Integrity
We do what is right, even when it is difficult, and we keep our word to the families we support and the partners who fund us.
About Us
A charity built around women, widows and children
Pillars of Progress and Developmental Foundation is a non-governmental organisation in Nigeria. We help women and widows build businesses, keep less privileged children in school, and reach families in need with practical support.
Who We Are
A foundation for livelihoods, learning and dignity
Pillars of Progress and Developmental Foundation exists to change what happens to a household after a loss. Our work concentrates on three things: helping women and widows start and sustain small businesses, keeping less privileged children in school, and giving families in crisis the practical support they need to recover.
We are not a lending institution and we do not see people as customers. What we give — a widow's opening stock, a child's school fees, a family's food parcel — is a grant, freely given, with no interest, no repayment and no share of anyone's profit.
At a glance
- Organisation type
- Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)
- Registration
- [CAC registration number]
- Headquarters
- [City], [State], Nigeria
- Focus
- Women and widows' enterprise, education for less privileged children, and charity
Details in square brackets are placeholders and can be updated in the admin dashboard.
Our Story
Progress begins with dignity and opportunity
The foundation was founded on an observation that is hard to ignore in Nigeria: when a husband dies, the household does not simply grieve — it loses income, security and sometimes the family home, and the children are usually the first to suffer. Widows move into petty trading with almost no capital, and school fees that were manageable a year earlier become impossible.
We were created to answer that gap directly: business start-up support for women and widows, education support for the children whose schooling is at risk, and straightforward charity for families in the middle of a crisis.
We are a young organisation with a long-term commitment. We measure success not in activities held, but in businesses still trading, children still in school, and households stronger than they were before.
Our Mission
“To help women and widows set up and grow small businesses of their own, to keep less privileged children in school, and to reach families in need with practical charity.”
Our Vision
A Nigeria where a widow can rebuild her livelihood with dignity, where no child's education ends for lack of money, and where communities care for their most vulnerable members.
Rebuilding Livelihoods. Educating Children. Restoring Dignity.
Our Core Values
The principles that govern our work
Our values are not statements on a wall. They shape how we choose who to help, how we treat them and how we report what we did.
Dignity
A widow is not a case file. We protect privacy, ask permission and treat every person as the author of her own recovery.
Compassion
We respond to real hardship with warmth and urgency, and we do not look away from the difficult cases.
Enterprise
We favour support that produces its own income, because a business protects a household long after charity has moved on.
Transparency
We communicate openly about what we do, what it costs and what we have learned.
Accountability
We answer to the communities we serve, to our partners and to the law, and we take responsibility for our results.
Sustainability
We design support that a household can sustain, so that progress continues after our involvement ends.
Our Approach
How we work
Our approach is deliberately practical. We start by listening, give what is actually needed, and stay accountable for what follows.
01
Listen and verify
We begin with the household — a conversation at home, at the shop or at the school — to understand the real need rather than the assumed one.
02
Start with what she knows
A woman chooses the trade she already understands, so that support builds on her own knowledge rather than replacing it.
03
Give something usable
Opening stock, tools, school fees or a food parcel: support is specific, practical and matched to the need we verified.
04
Accompany, don't just give
Mentoring, follow-up visits and termly school checks mean support keeps working after the first handover.
05
Report and improve
We track what reached whom, review it honestly, and change what is not working.
Our Commitment to Responsible Charity
Responsible stewardship of charitable giving
People give to us in good faith, and that trust is the foundation's most valuable asset. We hold charitable funds to a simple standard: every naira is accounted for, every beneficiary is treated with dignity, and every partner can see what their support achieved.
- Charitable funds separated from any commercial activity and fully accounted for
- Safeguarding measures that protect the people we work with
- Consent obtained before any photograph or story is published
- Honest reporting of both results and lessons learned
Leadership and Governance
Oversight with experience and accountability
Our foundation is governed by a board of trustees and supported by a management team responsible for programme delivery, finance and compliance. Profiles below are editable placeholders: add names, biographies and photographs through the admin dashboard.
Board of Trustees
Photo to be added
[Trustee name]
Chairperson, Board of Trustees
[Short biography — professional background, areas of expertise and commitment to community development.]
Photo to be added
[Trustee name]
Trustee
[Short biography — professional background and role on the board.]
Photo to be added
[Trustee name]
Trustee
[Short biography — professional background and role on the board.]
Management Team
Photo to be added
[Name]
Executive Director
[Short biography — leadership experience, programme focus and vision for the foundation.]
Photo to be added
[Name]
Programme Manager
[Short biography — community development experience and programme delivery responsibilities.]
Photo to be added
[Name]
Finance and Compliance Officer
[Short biography — finance, audit or compliance background and responsibilities.]
Replace placeholder names and photographs with confirmed leadership profiles before publishing the website.
Get Involved
Be part of the progress.
Sponsor a child's schooling, fund a widow's first stock, or join an outreach. Whatever you are able to give goes to a household that will feel it.