The IA-Foundation has intensified its efforts to improve access to education for vulnerable children, employing a combination of community-based interventions, digital innovation, and policy advocacy to address Nigeria's estimated 15 million out-of-school children crisis and remove barriers to learning in underserved communities.
Recent Activities and Initiatives
As part of this initiative, the UK-based non-governmental organization recently conducted a welfare assessment of its beneficiaries in Makoko, launched a digital stakeholder portal to enhance collaboration and transparency, and announced plans for a high-level summit aimed at finding sustainable solutions to Nigeria's growing out-of-school children crisis.
The foundation stated that these latest activities underscore its commitment to advancing inclusive education and strengthening support systems for children at risk of being excluded from learning opportunities.
Welfare Assessment in Makoko
On June 11, the foundation deployed a team to Makoko to assess the welfare and academic progress of pupils benefiting from its educational sponsorship program. This outreach allowed staff members to interact directly with children and their families, verifying school attendance, wellbeing, and learning outcomes among beneficiaries whose school fees, uniforms, and learning materials are funded by the foundation.
Beyond educational support, the team inspected a borehole facility previously installed by the organization to serve residents of the waterfront community. The inspection revealed infrastructure issues requiring urgent attention, prompting plans to commence repairs on the facility's overhead tank.
Speaking about the outreach, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Funke Sotinwa, said the organization remains committed to supporting children beyond the classroom. "Our support does not end at paying school fees. We believe in walking alongside these families and ensuring that the environments in which our children grow and learn are dignified and functional," she said.
Digital Stakeholder Portal Launch
On June 16, the foundation unveiled a new digital stakeholder portal designed to enhance transparency and deepen collaboration with donors, partners, and supporters. According to the foundation, the upgraded platform introduces a dedicated donor interface that enables stakeholders to monitor impact, engage directly with programs, and contribute more effectively to initiatives supporting vulnerable children.
Founder of the Foundation, Ronke Adeagbo, described the platform as a major milestone in the organization's evolution. "We are not simply changing a website. We are building a digital home that reflects the seriousness of our mission and the value we place on every stakeholder in our ecosystem. This portal is our commitment to radical openness — to showing our community exactly what we do, how we do it, and the lives being changed in the process," she said.
Executive Breakfast Summit
As part of its broader advocacy efforts, the foundation will convene an Executive Breakfast Summit in Lagos on June 23 to galvanize support for solutions to Nigeria's out-of-school children challenge. The summit, themed 'Mind the Gap: Tackling the Crisis of Out-of-School Children in Nigeria,' will bring together stakeholders from government, the private sector, development institutions, civil society, and the media to examine the implications of educational exclusion on national development.
A key highlight of the event will be the presentation of the foundation's policy white paper, 'The Danger of the Knowledge Gap,' which explores how poverty, insecurity, displacement, and other systemic challenges continue to deny millions of children access to education. Expected participants include the Lagos State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, senior advisers to the Lagos State Governor on the Sustainable Development Goals, and prominent human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN).
The foundation said its community interventions, technology-driven engagement initiatives, and policy advocacy efforts underscore a shared objective of ensuring that more Nigerian children gain access to quality education and the opportunities it provides.
