OUR IMPACT STORIES

Equitable and Quality Education Impact.

In 2018, 75% of children in our community attended school on an empty stomach. Hunger affected their concentration and ability to learn. 20% of the girls dropped out before completing junior secondary school.

In 2019, we provided 120 children with monthly supply of nutritious meals and snacks, accompanied with bi-weekly after school health and social activities, using open education resource technology.

One year later, 98 children at this school (65% girls) were still in school.

When asked what factors helped them to stay in school, 20 girls mentioned better health and nutrition, 75 children mentioned their better nutrition and attendance allowed them to learn and perform better at their educational learning.

Sustainable Energy Access

After two of our mental health awareness outreaches in Ajaokuta township community, one of our community stakeholders to us about the ikere community’s need for electricity, we survey 20 households and 20 small businesses. The survey results showed that ikere is completely an off-grid community, most households considered electricity, but lacked access to clean source of energy for lighting the homes and small businesses at night. 95% respondents relied on the burning of fossil fuels using kerosene lanterns and petrol /diesel generators, which are harmful to the health and wellbeing of the people.

So we decided to educate the community on the benefits of clean energy sources, demonstrating the effectiveness of renewable solar energy. We noticed the people were interested in testing the technology but didn’t have the means. We partnered with Young Women in Farming-YOWIF to establish a Community Solar Lantern Rental System, providing 50 rural women farmers from 50 households access to clean solar lanterns for lighting their homes and small businesses at night.

20 beneficiaries who spoke to us said they no longer spend their money to buy expensive kerosene for their kerosene wick lanterns at night, they now are able to complete night chores because of the lantern. 15 children from this community said they now study longer into later hours of the night, without fear of the lantern going off, neither is smoke from the lantern disturbing them any longer. 5 husbands of some of the beneficiaries says the don’t have to pay exorbitant prices to buy a new lantern to test its workability, all they need to do is just to go to the charging station to rent a lantern for as low as N 50, and the lanterns are very bright, compared to the local kerosene wick lanterns.

Climate Action

From October 2019 to March 2020, we planted 10 trees. Through bi-weekly community dialogues and awareness creation, we educated 100 people in our community about climate change, and what they can do to mitigate its effects including trees planting, renewable energy and recycling. In survey response, 40 participants said the program changed the way they viewed negative impacts of climate change they saw in their community, and were better positioned to building a more climate resilient community.

 

Health and Well-being

Through our work, Laruba and Adije (sisters 7 & 9 years old), who would have died from HIV infection haven suffered multiples of opportunistic Infections (OIs), without knowing the cause of their problem, they lost both parents few months intervals after laruba was born. But through our work of HIV testing and counseling the community, linkages with ART centers and educational support for HIV positive children, Laruba and her sister are alive today and healthy, enrolled on ARV treatment and attending school. Adije volunteers for our organization and is currently writing her senior WAEC 2020, she aspires to study medicine at the university and become a medical Doctor, helping other vulnerable children like herself. We have helped several others like her and we would continue to use our actions and voices to help more vulnerable children in Nigeria, to help build a more just society. Also our efforts led to 500 young pregnant/lactating mothers receiving training on exclusive breast feeding.

Foosteer Initiative for Community Health and Social Development (Foosteer Initiative), a registered non-governmental organization (NGO) in Nigeria working to create a future of hope for under-served vulnerable rural women and children in marginalized communities of Nigeria by helping them build skills and harness resources to reduce their vulnerability in a sustainable way.

Foosteer Initiative as an organization tackles poverty and inequality by supporting girls/children to go to school and succeed, and empowering young women to step up as leaders of change.

Foosteer Initiative invests in girls and women in the poorest rural communities in Nigeria, where girls face acute disadvantage, and where their empowerment is now transforming communities.

Our Programs includes: Equitable and Quality Education, Sustainable Energy Access, Climate Action, Health and Well-being, Sustainable Livelihoods and Connectivity.

In 2015, Foosteer Initiative’s innovative education programs in Ajaokuta, and Lokoja communities of Kogi State have directly supported over 1500 students to attend primary and secondary school, and over 3000 children have benefited from improved learning environments.

Foosteer Initiative believes that every child is entitled to a quality education in a safe environment and a life as an independent young adult. Foosteer Initiative directly supports girls because they are the first to drop out of school, and the first to be failed by the system, facing the perils of early marriage, early pregnancy and HIV/AIDS.
 

Educating School authority and staff on the importance of children education

In the year 2015, Foosteer Initiative improve food and nutrition security to 150 families who benefited from the monthly food stuff distribution, 20 children benefited from beverages distributions.


In the year 2015, Foosteer Initiative partnership with Ajaokuta Steel Company School Board, trained and educated one hundred and twenty (120) women and two hundred (200) girls on business and social entrepreneur. The training focused on sound financial habits for women and families, as well as connecting business owners with the resources and information they need to succeed in a competitive market. The women are now owners of thriving businesses.

Supporting PLHIV with during support group meeting

  END OF THE YEAR CHILDREN PARTY FOR OPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN

 Pix 1: Our year 2010 vulnerable children Christmas Party, held on 26/12/2010 @ Idah

The Party was the first ever conduct, we had 30 under- privileged children in attendance, there was so much to eat and drink. Partnered with a friend, who baked us the cake @Queen Phoebe Idakwo, God bless you real good, you added colour to our day.

pix2: Our 2011 Vunerable Children's party held @ idah

 Picture 2: is our 2011 vulnerable children's party, there was an improvement on 2010, we had more sponsors/partners, the canopies we used here was donated to us, the chairs were fully paid for by somebody, the drinks we had was freely donated to us by a community based organization, the food we ate was paid for by an individual and what more the musical instrument/ sound system was given to us by U.E.C (united evangelical church) youth, gifts items that was distributed were donated to us by a group of individual, two of our kids got two years scholarship from this program.

Pix 3: Our 2012 Vulnerable children Party

As usual, our story has been that of from glory to glory, year 2012 vulnerable children's party, witnessed a boom, as compared to other previous years, we had increase in attendance, increase in sponsorship, increase on all sides, four children got scholarship from this program in 2012, and ever since then it has been a better end of the year for us, in 2013, we decided to incorporate the widows into the program, God has been making sure resources are available to cater for them, to God alone be all the glory.