Charitable organization touching lives in Nigeria

Helpers Social Development Foundation is a non-political registered non-profit in Nigeria and was formed in 2016. Our official registration was completed in June 2019. The HSDF was set up with the sole purpose of helping humanity in general and Nigerians in particular. Our primary goal is on education, while our secondary goal is on economic empowerment and health awareness programs in Africa.
The Foundation was established by Okeke Chidi Chinwendu, who was born and raised in a small village in Anambra State, Nigeria. Helpers Social Development Foundation was established to reach out to millions of less privileged Africans who are facing the same problems Okeke Chidi faced while growing up as a child at the age of 13 years old. Growing up, he did not have access to many basic needs such as - education, medication, food & nutrition, to name a few. These problems at home made me withdraw from school to earn a living and make ends meet for my family.

Chidi faced several issues even when he was working. His supervisor did not fulfill their written contract and many times, his salary was delayed or withheld. He realized how difficult it is to survive in a society where the basic rights of workers are not even met. He moved to Enugu State with his brother and started working in the construction industry. His passion for education and learning never dwindled and he continued to go to evening school to increase his credentials.
All of Chidi's hard work and passion paid off and he enrolled in a higher institution in 2008 to study marketing and complete his degree. After working with several companies and further training, in 2013, he founded Host Link Global Services Limited and became the Group Managing Director of the company.
He was lucky to meet a like-minded woman by the name of Okeke Amarachi Sophia. Amarachi had been providing free education to children who could not go to school through the support of her father. She also shared Chidi's passion of helping others through education and empowerment. Eventually, they got married and decided to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged Nigerians.

Together they established HSDF that would offer education, quality health care and economic empowerment to the less privileged. In a country like Nigeria, unemployment is very high, and this has led to widespread poverty among youth and women. The health care delivery system here is deplorable.

There is an urgent need for a well-rounded initiative that would ensure that youth and women engage in profitable ventures by aiding them in acquiring needed skills for self-enhancement and development. Action must be taken swiftly to help these people living under the poverty line, make ends meet and have a prosperous tomorrow.

This is the focus of HSDF - education, good health care delivery and economic empowerment.
Chidi often quotes the advice of his late father Mr. Okeke Eugene, who said that we should always think of that which will add value to people's lives and nature will present a new life to us. He also told us to be mindful of the friends we kept, because success depends on the types of friends we have.

HSDF Initiatives

Helpers Social Development Foundation has completed several projects in the last few years.
One of our ongoing projects includes the Helpers Foundation nursery & primary School at the Oji River location. This school was established in October 2021 and had 30 less privileged children registered. These children have access to free quality education. This project is being lead by Mrs. Ifeyinwa Iberi ( Head Mistress). We choose Oji-River to impact more lives in rural areas through free education and allow them to harness their potential in the community. While commissioning the school, the traditional ruler of Oji River Urban, His Royal Highness Igwe Sunday Okefi Oliver commended the Foundation for giving indigent children the opportunity to free education and to a better future. He also noted that this is the first time such an institution is established in Oji-River and encouraged the less privileged in this area to use this opportunity to improve their future and make society crime-free.

Another of our past successful projects has been the Learning Material Pack distribution amongst needy kids in public schools in Enugu and Anambra State, Nigeria. These school supplies included school books, uniforms and stationery and were distributed in different schools in Enugu State and Anambra of Nigeria. This project provided educational materials to 2,250 kids in the last four years.

We have also had several Community projects, which include a forum on the role of parents in a child's upbringing. This was held in Imezi-Olo due to a growing lack of interest in children's education in the community and aimed at educating parents on how to better raise their kids for a brighter future. We have also had workshops to increase awareness about HIV AIDS. We have also offered free community testing in recent years.

In the year 2021 to 2020, we also held a Young People's Forum, which aimed at spreading awareness about child sexual abuse, diseases and personal development & growth. This successful forum was attended by 162 people and was held at Uwani River primary school, Church of compassion Anglican church Ituku Ozalla and Emmanuel Anglican church Uwani. This project had slowed down due to a lack of funding.

We also have an ongoing project where we are constructing proper toilets in public schools so that the children do not have to defecate in the open place. Based on our study, 85% of public schools in the southeastern region have extremely shabby facilities and children do not even have access to clean drinking water or proper toilets. Our aim at HSDF is to construct toilet facilities in public schools in Enugu State, Anambra state, southeastern region of Nigeria, so that these children have access to these necessities. According to UNICEF, said that one-third of the population drinks contaminated water at home and 46 million people are still practicing open defecation.

