-term development for youth in the BAY states.

The institute’s work stretches across IDP camps, host communities, and AUN’s campus, combining emergency relief, healthcare, psychosocial support, interfaith engagement, and entrepreneurship.

It has funded projects such as a GIZ-supported agricultural initiative that provided N54 million to 900 farmers, showing how community-driven efforts can reach even remote areas.

Alumni who become mentors replicate their skills in their own communities, creating local networks of empowerment.

Suwaiba Muhammad Dankabo, ActionAid Nigeria’s Deputy Country Director, notes that collaborative efforts like these are helping to tackle the region’s persistent humanitarian and developmental challenges.

As Nigeria continues to face security challenges, including banditry, kidnappings, and farmer-herder conflicts, initiatives such as AUN-AID’s show that recovery is possible when communities are equipped with the right tools and support.

The stories of people like Fatima, Aisha, and Maryam are a reminder that even in the aftermath of displacement and conflict, new beginnings are possible.