According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the population of youths aged 15 to 35 years in Nigeria is estimated at 64 million. A good number of this population falls within the age bracket of 15 to 19 years. Sadly, about 36% of youths in this subset have either dropped out of school or have never been to school before. This picture is similar in other countries across Africa. Given my backgro
und, I can relate with this sorry state of affairs hence the urge and a burning desire to make an impact. This is the motivation for βImpact Africa Foundationβ, a not-for-profit organisation established to focus on three main pillars which form the core of its existence. These are (1) Education (2) Mentoring and (3) Advocacy. Impact Africa Foundation will help with the education of less privileged children in Nigeria and across Africa. The Foundation will also bring privileged and accomplished people of like minds and passion together to mentor as many youths as we possibly can in order to empower them and lift them out of illiteracy and poverty. In the area of advocacy, the Foundation aims to create awareness and engage leaders and policymakers on initiatives which are necessary to reduce poverty; promote social justice; and provide equal opportunity for all regardless of their tribes, gender or religion. Physical infrastructure is nothing without mental development. Without education there can be no real growth. As contained in its constitution, the aims and objectives of the Foundation derived from its three pillars of Education, Mentoring and Advocacy are:
a) to support the education of less privileged children in the society by providing financial assistance and scholarships to help them through elementary to tertiary education;
b) to promote education and knowledge among the youths in particular and the general public;
c) to provide mentoring to youths in different areas including choice of discipline, vocation, career development, entrepreneurship, life issues and so on;
d) to help train people in social skills, business and financial skills, soft skills and other areas that will impact positively on the society;
e) to serve as a platform for advocacy in the areas of public policy, social justice, equality, fair taxation, accountability and good governance; and
f) to apply contributions, donations, gifts and grants received by it to charitable projects in the three core areas of focus.
