The Olive Grange Foundation for Children and Community Empowerment recently marked the resumption of the school term by reaching out to 350 pupils across three primary schools in Ekiti State.
The two-day school tour, which included St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Nursery and Primary School, St. Mary Nursery and Primary School, and AUD Nursery and Primary School in Irona, Ado-Ekiti, was designed to encourage enrollment and provide essential support to underserved children.
During the distribution at AUD Nursery and Primary School, Project Supervisor Amb. Moyinoluwa Ogundowole noted that the initiative is an annual project.
Reflecting on the foundation’s growth, she mentioned that while 600 pupils were reached in 2025, this year’s mission focused on providing high-quality “Back-to-School” kits.
Each of the 350 pupils received a backpack stocked with 16 items, including notebooks, pens, hygiene products like toothbrushes and toothpaste, and nutritional supplies such as milk, tea, noodles, and biscuits.
This comprehensive package, organized by the Board of Directors, aimed to show kindness and ensure students remain motivated to attend school consistently.
The Headmistress of AUD Nursery and Primary School, Mrs. Ayeni, lauded the foundation for its unprecedented generosity, noting that the school had never experienced such a significant intervention.
She highlighted the challenges faced by her pupils, many of whom come from the local Hausa community. Mrs. Ayeni shared that she often visits the community personally to encourage parents to send their children to school, emphasized that the lack of basic educational materials is a major deterrent.
She expressed hope for further interventions to help keep these vulnerable children in the classroom.
Reaffirming the organization’s mission, the Executive Director of Olive Grange Foundation, Dr. Oshungbohun Aderonke, stated that the foundation’s work is driven by a Christian mandate to show compassion and build a better society. She pointed to the foundation’s history of impactful projects, including the provision of portable borehole water for schools in Ise and Igede-Ekiti. Dr. Aderonke called upon willing individuals and corporate philanthropists to support the foundation’s mission, allowing them to reach even larger populations in the future.
The success of the tour was best captured by the joy of the children themselves. One of the young beneficiaries expressed their gratitude, saying: “Thank you, Olive Grange Foundation, for giving us all these; we are grateful. Thank God my grandma brought me to school this morning. I will always come to school now. Thank you.”
