FAME foundation was established to solicit, encourage and advance the social, emotional and economic wellbeing of women and girls as well as formulate programmes within the framework of national development plan with a view to enhancing the participation of women and advocate for gender parity in the society.
FAME foundation firmly believe that the entire nation, businesses, communities and groups can benefit from the implementation of programs and policies that adopt the notion of women empowerment.
According to UNICEF, one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria. Even under what some may describe as normal conditions, girls in Nigeria face a distinctive set of barriers to formal education at all levels.
Nearly 2 out of 3 of the country’s 10.19 in Nigeria are girls. The education deprivation for girls, especially in Northern Nigeria, is driven by various factors, including economic barriers and socio-cultural norms and practices that discourage formal education.
Coupled with socio-cultural norms and economic barriers, the lack of educational opportunities is often a heavy contributor to child marriage. Girls’ education is one of the best strategies to protect girls from early marriages. On average, the likelihood of a girl marrying as a child is six percentage points less for every additional year she stays in secondary education. This practice deeply affects child brides, their children, their families, and even countries.
FAME Foundation’s ongoing PLAY it DREAM it campaign engaged Nigeria’s Super Eagles players, Kelechi Iheanacho, Troost-Ekong, Ola Aina, Taiwo Awoniyi, and others in the campaign against girl-child marriage and advocacy for girl-child education.
PLAY it DREAM it is an ongoing initiative of FAME Foundation with support from Agence Francaise Development (AFD) and the U.S Department of States Global Mentoring Program (GSMP), aimed at using sports as a tool to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality) and 10 (Reduce Inequality) by improving girls’ well-being in under-served/hard to reach communities, improve access to quality and affordable education for all in vulnerable settlements, promote gender equality, and contribute to the reduction in inequalities among girls in crises situations.
Speaking in the online campaign, Alex Iwobi, Super Eagles and Everton football club player, stated he stands against girl-child marriage and urges the education of every girl-child in Nigeria.
Aderonke Bello, Executive Director of FAME Foundation, stated that the ongoing PLAY it DREAM it initiative is using sport as a tool to tackle gender issues such as FGM, early marriages, lack of girl-child education, amongst other issues in the society, with a focus on Internally Displaced Girls and girls living in vulnerable communities.
The initiative, officially launched in 2020, is set to empower at least 200 Internally Displaced Girls within the FCT, with 4% of the beneficiaries awarded educational scholarship support.
Asides from the online campaign are grassroots and IDP camps advocacy outreaches, workshops, conferences, weekly sporting activities, and monthly football boot camps as the line-up of PLAY it DREAM it project activities.