Safe Minds in Schools
A safe person to talk to, a quiet place to breathe and help day or night, for 6,000 students in 12 secondary schools across 6 states.
Why we are doing this
- About 1 in 8 children and adolescents in Nigeria live with major depression, according to a review of 27 Nigerian studies with more than 47,000 young people. Local studies put depression among adolescents at between 12% and 26%. (Oyadiran and others, 2025; Aja and others, 2026)
- Specialist help is far away. Only about 300 psychiatrists serve more than 200 million Nigerians. (NAFDAC, October 2025)
- Around 6 in 10 Nigerian children experience physical, emotional or sexual violence before they turn 18, and fewer than 5% of them receive the support they need to recover. (Violence Against Children Survey)
- Schools are where young people spend their days, yet trained counsellors are scarce. Experts are calling on government to employ full time counsellors and to meet a ratio of 1 counsellor for every 250 learners. (Ogbodo-Adoga, June 2026)
- Researchers trained 3,098 students and 234 teachers in 21 schools in Oyo, Ogun and Osun States with a depression literacy course. Knowledge and confidence rose straight away, but results were only measured immediately after training. (Atilola and others, 2022)
- The National Mental Health Act 2021 gives Nigeria a modern law that protects the rights of people with mental health conditions and moves care into communities.
- Helplines and awareness campaigns by NGOs help people who already know where to look, and who can afford the call.
Most support in schools is a one off talk or a phone number a student must find alone. Few schools have the full chain: regular sessions, a private place to talk, a trusted adult, a route to professional help and someone who follows up. Safe Minds in Schools puts the whole chain into the same school for 2 full school years, and links it to the CARE HUB so help does not stop when the school day ends.
What will change
Over 24 months, from January 2027 to December 2028:
- 6,000 students in 12 schools have a safe person to talk to, in school and on the CARE HUB
- 216 wellbeing sessions, 3 in every school each term, on stress, exams, emotions, friendships and staying safe
- A Care Corner, a quiet room for calm and private conversations, in all 12 schools
- 12 wellbeing clubs with about 1,200 members who look out for one another
- About 150 students who need more help are referred to a clinical psychologist or health service and followed up
- 24 sessions for parents and carers on how to notice distress and respond with care
- By month 24, at least 70% of surveyed students can name a safe adult and a place to get help (baseline set in month 3)
Every term without support, distress that a conversation could ease grows into lost school days, dropping out, self harm or abuse that is never reported. Starting in January 2027 means the first group of SS3 students receives 2 terms of support before their final examinations, and every school has a working system before the 2027/2028 school year.
Budget
Set out in the cost categories used by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and most institutional funders.
| Cost category | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| A. Staff costs | ₦7,680,000 | 22% |
| B. Activity costs | ₦14,910,000 | 43% |
| C. Travel and transport | ₦3,000,000 | 9% |
| D. Materials and equipment | ₦3,600,000 | 10% |
| E. Monitoring, evaluation and learning | ₦2,100,000 | 6% |
| F. Communications and visibility | ₦600,000 | 2% |
| G. Indirect costs | ₦3,189,000 | 9% |
| Total | ₦35,079,000 | 100% |
See every budget line
| Budget line | Unit | Quantity | Unit cost | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Staff costs | ||||
| GEIST Social Worker, project lead (50% of time) | month | 24 | ₦100,000 | ₦2,400,000 |
| Clinical Psychologist, supervision and referrals (20% of time) | month | 24 | ₦70,000 | ₦1,680,000 |
| State facilitators, 1 per state (stipend) | person month | 144 | ₦25,000 | ₦3,600,000 |
| Subtotal A | ₦7,680,000 | |||
| B. Activity costs | ||||
| School launch and wellbeing assemblies | school | 12 | ₦60,000 | ₦720,000 |
| Wellbeing sessions, 3 per school each term | session | 216 | ₦25,000 | ₦5,400,000 |
| Care Corner set up (quiet room furniture, mats, posters, suggestion box) | school | 12 | ₦150,000 | ₦1,800,000 |
| Wellbeing clubs, running costs | club term | 72 | ₦15,000 | ₦1,080,000 |
| Parent and carer sessions, 2 per school | session | 24 | ₦40,000 | ₦960,000 |
| Referral support for students who need specialist care (assessment, transport, follow up) | student | 150 | ₦25,000 | ₦3,750,000 |
| CARE HUB running costs, share (hosting, AI replies, WhatsApp) | month | 24 | ₦50,000 | ₦1,200,000 |
| Subtotal B | ₦14,910,000 | |||
| C. Travel and transport | ||||
| Supervision visits from Abuja to the other 5 states | visit | 20 | ₦150,000 | ₦3,000,000 |
| Subtotal C | ₦3,000,000 | |||
| D. Materials and equipment | ||||
| Student wellbeing booklets | copy | 6,000 | ₦600 | ₦3,600,000 |
| Subtotal D | ₦3,600,000 | |||
| E. Monitoring, evaluation and learning | ||||
| Baseline and endline wellbeing survey, with consent | survey | 2 | ₦750,000 | ₦1,500,000 |
| Termly data collection and school summaries | term | 6 | ₦100,000 | ₦600,000 |
| Subtotal E | ₦2,100,000 | |||
| F. Communications and visibility | ||||
| Stories, photos and project materials | lump sum | 1 | ₦600,000 | ₦600,000 |
| Subtotal F | ₦600,000 | |||
| Total direct costs (A to F) | ₦31,890,000 | |||
| G. Indirect costs, 10% of direct costs | ₦3,189,000 | |||
| Total, 24 months | ₦35,079,000 | |||
Prices are estimates at November 2026 prices. Staff are costed as a share of their time. Teachers, students and community members are never charged. Indirect costs of 10% cover finance, safeguarding, audit and office support. Fees are paid directly to schools and service providers, never in cash.
Ways to fund this project
24 months of change, with your name on it if you wish.
Fund 2 schools and 1,000 students in 1 state for 2 years.
Adopt 1 school of 500 students and follow its progress.
Set up a quiet room in 1 school.
Pay for a session for a whole class.
A venue for training or community sessions, printing, data for coaches and scholars, transport, or the time of a professional who can mentor, counsel or give legal advice. In kind support lowers the cash budget, and we report it like any other gift.
The CARE HUB platform, our trained team and State Volunteer Leads, our safeguarding framework and our partnerships with schools, communities and pro bono lawyers. These are not charged to this budget.
What funders receive
- A progress report every term, with numbers and real stories, shared with consent
- A financial report against every budget line, and audited accounts each year
- Your name or logo on this page and in project materials, if you wish
- Invitations to visit schools and communities
- Strict safeguarding and data protection: we never share the names of the people we serve
Sustainable Development Goals
Sources
- Oyadiran O.T., Ogunlade S.B. and others (2025). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents in Nigeria since 2010: a systematic review and meta analysis. medRxiv preprint.
- Aja L., Abonyi O.S. and others (2026). Psychosocial indicators of depression among secondary school students in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. F1000Research 15:1190.
- NAFDAC Director General, Vanguard Mental Health Summit, Lagos. Reported by Above Whispers, 18 October 2025.
- Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey, as summarised by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children.
- Professor Rosemary Ogbodo-Adoga, National Open University of Nigeria, inaugural lecture. Reported by the News Agency of Nigeria, 25 June 2026.
- Atilola O., Ayinde O., Obialo F.K. and others (2022). Towards school based mental health programs in Nigeria: the immediate impact of a depression literacy program. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 16:70.
Funders and partners are listed here with their logos. You can fund the whole project, 1 state or any part of the budget.
