OUR STORY
Christianna Foundation was founded by Nigerian born Omonike Akinjide, ‘Nike’. Nike had a strong desire to make a difference to the children of Nigeria through education, which led her to begin the charity in the name of her grandmother Madam Christianna Oladimeji Oladapo.
Madam Oladapo gave her all to see her children educated, even though she was not educated herself. Her many years of dedication and sacrifice paved the way for Nike’s father, Prof. Ifedayo Olawole Oladapo, to recieve a scholarship and graduate with a first from St. Andrew’s University in Scotland and subsequently receive a PhD from Cambridge University England.
Christianna Foundation was founded by Nigerian born Omonike Akinjide, ‘Nike’. Nike had a strong desire to make a difference to the children of Nigeria through education, which led her to begin the charity in the name of her grandmother Madam Christianna Oladimeji Oladapo.
Madam Oladapo gave her all to see her children educated, even though she was not educated herself. Her many years of dedication and sacrifice paved the way for Nike’s father, Prof. Ifedayo Olawole Oladapo, to recieve a scholarship and graduate with a first from St. Andrew’s University in Scotland and subsequently receive a PhD from Cambridge University England.
Prof. Oladapo went on to spend his life educating students in Nigeria and devoting himself to community service. Christianna Foundation began to continue the legacy of giving back to Nigeria through education.
Having made her home in England, Omonike visited Nigeria with her two young children when they were both aged less than five. While in Oyo State they visited a school where Nike’s mother in law, Elizabeth Adesola Akinjide, was patron. It was during this visit that they experienced the conditions in which the bright young minds of Nigeria where struggling to learn. They witnessed classes of one hundred children with only one teacher, school buildings without windows and doors, rain pouring into classrooms while children with no shoes shared their classroom with wandering goats and dogs. Imagine a school with no books, no playgrounds, unsanitary toilets and often no classroom at all, now imagine what it is like for a child in those conditions trying to learn.
Seeing for herself the huge disparity between what these children had, compared with the wealth of opportunity her own children experience in the UK, Nike felt compelled to do something. Returning to her home in London, Omonike founded Christianna Foundation in 2012 with the aim of bringing joy and education to the children of Nigeria.
Every child deserves a chance!
In continued support of her vision and in loving memory of
Omonike Akinjide
Founder, Christianna Foundation
OUR PEOPLE
OUR SUPPORTERS
