Damilola Feyide, a young lady, is making lots of difference in children’s lives, writes JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA
Damilola Feyide returned to Nigeria to observe the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year. Her intention at the time was to return abroad immediately after her service. About half a decade on, she is still serving the country, except she is doing so at a larger and more layered scale. During her service year, Dammy spent her spare time running creative classes for indigent and troubled children. These were children who had spent their time in correctional and remand homes and were either without a home to go to or a family that had the capacity to cater, even if they cared. Dammy’s intention was to sow a seed of her time and intellect in the lives of these children, after which she’d go her way.
That seed became the Let It Shine Academy, known as LISA, a private school where children who once lived in remand homes, and those from poor backgrounds, now access quality education at no cost. Tuition, boarding, uniforms, and daily care are all free. Dammy realised the challenges were overwhelming and she couldn’t possibly abandon ship. LISA is now a fulltime boarding school with an extraordinary curriculum offering the best education at no cost to its students. There are lessons for those building for change to learn from what Dammy has done and continues to do with LISA School.
You must start with a clear thesis about the problem. LISA is not just another school; it is a purpose intended to nurture once troubled children from indigent homes. It focused on a precise gap, the education and healing of children who carry trauma and poverty into the classroom. If your thesis is sharp, next steps become easier, teacher recruitment, curriculum design, and other offerings.
You must build for durability, not virality. Hero stories create attention, but institutions create change. Dammy’s story is inspiring, yet the deeper story is governance. A school that offers free education must keep the lights on, feed children, train teachers, and pass inspections. That requires budgets, audits, and a board that can challenge the founder with love. Nigerian philanthropy often dies from founder exhaustion. A living board and a simple multi-year plan reduce that risk.
Measure. Children who have survived the street or confinement need more than test scores. LISA doesn’t just track literacy and numeracy growth, but it also measures attendance stability, psychosocial progress, and family reintegration.
Design for partnership. LISA does not need to own every solution. Government owns standards, so it aligns with UBEC and state policy. Universities own talent, so set up teaching internships and research placements. Media firms own attention, so co-produce human stories that protect dignity. Tech firms own tools, so deploy low-cost learning software that works offline. LISA developed a special THEO tablet for this purpose. Partnerships turn a single school into a learning network. LISA has deployed some of these in its execution.
Safety. Children who arrive from difficult backgrounds need trauma informed classrooms. Policies must be written, training must be repeated, and every adult must understand duty of care. Background checks matter. Whistleblowing channels matter. Data protection matters, especially for children whose identities deserve privacy. A school can be free and still be safe, and because it is free, it must be safer than most.
Honor teachers. Development projects often celebrate donors and forget the people who carry the mission each day. Build a teacher pipeline with mentoring, mental health support, and professional growth paths. Celebrate excellence publicly. Dammy is big on celebrating her teachers.
Design exit ramps for students. Education is a road, not a room. It is a means toward building literacy and character for the world of work. Graduates need bridges to the next phase, vocational programs, apprenticeships, scholarships to partner schools, and alumni circles that keep the social fabric strong. If the first job is dignity, the second job is opportunity. An academy that opens doors will produce citizens who return as mentors and donors.
Communicate with humility and rigor. Donors are wise to hype. Share impact without exaggeration. Say what worked, say what failed, and say what you will try next. I haven’t met a more open proprietor like Dammy. She carries you along all the way.
What can the wider philanthropic community learn from LISA? One, small is not a weakness when the unit is well designed. Replication beats unchecked expansion. Two, proximity increases wisdom. Leaders who live among the community design better. Three, pride is a resource. Nigerian generosity is large but scattered. A simple habit of monthly giving, even modest sums, can build a national engine for social change.
There is also a role for policy. Government can improve the tax code for gifts to certified social enterprises and schools. States can provide land grants, training slots, and inspection support that improves quality without strangling innovation. Smart policy multiplies private courage.
Every philanthropist, new or seasoned, should hold two principles at once, mercy and management. Mercy says no child is beyond hope, so it lends itself. Management asks for plans, budgets, and reviews. Mercy without management burns out because such a system isn’t sustainable. Management without mercy dries up. LISA’s gift is that it shows both can live together in an institution that feels human and works like a clock.
Finally, there is the invitation. If LISA stirs your heart, do something specific. Sponsor a meal plan for a month. Pay for textbooks for a class. Fund a teacher workshop. Cover transportation for medical visits. Give your time as a mentor. Share the story with a friend who can help. Decide on a monthly amount you will not miss, then automate it.
Dammy Feyide is a miracle, but miracles become movements when many hands carry the light. We have a government that must look to do more, but us citizens have the power to build. Let It Shine Academy will thrive. The lesson is simple. Choose a place, choose a child, choose a school, then stay long enough for light to become legacy.
Omojuwa is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/BGX Publishing
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