*empowers rural women for self-reliant

By Moses Nosike

One of the visions of Damilola Adefemi Foundation at its inception was to build future for children from poor families. This, the foundation has pursued assiduously to ensure there is future for children from poor families through quality education. Again to eradicate the rate of poverty ravaging our society.

However, Damilola Adefemi Foundation, a non governmental and non profit organisation saw future in these less privileged ones in our society and believes if they are supported to harness their God-given potentials, our environment would be a better place to live.

At the on set, the foundation had provided socour to several motherless homes in Lagos and other states to ensure the up keeping of those motherless children. And it has not ceased to support the less privileges among us. As if that was not enough, the foundation had gone to rural areas to empower several widows with grounding machines to make them self-reliant and be able to fend for their families.

Considering the role of education in our personal and national lives, the foundation not quite long ago, came up with an educational scheme that could help the children of the poor to access quality education and eliminate poverty in their family. The scheme which targetted brilliant children in poor families whose parents could not afford their education were given full scholarship by Damilola Adefemi Foundation after they had passed the two stages of test that qualified them for the scholarship.

However, the qualified students where drawn from Ogun, Osun and Lagos respectively, and they were offered admission into Junior Secondary Schools, as they are now enjoying their studies in various schools where they were admitted.

During the COVID-19, the foundation drew a programme to support children with Maths and English lesson in a way to keep them busy and as well make them happy.

Despite the situation in the country, Damilola Adefemi Foundation has paid the school fees of students under the foundation’s scholarship list.

Speaking to the media on the scholarship scheme, the President/Founder, Damilola Adefemi Foundation, Dr. Damilola Adefemi said, “what the country experienced during EndSAS# protest was what I foresaw and decided to support our children via education empowerment, knowing that they would turn out to be youths of the country tomorrow, and when they are not supported to develop their future, the country is not safe for all of us. They will go into drug, prostitution, armed robbery, raping, kidnapping, destruction of private and public properties.

So, the easiest way to move the country forward is to empower the youths who are the leaders of tomorrow. And I cease this opportunity to encourage private and government of Nigeria to engage the youths meaningfully so that the country can be a better place to live.

She further said that not minding the cost of funding the foundation, the only time she feels happy and fulfilled is any time she puts smiles on the faces of the less privileged, providing some of their needs and also making them feel indifference in the society. This is a calling that gives me joy in my life and that is why I’m following it with every strength in me”.