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The Special Foundation has concluded its 2025 Special Summer School program across 14 learning centers in underserved communities in nine states.
‎The initiative which ran for six weeks provided children with access to learning opportunities, mentorship, and creative activities ensuring continuous engagement and growth outside the traditional school calendar.
‎This year’s program impacted more than 24,500 lives, from out-of-school children in Minna, Niger State, learning tailoring and shoe-making, to young adults in Nekede LGA in Owerri, Imo State, learning about Solar Energy.
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‎Seyi Akinwale, Founder of The Special Foundation, while speaking at the Makoko center said that the program, in its eighth edition since its first inception in 2018, has equipped participants with critical literacy, numeracy, and vocational skills while fostering creativity, confidence, and teamwork.
‎Volunteers, educators, and corporate partners such as Bluechip Technologies, Credit Direct Limited, Descasio, Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe Law, Macadams Baking Systems Nigeria Limited, De Miller Farms, UAC Foods, and Nigerian Bottling Company, together with over 423 young professionals from our partners’ pool, powered the program’s success.
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‎From interactive lessons and extracurriculars to refreshments and back-to-school materials, he noted that their collective effort created a safe space for every child to learn, have fun, and thrive, stressing that the program’s community spirit shone through in special ways.
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‎”At the Ikota center, teenage volunteers from the Rockstars at Kindness nonprofit painted two classrooms, adding color and warmth to the learning space. At the Makoko center, the Macadams Baking Systems team led a week-long program, inspiring 100 participants with hands-on lessons using state-of-the-art baking equipment.
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‎Akinwale pointed out that the Special Foundation’s vision to educate the next generation of African leaders continues to drive every program and partnership.
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‎”This shared commitment to impact has inspired volunteers, organizations, and corporate bodies alike to contribute their time and resources toward creating opportunities for children in underserved communities.
‎”The Special Summer School is one of the Foundation’s strongest expressions of this vision, a program built to nurture learning, empower dreams, and ensure that no child is left behind.
‎”Our vision has always been to raise a generation of young African leaders through education and access. Through the 2025 Special Summer School alone, we have touched over 24,500 lives across nine states and 14 centers, and next year, we are looking to expand to 15 states as we continue to deepen our impact and reach more children.
‎”We are in economically disadvantaged communities and trying to ensure that no child gets left behind. We are investing in the future of children across the country,” he said.
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‎Speaking further Akinwale said that the summer school program is targeted and structured around these lines, ensuring that the children are equipped with vocational skills and ensuring that they have a more developed passion for learning.
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‎”The program went beyond academics and vocational skills to embrace the arts, as over 470 participants at the Bariga center expressed themselves through dance, poetry, and music.
‎Their performances reflected the Foundation’s commitment to supporting every child’s dream, whether to become dancers, doctors, or engineers.
‎One heartwarming moment captured during the program was in the Zaria center in Kaduna State, where 11-year-old Brave Sunday boldly declared that she wanted to be known in the future as ‘Her Excellency.’
‎At the start of the program, one of the center’s coordinators had observed Brave as being shy and reserved, but by the end, she had gained friends, confidence, and inspiration.
‎Her story mirrors many others shaped by the Special Summer School, part of The Special Foundation’s mission to expand access to quality education for underprivileged children in Africa.
‎Alongside scholarships, mentorship, and school infrastructure projects, the program reflects the foundation’s commitment to inclusive learning environments that nurture potential and inspire hope.
‎Akinwale also noted that the Special Youth Leadership Foundation is a privately funded social impact organization focused on building Africa’s next set of Leaders by refining their minds through education.
‎The foundation seeks to achieve this by empowering less privileged, gifted African Children through education, mentorship and leadership opportunities.
‎H said the foundation does that through its Inspire Scholarship for orphans and vulnerable children, mentorship and leadership training, school builds program and Special Summer school.