Abdalla dropped out of school when he was in Grade 5, mostly because of a lack of knowledge of the benefits of education as his parents did not recognise the value of education. But after repeated engagement and messaging through radio, mobile vans, community meetings and mobilisation through a volunteer initiative supported by UNICEF, Abdalla decided to return to school after six months of dropping out. Abdalla’s primary school is in a district which has the highest number of 7–14-year-old OOSC in Zanzibar, with a total of 7,609. Children in the district face several barriers to access education such as poverty, child labour, low quality education and lack of financial resources in schools. Children in Abdalla’s community also face other barriers to education, such as early pregnancy, child marriage, negative attitudes and harmful cultural practices, as well as traditional gender stereotypes. Despite the challenges, Abdalla is excited about returning to education and aims to remain in school and work hard to realise his dream of becoming a doctor.