Headquartered in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, the Keeping It Real (KIR) Foundation was established in 2010 as a disability-inclusive, social impact, and non-governmental organization (RC 916541) with the main purpose of inspiring change through learning and creating empowering opportunities for our beneficiaries. In the past 12 years, KIR Foundation has worked with over 195 institutions in 36 states, Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, and Ghana.

The organization has reached more than 90,397 people with programs on education, advocacy, capacity, and sustainable development. They have trained more than 1,585 youth in various market-relevant skills (digital, vocational, and soft skills) and donated over 46,259 books, numerous educational aids, starter kits, and farming implements. They have also published ’The Young Leader’s Guide’, a leadership manual for young people, and ’It’s About Empathy’, an explanatory guide to the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018. Furthermore, as an organization with a global focus, all projects are strategically aligned to promote and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 4, 5, 8, 10, and 17.

With a 7-member team, 25 faculty members, and 329 volunteers spread across Nigeria, they
have identified lifelong learning as a necessity for addressing educational and socio-economic
issues. They seek to achieve this by closing educational gaps by donating books and advocating
for the rights of our underserved and marginalized beneficiaries (vulnerable children, youth,persons with disabilities, prison inmates, women, and our local communities). They develop their capacities through sustainable programs focused on education, advocacy, capacity, and sustainable development to break the cycle of illiteracy, poverty, and inequality and replace them with a new process of empowerment, opportunity, and ethical and transformative leadership. The

foundation has trained over 1200 students, mentored over 5000 students and reached out to over
1500 persons living with disabilities across Nigeria.

To hear from the Executive Director on the journey, vision and challenges of this organisation visit: https://ndlink.org/international-youth-day-2024-special-ndlink-speaks-with-bitebo-gogo-executive-director-keeping-it-real-kir-foundation/

You can also visit their  Website: Keeping It Real (KIR) Foundation – We’re doing our best to make the world a better place (kirfoundation.org)