Education is often measured through numbers: learners enrolled, courses completed and certificates awarded. However, two recent personal stories remind us that its real value appears in the choices people make long after learning ends.
The reflections were shared by Bilkisu Lawal and Abel Hedeto. Their experiences happened years apart, but both show how relevant education can build confidence, strengthen careers and shape lives.
Skills for work and life
Bilkisu Lawal works in sustainable agriculture, nutrition security and the circular economy. She recently completed an Employability Skills course delivered through Solve Education! in partnership with Aflatoun International.
The course covered communication, teamwork, professionalism, problem-solving, assertiveness and workplace ethics.
For Bilkisu, these were not distant theories. They reflected situations she had already encountered during her professional journey. The course gave her an opportunity to consider those experiences and strengthen skills she continues to use.
Her reflection highlights an important point: employability is about more than securing a job.
It includes the ability to work with others, communicate clearly, make responsible decisions and respond constructively to challenges. These skills help young people enter the workplace, but they also support continued growth throughout their careers.
Bilkisu credited Solve Education! and Aflatoun International for making the learning opportunity accessible and investing in the development of young professionals and changemakers.
A number becomes a name
In a separate reflection, agriculture and food security specialist Abel Hedeto shared a discovery that connected his current work with his childhood.
Abel attended Hamle 19 Primary School in Asella, Oromia, Ethiopia. Years later, while reading the World Learning 2010–2011 Annual Report, he came across a reference to nearly 30,000 children who had participated in Aflatoun clubs.
He realised that he had been one of them.
His participation came through the School-Community Partnership Serving Orphaned and Vulnerable Children programme, known as SCOPSO. The programme was funded by the United States Agency for International Development through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
World Learning implemented the programme, with support from partners including Aflatoun.
As a child, Abel did not know the names of the organisations behind the programme. What he remembered were the teachers, coordinators and community members who believed in the children’s potential.
He particularly recognised his teachers at Hamle 19 Primary School and the support of local coordinator Mr Addisu.
Today, Abel works as a project coordinator. His experience gives him a personal understanding of what programme figures can represent.
“Behind every statistic is a person with a story,” he wrote.
Impact beyond programme timelines
Bilkisu’s and Abel’s stories capture two different stages of learning.
One reflects the immediate value of gaining practical skills for professional life. The other shows how an educational experience can remain meaningful more than a decade later.
Together, they remind us that impact is not limited to the moment a course ends or a programme closes.
It continues when learners apply their skills, contribute to their communities and create opportunities for others. It can also return unexpectedly, when someone recognises their own life within an old programme report.
For Aflatoun International and its partners, these reflections are both encouraging and grounding. Numbers help us understand reach, but personal stories help us understand change.
Every learner counted today carries a life, an ambition and a story that may continue unfolding for many years.
This article was inspired by personal reflections shared publicly on LinkedIn by Bilkisu Lawal and Abel Hedeto. We thank them for sharing their experiences. Credit also goes to Solve Education!, SCOPSO Ethiopia, the United States Agency for International Development, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, World Learning, and the teachers, coordinators and communities who supported these learning journeys.