Halima Abubakar

Nigerian educator building schools in conflict zones through community empowerment

Halima Abubakar (born 1978) is a Nigerian educator whose organization Nigeria Starts School has constructed 85 schools in Borno state since 2014. Operating in regions affected by Boko Haram insurgency, her approach combines school construction with training local women as teachers and administrators.

Abubakar's methodology emphasizes community ownership - each school requires 30% local funding and labor contribution. This model has achieved 90% enrollment retention in areas where 40% of schools were destroyed. Her Girls' Education Initiative has provided scholarships to 2,500 former child brides, documented in UNICEF case studies.

A former teacher herself, she developed the Peace Through Education curriculum integrating conflict resolution training. Her work was featured in New York Times and recognized with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Education Prize in 2021. Abubakar's memoir 'Bricks of Hope' details her journey from displaced student to education leader, inspiring similar initiatives in Chad and Cameroon.