I have no sisters. But I have an aunt who is five years older than I am. She’s my honorary older sister, and during the pandemic, we spent a lot of time together on the phone – I in New York City, she in Bradford.
My aunt, Itoro, grew up speaking our language, Ibibio. I did not. Often when we’d be on the phone, she’d ask me questions in Ibibio and I’d respond in English. One day in 2021, we both had had enough. I wanted to learn and she wanted to be able to have a full conversation with me in Ibibio.
In January of that year, we started writing a series of beginner-level Ibibio books. We found an illustrator, found a manufacturing company and found our rhythm as colleagues. On June 17th, we received our first set of books:
- Ibad + Unam: Numbers + Animals in Ibibio
- Ekpuk: Family in Ibibio
- Ndidio Idem Owo: Body Parts in Ibibio
- Ekom Do!: Greetings in Ibibio
That summer, we had the books in the hands of Ibibio learners across the United States, the United Kingdom and Nigeria.
Since then, we have produced storybooks in Ibibio, flash cards and coloring books. In 2023, we opened a reading nook in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, stocking it with hundreds of books and planning programming to educate and entertain children while grounding them in the Ibibio language and culture.
@thenookbyuaier on Instagram
Today, Uyai Akwa Ibom Educational Resources (UAIER), the company we incorporated for this cultural preservation project, has hit a major milestone. We knew that beyond creating educational resources directly for consumers, in order to make the lasting change we envisioned, our efforts would need to be embedded into the educational system. That is exactly what has happened.
Our UAIER textbooks are now being used all across private primary schools in Akwa Ibom State!
We also have a YouTube channel with fun, animated language learning videos.
It’s been an exciting journey building this company with my aunt, so much so that her husband has since joined the team, and we have a lot more we plan to create. Follow us @uyai.akwa.ibom on Instagram and Uyai Akwa Ibom TV on YouTube to stay connected to the work we’re doing.
And you can buy the books and flashcards at our website uyaiakwaibom.com.
Warmly,
Aniekeme
