After five years out of school, Favour is ready to begin again
After five years out of school, Favour is ready to begin again
Abuja, Nigeria – Cheng Favour Bi was preparing for a World Refugee Day walk when an email arrived that would change the course of her life.
The 21-year-old refugee from Cameroon had been selected as a Mastercard Foundation Scholar to study Strategic Communication at Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria.
“I was super excited,” Favour recalls. “The first person I told was my mother, and then my father.”
The message marked the end of a five-year wait to return to school—and the beginning of a future she had continued to believe in, even when it seemed beyond her reach.
Born in Limbe, a seaside city in Cameroon, Favour grew up energetic, curious and ambitious. Her parents taught her from an early age that education was one of the most valuable forms of empowerment.
“Education is the greatest empowerment I can receive,” she says. “If you want to become a problem-solver, you must first become a knowledge-bearer.”
Conflict disrupted that childhood and forced her family to seek safety in Nigeria. Favour arrived in July 2021 at the age of 16, joining her parents, who had fled Cameroon earlier.
Although the family had found safety, financial hardship prevented Favour and her older siblings from continuing their education. As one year outside the classroom became five, she watched the future she had imagined move further away.
But Favour refused to allow the interruption to extinguish her ambition.
During those years, she volunteered with Great Step Initiative, working in child protection and coordinating focus-group activities for adolescent girls. She also facilitated sessions addressing gender-based violence, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, and the Girl Shine programme.
Supporting other girls gave purpose to the years she spent waiting for another opportunity to study.
“My dream of furthering my education did not die,” she says. “Instead, it became stronger.”
That opportunity eventually appeared in a WhatsApp group for refugees seeking undergraduate opportunities. A UNHCR staff member shared information about the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme at Pan-Atlantic University.
Favour acted immediately.
She prepared for Nigeria’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board examination, commonly known as JAMB, obtained the required score and advanced to the interview stage. After completing the selection process, she waited for the final decision.
The congratulations email arrived while she was preparing to take part in activities marking World Refugee Day. Favour had been selected for a scholarship to pursue the education she had fought for over the previous five years.
For Favour, enrolling at Pan-Atlantic University is more than returning to school.
“It is not a reset; it is a level up,” she says. “It is where I will build, grow and prepare myself for the life I have been dreaming about. I am excited and a little nervous, but I am ready.”
Favour hopes to become an advocate for young people and girls, with a particular focus on gender equality and inclusion. Her experience of displacement, interrupted education and volunteering has strengthened her determination to help other refugee girls recognise their abilities and pursue opportunities.
After five years out of school, Favour is preparing to begin university and pursue her ambition of advocating for young people and girls.
She understands how easily hardship can make the future appear unreachable. There were moments when she felt discouraged and considered giving up, but each time, she found another reason to continue.
Now, as she prepares for university, Favour wants other refugee girls to see her achievement as evidence that circumstances do not have to determine what comes next.
“Never allow situations to define you,” she says. “Feeling scared is normal, but remaining scared can hold you back. Don’t just dream big—take bold steps towards your dream.”
After five years away from school, Favour is no longer waiting for her education to resume. She is stepping into a new chapter—ready to learn, grow and use her voice to help create change.
