About Charis Learning Foundation
Dedicated to improving access to education in rural communities in Nigeria.
Education and rural Nigeria
Almost half of Nigeria’s population of 200 million live in rural communities and like many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has one of the highest proportions of young people in its population in the world.
Family is incredibly important to us, as it is for families across Nigeria and access to education in rural communities is a huge contributor to whether young people stay close to their families or move to larger urban centres for work.
A child’s access to education is vital and funding for that education has fallen year in year. Many children in rural Nigeria work from a young age, to support themselves, their families and their own education, often in farming or other physical labour.
Help us make education accessible
Despite some expansion in Nigeria’s education system over the past few decades, rural schools remain under-developed and in need of financial help.
Funding is the biggest single problem confronting Nigeria’s education system.
Providing vital funding
UNESCO recommends nations spend 15%-25% of their budget allocation on education, but in 2018 Nigeria only allocated 7% to education.
Better access to education helps young people to have more opportunities for work, enabling them to support themselves and their families.
About the founders
Michael Mosindi
Making education available and enjoyable is very important to me, as it was not my experience growing up in Nigeria.
I was lucky enough to attend good schools, but I didn’t enjoy education and this left me feeling that there was something wrong with me.
Friends labelled me playful and lazy, but I simply believed that learning needed to be fun as well as practical for one’s creativity to flourish.
Few years after, I embarked on an MSC programme in the U.K. and achieved a distinction in Mobile and satellite Communication. It was challenging, but it was also FUN!
Raymond and I went to the same university in Nigeria and we share the same belief that education in Nigeria needs drastic improvement in many ways and it was then that we decided we could make a difference back home. Education should be accessible, enjoyable and fun!
This is how Charis Learning foundation was born.
Today I’m a Microsoft Power Platform Consultant with experience in the health, education and defence sector in the UK.
I’m still learning… because it’s so fun!
Raymond Chike
This foundation’s vision for developing children has been my passion for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Nigeria I had the opportunity to attend one of the best and one of the worst schools.
I was always passionate about learning, but never had the chance to visit a good public library, nor have access to the right tools to guide my learning as a curious child.
When I moved to the UK I promptly fell in love with sites like Amazon, as I suddenly had a gateway to good educational resources I had always wanted, finding books that have helped me through my career – Always learning.
I never forgot my experiences of education in Nigeria and my good friend Michael and I would find ourselves exchanging stories regulalry. Then one day we decided to stop complaining and asked ourselves what can we do to help?
And that gave birth to Charis Learning Foundation.
Apart from this, I am a Business Agility and Transformation Consultant involved in briging out the best in individuals, Products and Services. You can find me on Linkedin.