“If you are not poor enough to take charity, you are rich enough to give it.” 
– Anonymous

In the spirit of celebrating all that is good about Nigeria, it would be unfair not to acknowledge young people involved in philanthropy/charity/empowerment/volunteering. These people are committed to giving back to the society they were brought up in, I’m talking about young people trying to do something positive for their society and trying to make a difference in people’s lives, they have different causes of course and I have compiled a list of some of these non-profit making organisations/charities/foundations/projects/initiatives that I know personally detailing what they are about. I’m sure there are more and you can leave them in the comments section.

1)    The Bola Soyode foundation:

Founded by Kikelola Soyode in the summer of 2004, this educational foundation is dedicated to helping young children who have lost one or both parents get ahead with their education.  The Bola Soyode Educational Foundation was started to help a few of these young people by making a little change in their situations. The foundation currently supports nine children, 4 of which are orphans. ‘A friend of mine once said, “One man cannot do everything, but he can do something”. This is my own “something” and I can do more with your help’- Kikelola Soyode

To read more about the BSF visit http://www.thebsefoundation.com/. You can also get in touch with Kike via twitter @Kikelola.

2)    The Pink Pearl Breast Cancer Foundation:

Founded by Orode Jade Uduaghan in October 2007, Pink pearl foundation is a breast cancer foundation focused on improving awareness of breast cancer among Nigerian women. It is also involved in donations of Mammogram machines to hospitals around the country and providing free treatment for women who can’t really afford it.  Its major aim is to improve the state of breast cancer in Nigeria and make breast cancer history.

To read more about the pink pearl foundation  visit http://pinkpearlfoundation.com/index.html. You can also get in touch with Orode via twitter @Orodej

3)    TEP (The Empowerment Project):

Founded by Itunu Umar-Lawal, Sabirah Oniyangi and Funlola Animashaun in December 2010, the driving ethos of The Empowerment Project (TEP) is the belief that underachievement is unacceptable so therefore it is designed to help underachieving girls realize their true potential. The objective of the project is to provide girls within the target demographic which is girls from lower income backgrounds aged 13-15 with necessary tools for success as well as create awareness on various opportunities available to them. This is achieved via annual workshops and a mentoring scheme where one on one support on a range of issues is provided for the girls by their appointed mentors. To read more about TEP visit http://naturalsaturdays.blogspot.com/p/project.html. You can also contact the TEP ladies via twitter @Juiceegal, @Sabirah0 and @19aries9.

4)    Tweet4Charity:

Tweet4charity is an initiative of some Nigerian users of the social networking site twitter.com to give back to society. They solicit for donations via twitter and organise periodic visits to various motherless babies’ homes and orphanages in Nigeria. To read more about Tweet4Charity visit http://www.tweet4charityng.com/. You can also search the Hashtag #Tweet4charity on twitter to learn more about this initiative.

5)    The Care Continuity Challenge Initiative (Fair Life Africa Foundation):

Founded by Ms Ufuoma Emerhor and Rev Austin Ezenwa in January 2011, Care Continuity Challenge Initiative is a holistic initiative that offers packages of care and support to street children, struggling single mothers and vulnerable young women in Nigeria.  CCCI provides clean, comfortable and child-friendly environments for street children to meet others of like experience, to make friends and to rest from the inappropriate demands of homelessness and poverty.  It also offers an outreach facility for single mothers and young women caught up in abusive environments, providing them with basic services and resources to help prevail against their constrained circumstances. To read more about CCCI visit http://fairlifeafrica.org/SCAS%20brochure.pdf . You can also get in touch with them via twitter @CCCInitiative

6)    The Street Project Initiative:

Founded by Rita Omovbude in December 2006, the street Project initiative is focused on building centres for youth development and empowerment. Their mission is to raise funds through profit making business ventures and voluntary donations for the consistent execution of strategic projects in performing arts for youth development. You can read more about the street project by visiting their facebook page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37862853519&v=wall&viewas=0


7)    LOTS charity foundation: Founded by Tolu Sangosanya in 2006, LOTS charity foundation is a registered charity organization that caters to the physiological [feeding, clothing and shelter], social, educational, psychological, medical, and emotional needs of street kids and vulnerable children. Their area of focus now in Ajeromi-ifelodun local government is a community called ‘DUSTBIN ESTATE’ in Ajegunle, Lagos state. To read more about LOTS visit http://lotscharityfoundation.org/

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      8) Dada-Etti Children Care Organization :

Founded in February 2010 by Elizabeth Faniro-Dada and Dupe Durosinmi-Etti as an idea that relates to the present condition of the underprivileged children of our society. As the idea sprung upon the President of this organization, she was able to speak her mind to people who would be interested in helping the community, hence, the 11 Executive Board Members. DECCO focuses more on supporting the homeless shelters. We will do so by raising funds for them so that they can have sufficient resources to be able to admit more kids into their homes; hence getting them off the streets. Our long term goal is definitely to shelter each and every child on the streets, this way they are hopeful for a brighter tomorrow. We want to expand as an organization that reaches out to children that are underprivileged, first in Lagos, Nigeria, then further more to other parts of the country. We want to work in collaboration with prospective sponsors to enable us achieve our aim. Even though we are beginners, we hope to host events that will involve and evolve around distinguished members of the society. With annual events, we hope to get the word out about DECCO  and involve a lot of youths like us.

For more information, visit www.deccoonline.org or via twitter @tfaniro

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9)  Beyond The Classroom Foundation:  is a non governmental organization, that ministers to young females in the society.  They are devoted to Training,  Educating, Inspiring, Equipping, Empowering and Motivating the girl child. They believe that every girl regardless of her age, background, dream, race, tribe and nationality has the potential for greatness.

To read more about beyond the classroom visit http://beyonddclassroom.blog.com/. You can also get in touch with them via twitter @BTC_INITIATIVE.

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As I said earlier above, these are just a few of these kinds of Projects/initiatives/NGO’s that are run by Nigerian youths. Do leave a comment with whatever ones you know about. Also if you’re interested in volunteering/donating/contributing to any of these organisations listed above. Do contact them, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.

As was earlier quoted “One man cannot do everything, but he can do something” .We have so many young Nigerians actually making positive moves, adding value to human life in Nigeria and beyond it’s boarders.

In the next post, I will gladly highlight a few of how we are affecting the world. I know too well THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD THINGS ABOUT NIGERIA.

Thanks to  Itunu Umar-Lawal (@juiceegal) for her contribution to this post,highly appreciated.

allthatisgoodaboutnigeria

April 25, 2011

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