Fatima Garba Mohammed grew up in Katagum Local Government Area of Nigeria’s Bauchi State with a passion for social impact and helping underprivileged children access to quality education.
“I was inspired to help humanity through my late father because he was someone who went the extra mile to touch lives in his community,” she recounted.
In 2018, Garba founded the Gadi Care Foundation, a nonprofit organisation committed to providing underprivileged children with quality education, adequate clothing and proper feeding.
Through regular healthcare visits, food distribution drives, and emergency relief initiatives, she spearheaded the foundation to extend a helping hand to those in need within Azare, the capital town of Katagum Local Government Area and even to other Local Government Areas in Bauchi State.
“At Gadi Care Foundation, we are passionate about making a positive impact in the lives of the less privileged and we place a strong emphasis on education because we feel that it’s a catalyst for change,” Garba said.
Garba, who holds a degree in biology education from Bauchi State University, believed that quality education was a ticket to a fulfilling life.
School enrollment for underprivileged children
The low enrollment of children into schools across Katagum Local Government Area which also amounts to the 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, motivated Garba to launch a school enrollment program in January 2023 with the aim of providing educational opportunities for underprivileged children and also offering scholarships to already-enrolled children who struggle to pay their school fees ranging from primary to junior and secondary schools in Katagum Local Government Area.
Between January and October 2023, about 200 children were selected to benefit from the program. It was a great opportunity for them to have the experience of formal education.
“We were careful with the selection because some of these children face various obstacles that deny them access to education. So we facilitated their enrollment and provided them with basic reading and writing,” Garba narrated.
As a foundation, Gadi Care envisions a society that provides every child with a chance to dream and succeed. To achieve this vision, the foundation depends on self-funding and support from generous individuals, including collaborations with other charity organizations.
Abdulbasit Muhammad is one of the many beneficiaries of the program.
At the time Gadi Care met Muhammad during a community outreach, the 14-year-old depended on only one hand and leg.
In 2019, the foundation brought Muhammad to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, where he received two prosthetic legs and a prosthetic hand.
“With the help of this foundation, I now have the opportunity to pursue education and build a better future,” Muhammad said.
Today, Muhammad nurtures a passion for the arts, and with his new prosthetic limbs, he can walk to school while pursuing his dreams.
Providing help to many other disabled people has been pretty challenging without sufficient support from others. Also, there are not enough vehicles to travel to far-flung communities. Notwithstanding the odds, its vision to create a more inclusive and equitable educational environment in northeast Nigeria stands strong
“We just want to see children get educated and live better lives,” Garba concluded.
Fatima Garba Mohammed, driven by her late father's legacy of community service, founded the Gadi Care Foundation in 2018 in Katagum Local Government Area, Bauchi State, Nigeria. The foundation focuses on providing quality education, clothing, and feeding to underprivileged children. Garba believes that education is a catalyst for change and an essential pathway to a fulfilling life.
In January 2023, she launched a school enrollment program to address the low school enrollment rates in her area, contributing to Nigeria's significant number of out-of-school children. This initiative benefitted around 200 children, offering educational opportunities and scholarships. The foundation, relying on self-funding and public donations, also assists physically disabled individuals, like 14-year-old Abdulbasit Muhammad, who received prosthetic limbs and now pursues his passion for the arts.
The Gadi Care Foundation continues to face challenges, including insufficient support and lack of transportation to remote communities. Despite these obstacles, the vision to provide education and build a better future for children in northeast Nigeria remains strong.
