The Boy at the Bridge
A story from the field - by Amb. Arewa
He did not bring himself into the world. He did not choose his parents, or the circumstances that would decide whether he ate that day. He was simply summoned to be born - and the world he arrived into was not ready for him.
I first met him on my way to work. About twelve years old, he approached me for alms, the way his peers do - a routine practised out of necessity, not choice. I gave what I could and continued on to the Secretariat, but the thought of him stayed with me all day.
That evening, on my way home, I found him again - asleep at the foot of the bridge, under the full weight of the afternoon sun. There was no shelter, no one watching over him. I wished I could take him off the streets and give him the upbringing every child deserves. Circumstances beyond my control meant I couldn't.
The next morning, I made breakfast to bring him - bread and egg. When I reached the bridge, he was gone. I couldn't wait; work was calling. But on my way home that evening, I found him and handed him the food. I imagine it wasn't a meal he got often. As I turned to leave, another boy from the street walked up to him and began to bully him for it.
"A hungry man is an angry man."
This is the daily reality for street-connected children across Nigeria. They move in groups, pans in hand, asking strangers for food or money - deprived of the basics that should never be in question for any child. Left without support, many are pulled toward violence just to survive. Some are recruited into banditry, not because they chose that path, but because no other path was ever offered to them.
This is one of thousands of stories that led to the founding of Street2Scholar Foundation. Every child we meet at a bridge, a market, or a roadside is a child with the same right to safety, education, and a future as any other - they simply haven't been given the chance yet.
Through our TANOY pillars and Triple-A Pathway, we work to move children like this boy from survival on the street to a seat in the classroom - and beyond.
You can help us reach him, and the thousands like him.
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The Boy at the Bridge
This narrative highlights the devastating reality of street-connected children in Nigeria through a personal encounter between an ambassador and a young boy living under a bridge.