CASE STUDY
UIUCares Channels Diaspora Funds to Invest in Nigeria’s Future
Launched in 2014, UIUCares is the philanthropic wing of Umu Igbo Unite (UIU), a cultural, professional, and social network for Igbo Americans, founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2005. While UIU is a cultural, professional, and social network for first-, second-, and third-generation Igbos living and working in the diaspora, UIUCares channels the resources and knowledge of UIU members to make transformative impact in Nigeria, with a focus on education and skills development, health, emergency relief, and infrastructure development. UIUCares’ programs are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which, as CEO Ijeoma Anadu Okoli explained in an interview with FP Analytics, act as a helpful framework for guiding their work, explaining impact to potential donors, and increasing the visibility of the organization. She summed up UIUCares’ mission succinctly: “Our goal is to help people be able to learn the skills that they need in order to take care of themselves. Through UIUCares, we are educating, we are getting people on their feet to the point where they will be able to take care of themselves.”
To that end, the UIUCares Foundation, led by Dr. Onyinye Igbokwe, runs a wide range of programs, either regularly or as one-offs. These include:
- Restoration Series: a series of projects renovating and improving educational environments such as schools and classrooms, providing learning materials, and creating safer spaces for students;
- Nigeria Student Scholarship Program, which has awarded scholarships to 40 students in Enugu and Anambra states, seeking to alleviate financial barriers to education and excellence;
- UIUCares International Student Scholarship, for Nigerian students studying in the U.S., awarded to 10 students annually, across universities and disciplines;
- Girls’ Health Program: menstrual hygiene education for girls in public secondary schools, reaching over 400 girls to break stigma and improve health and well-being;
- Technology Program: a six-month educational program for public secondary students to improve IT skills and promote digital inclusion;
- UIUCares Apprenticeship Program: for young people to enter the skilled trades via mentorship, practical training, and financial support;
- Relief Program: humanitarian aid to communities in Abia, Anambra, Enugu, and Imo States, particularly via food relief—reaching over 900 families;
- Back to School: school supplies and promotion of educational equity for public secondary school students;
- Entrepreneurial Skills Training Program: for women and youth in the Ugba Edogori refugee camp.
To implement its programs and expand its reach, UIUCares partners with UIU chapters, other NGOs and diaspora organizations, as well as domestic Nigerian organizations, including schools and educational institutions. Trust is integral to all the work UIUCares undertakes. Ijeoma Anadu Okoli noted in an interview with FPA that building trust with implementing partners and finding the right people and organizations for the job, has been a critical challenge — while many members of the leadership team visit Nigeria regularly, they cannot oversee everything, and need to trust their proxies and partners on the ground. Similarly, Okoli and her team recognize that successful programs are guided by the needs of the people and communities they seek to serve, and hinge on building trust locally. Creating open channels of communication to learn more about their priorities and needs is therefore crucial, as are mutual trust and respect. As UIUCares seeks to broaden its impact, maintaining this focus on trust and mutual respect will be crucial, particularly if the organization expands its work into new communities, states, or refugee camps where UIU members may be less established or well connected. Formalizing UIUCares’ monitoring and impact evaluation processes can also help to support continued trust and transparency with both its donors and its beneficiaries.