Lastly, our ongoing program of offering school food at Helpers Foundation nursery and primary school Oji-River. This school feeding program will help us to provide free food to poor kids in our school with empty stomachs. These precious children are desirous to learn but due to poverty, they lost interest in Education. to the homeless and underprivileged is also growing. Every parent wants to ensure that his child progresses and becomes what they desire of them, but due to poverty in Nigeria, their dream is shattered.

Challenges:
Nigeria is a country full of hardships. Did you know that 40% of Nigerians live on less than $1 daily? These people need access to basic necessities and facilities. Political unrest and corruption add to these issues. In the last couple of years, COVID-19 has led to further difficulties in many African countries. To increase awareness, programs, events and volunteers are needed. All of this has been very difficult during COVID-19. Despite these difficulties, HSDF has started several programs in the last two years, including starting a free school at Oji River, free school supplies, child sexual programs, HIV/AIDS awareness programs etc.

Gathering donations is also an uphill task in Nigeria. Some platforms like PayPal do not operate in Nigeria, so it makes it difficult to attract international donors. Moreover, international agencies prefer to come and visit sites to see how work is being done, but all of this has been substantially reduced because of COVID-19.
Our main priority is to improve the education quality in Nigeria and to educate more children who are currently out of school and support their family incomes by doing odd jobs. Of all regions, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of education exclusion. Over one-fifth of children between 6 to 11 years of age are out of school, followed by one-third of youth between the ages of 12 to 14. In 2021, UNICEF estimated that 10.5 million children were out of school in Africa's most populous country. "Currently, in Nigeria, there are 18.5 million out-of-school children, 60% of whom are girls
Other difficulties faced include the poor quality of internet in this part of the world. Frequent power breakdowns and harsh weather conditions also add to our troubles.

Opportunities:
Despite all of these challenges, we are still optimistic about the future of charity work in Nigeria and about Helpers Social Development Foundation. We have only reached out to a few communities in South-Eastern Nigeria and this is only the tip of the iceberg. We feel if we get the necessary funds, we can expand into the healthcare sector, open a free clinic for the needy, provide legal assistance to workers being denied pay and benefits, start a housing scheme and end hunger in Nigeria. There is a lot of room for growth provided we get the right partners and funding.

Advice on how to give to Helpers Foundation:

Any person who is affected by reading about the hardships Nigerians are facing can make a change. A little step goes a long way and no donation is too big or too small. We also encourage more people to come forward so that together we can end poverty and hunger and improve education, health and access to basic amenities in Nigeria. We also encourage other organizations to partner with us. Together, we can make a more significant impact and reach out to many needy people. So, what's holding you back? Donate today via https://www.helpersfoundation.org/ways-to-give/

1. Donate through Wordremit Website via https://www.worldremit.com. You need to register on the Wordremit website to enable you to send funds to us. Send funds directly to our bank account, Account name: Helpers Social Development Foundation, Swift Code: GTBINGLA , DOLLAR Account number: 0491180198, or use Okeke Chidi Chinwendu as cash pickup name. Send proof of your transaction to email address: partners@helpersfoundation.org

2. Cryptocurrency is a donation. We encourage donors to donate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to charity to support our mission. Give Crypto via https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/da229411-d5a9-48fc-8ba2-2582a704b11c
We will like to appreciate your kind gift. Email: parters@helpersfoundation.org.

Waybill school supplies, children's clothes or other gift items you placed to give to Africa Charity via our head office address: 70 Adelabu Street Uwani, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Tel: +2349011696190

Or if you have any questions or would like to know more about our Foundation or schedule a meeting with us, feel free to contact us at partners@helpersfoundation.org. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

70 Adelabu Street uwani, Enugu State, Nigeria.

Helpers Social Development Foundation is a duly registered nonprofit and nonpolitical organization in Nigeria with registration No: 131317 formed in 2016 but officially registered with Nigeria Corporate Affairs Commission on 27th June 2019. The foundation was established out of patriotic spirit, to contribute to the welfare of underprivileged children, youth and women, with a focus on their healthy development. Our primary goal is on education while our secondary goal is on economic empowerment and health awareness programs in Africa.

This release was published on openPR.