Hope for Nigeria

Dear family and friends,

Right now, there is terrible news coming out of Nigeria.  With the atrocities in the northern part of the country and the recent bombings and unrest, it is easy to dismiss Nigeria as a hopeless place.  I write to assure you that there is, and has to be, hope, and the children of the Light School and Ife Oluwa represent part of that hope.

Many of you are familiar with the Ishahayi Beach School Foundation (IBSF), which supports the Light School, a rural school in the remote area of Ishahayi upriver towards Badagry. With your generous support last year, we finished a second classroom building at Ishahayi and welcomed junior secondary school students to class.  A year and a half ago, we also began assisting the impoverished Ife Oluwa School in Lekki - which totally has my heart.   Between the two schools, we provide support to over 320 students.  Each school runs a hot lunch program, but sometimes students go without. And in many cases, this meal is the only substantial meal the children get in a day.

We've recently been working hard to raise funds to improve a tiny kitchen at one school and move the cooking of rice and other staples from outside over a fire to a simple indoor hut with a gas-fired burner at the other.  Our new, clean facilities provide us the opportunity to permit village helpers to prepare hot, hearty lunches for the children. And learning is more effective when your tummy is full!

IBSF has launched a new project on Global Giving to raise funds to provide hot lunches for all the students at both schools. Donations as small as $15 will make a BIG difference in our campaign.  

And tomorrow, 7 May, any donation you make will be matched at 30% as long as bonus funds are available!  Mother's Day is coming up - please consider giving a donation in honor or in memory of your mom or someone near and dear to you who values education or holds the challenges and charms of Nigeria close to his or her heart.  The link to donate is https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/feed-a-hot-lunch-to-320-school-children-in-nigeria/.  Donations through Global Giving are tax deductible in the USA.

I hope you understand how your donation has a direct impact on the education as well as the health and welfare of these children.  Please consider telling your friends and family about our project, by sharing the link at work, on your blogs or social networks, using the tell-a-friend feature on the project page to email your network, or just by bringing us up in conversation.  

If you have given before, "Many Coconuts to you" for your continued support.  If this is your first time, you will become a valuable part of the IBSF family.  Please visit us at our website, www.ibsfnigeria.org, or "Like" our work on Facebook.

On behalf of the children we serve, e se gan (thank you)!

With gratitude and love,

Janet

P.S. If you have any questions about IBSF or Global Giving, please let me know or visit www.ibsfnigeria.org.