Our History
Stepping Stones Nigeria is a young charity, which has come a long way in a short space of time. In 2003 Gary Foxcroft spent 3 months in Akwa Ibom State carrying out research in community perceptions of the oil industry. Appalled by the state of the region's schools Gary returned to the UK and teamed up with Naomi Chapple to establish the charity in 2005.
After 12 months of constant fundraising Gary and Naomi raised £11,000 through events such as car boots sales, dance music events, sponsored events, dinner dances and auctions. Various schools in Lancashire and Oxfordshire also carried out fundraising for SSN. Gary and Naomi then spent 12 months in Nigeria working on the projects that you will find outlined in this website. As you will see a great deal has been achieved in this short period of time. None of this would have been possible without support from the thousands of people who have put on or come to the countless fundraising events that SSN has held and organisations such as Christadelphian Meal-a-Day and Kitchen Table Charities, whose small grants have helped us massively. The support of the Akwa Ibom State government has also been crucial to our success.
To this date all of the work carried out by SSN’s UK co-ordinators has been on a voluntary basis. Unlike many charities SSN’s administration costs are below 1%. This means that nearly every penny goes directly to support SSN’s work providing hope to hundreds of disadvantaged children in the Niger Delta region of. Whilst in Nigeria SSN UK co-ordinators do not drive around in 4x4s, stay in expensive hotels or put on grandiose conferences in expensive venues as many aid agencies do. Instead they live, eat and travel with local people, thus forging closer links with communities and saving costs. This will continue to be the approach of our work in the years to come.
Stepping Stones Nigeria was also registered as an Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Nigeria in 2006. It is run by Aniefiok Ite and Grace Udua who oversea a staff team of 20 teachers, carers, nurse, counsellors, cooks and security.