Shaping the Bedrock of Tomorrow: How Friend of Friends Schools is Pioneering Virtue-Based Education in Nnewi
Shaping the Bedrock of Tomorrow: How Friend of Friends Schools is Pioneering Virtue-Based Education in Nnewi
For over three decades, true educational transformation has been quietly thriving in the heart of Anambra State. Since 1993, Friend of Friends Schools has served as a beacon of academic excellence and social reform in the rural Akamili community of Umudim, Nnewi. By providing high-quality Nursery, Primary, and Secondary education at heavily subsidised rates, this remarkable institution ensures that world-class, functional learning remains accessible to every child.
Guided by the vision to “awaken the spirit through hard work, and dedicate lives to learning,” the school does far more than prepare pupils for exams. It nurtures their souls. With a mission rooted in academic confidence, Christian virtues, and personal competence, Friend of Friends Schools operates within a loving community to help young people discover their Godly purpose and unlock their natural innovative instincts.
The Pillars of Identity: Core Values and Tripod Principles
The school’s foundational culture rests upon four cardinal pillars: Tradition, Honour, Discipline, and Excellence.
These values are seamlessly reinforced by their Tripod Principles, beautifully expressed in the local heritage as:
- Uche (Wisdom and Mindfulness)
- Uchu (Hard work and Perseverance)
- Egwu Chukwu (The Fear of God)
By fusing these cultural and spiritual values into daily learning, Friend of Friends Schools became the first school in Nigeria to transition into a full Virtue-Based Learning Program. Rather than forcing students into rigid boxes, the school uses an adapted Thematic Curriculum that aligns with United Nations Observances, allowing children to develop their natural aptitudes while remaining deeply connected to their cultural heritage.
Activating Young Minds: Community Interventions and STEM Projects
At Friend of Friends Schools, children are taught from a tender age that they are the bedrock of solutions to modern societal problems. The school’s active STEM Club and vibrant student body regularly step outside the classroom walls to drive real, localized social change.
1. Environmental Innovation & Waste Management
In alignment with UN World Environment Day, the STEM Club conducted a comprehensive needs-assessment visit to their local market. Instead of just identifying the filth, the students designed a fully functional Waste Management System for the Nweke Market in Akamili, Umudim, Nnewi. This student-managed system covers designated collection points, sorting, processing, and recycling. The school is currently seeking strategic sponsors and partners to fund and fully execute this vital civic project.
2. Campaigns Against Child Labour and Bad Parenting
Recognising poverty as a major driver of child labour in the region, the students actively engage in community sensitization campaigns. They champion public awareness on child rights and family planning. Moving a step further, the STEM Club launched a Good Parenting initiative to provide local families with healthy, actionable alternatives to long-standing negative disciplinary traits.
3. Public Health Sensitization
The students take their intellectual advocacy to the airwaves, having written and performed across 16 episodes on Blaze 91.5 FM. Featured on the Blaze ABC Children’s Magazine Programme, they entertain, inform, and reform young listeners across the state. Through these radio broadcasts and local outreaches, they have launched critical community sensitization drives, including targeted campaigns on the responsible use of antibiotics.
4. Debate as a Tool for Social Change
The school explicitly trains its pupils to use intellectual discourse to dismantle harmful or archaic cultural practices—such as the rigid, compulsory social pressures tied to certain August New Yam festival customs. Recently, two teachers joined an elite cohort of 38 educators nationwide for international-standard training. Armed with mastery over advanced Coolidge and IPDA debate formats, they are empowering students with elite public speaking and critical thinking skills.
A Culture of Civic Engagement and Global Horizons
The school’s holistic environment leaves no stone unturned when it comes to practical life training:
- Mock State Elections: Students participate in realistic mock voting exercises designed to entrench a deep understanding of civic duty, democracy, and leadership from childhood.
- Global Symposia: The school hosts high-level academic symposia commemorating crucial global events, including the Day for Remembrance of Holocaust Survivors, Day for the Prevention of Violence against Women, and the UN Day Against Child Labour. During the World Day for Tunnels/Toilets, students even engaged in practical chemistry by producing their own line of toilet-cleaning agents.
- Global History: The institution’s deep-rooted impact is historical; between 2003 and 2007, it hosted the prestigious OMEP-African Child Initiative, gathering children from across the region to celebrate the Day of the African Child.
Expanding Horizons: The Maiden Career Week
Proving its title as “the premier aptitude development School, East of the Niger,” the school hosted a groundbreaking, week-long Maiden Career Week.
The packed itinerary included 5 specialized field trips, an induction ceremony, and a creative costume contest. Forty diverse professionals from all over the globe joined the students physically and via Zoom to break down 21st-century career paths. The event successfully achieved three transformative objectives:
1. Clarified Job Descriptions: It taught the children the exact, practical roles professionals perform daily.
2. Expanded Perspectives: It exposed students to modern career paths far beyond the traditional options of just doctors, lawyers, or engineers.
3. Ignited Motivation: It aroused a deep-seated confidence in the children, proving they can successfully become whatever they set their hearts to.
Leadership, Accolades, and Future Visions
The immense social impact of Friend of Friends Schools is highly recognized at both the state and national levels. As a founding member of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) in Anambra State, the institution has long been a pillar of educational policy and teacher retraining programs.
This culminated in a historic celebration in Awka, where the school’s visionary Founder was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by NAPPS and Anambra educational stakeholders, officially naming them an Ambassador of Education.
The fruits of this 30+ year journey are visible in its robust Alumni Body. Friend of Friends graduates are currently thriving globally as doctors, lawyers, and international business icons. Notably, the alumnus network includes the former Senior Special Assistant to the Anambra State Commissioner for Environment, who also serves as the Vice President of the Akwu Akamili Youth Association.
How You Can Partner with Us
As Friend of Friends Schools looks to the future, its vision remains limitless. The school is actively looking to expand by opening a premium, inclusive branch in Awka specifically dedicated to Special Needs Education—a vital project that is currently stalled due to inadequate funding.
Whether you are looking to sponsor the Nweke Market Waste Management Project, support the Special Needs School expansion, or provide scholarships for rural children, your investment will directly alter the trajectory of human lives.
To learn more about enrollment, alumni reunions, or partnership opportunities, reach out to the Friend of Friends Schools Administration Office in Akamili, Umudim, Nnewi. Come join us as we cultivate virtue, inspire innovation, and build the solutions for tomorrow!
Caleb Okeke-Enyobi,
Director, Friend of Friends Schools
fofschools@gmail.com
08035717190
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