Sponsor a Girl's Education

Across Nigeria, girls make up nearly 60 percent of all out-of-school children. That is an estimated 7.6 to 10 million girls who are not in a classroom. The reason is rarely a lack of ability or ambition. More often, it is money. When a family can no longer afford school fees, uniforms, books, and exam costs, they have to decide which children stay in school. Girls are too often the first to be withdrawn.

That decision usually comes during secondary school, which is the point where education matters most. The years between roughly 12 and 18 shape a girl's earning potential, her health, her independence, and her ability to one day support her own family and community. Losing those years closes doors that are very hard to reopen.

ACHONU Foundation exists to keep those doors open, one girl at a time.

Sponsorship starts at $90 a month

Tuition: $730

School supplies (all 3 terms): $43

Exam & registration fees: $14

Uniform & PE kit: $18

Health & first-aid fund: $9

Contingency: $40

Program administration & reporting: $146

Transfer fees & currency buffer: ~$100

Total per school year: ~$1,100

Tuition is the largest cost and the one that most often forces families to pull girls out of school. We pay it directly to the school, so the money goes exactly where it is meant to.

Supplies, exam fees, uniforms, and the health fund are the smaller costs that quietly push girls out of school when no one covers them. A girl without the right uniform, without exam registration, or without basic supplies can fall behind or be turned away, even when her tuition is paid. We cover all of them.

Contingency protects against the unexpected, such as a mid-year fee increase or a replacement uniform, so a small surprise never becomes a reason to leave school.

Program administration and reporting covers the work that makes sponsorship accountable: managing each student's sponsorship agreement, tracking attendance and progress every term, keeping records and receipts, and keeping you informed.

The transfer and currency buffer covers the cost of sending funds from the United States to Nigeria and protects against changes in the naira exchange rate. Currency values can shift significantly over a school year, and we build in this cushion so a girl's school year is never left short. Any amount not needed in a given year stays in the program and carries forward to support students in the next school year.

How sponsorship works

Girls are carefully selected. Each student is vetted and chosen for the program based on need and commitment to her education. We get to know her, her family, and her circumstances before she is enrolled.

Partner schools are carefully vetted too. We work with private secondary schools screened for academic quality and curriculum standards, so your gift pays for an education that truly prepares her for what comes next.

Everyone signs on. Each sponsorship is governed by ACHONU's Sponsorship & Accountability Agreement. It is signed by the student's parent or guardian, an ACHONU representative, and the partner school, and it spells out what each of them is responsible for. Families commit to supporting their daughter's attendance. Schools commit to reporting on her progress. We commit to paying her costs in full and on time.

We stay in close contact. ACHONU maintains ongoing communication with each partner school and with each girl's family throughout the school year. We expect every sponsored student to maintain at least 90 percent attendance, and we verify it every term.

We report back. Our financial controls are designed so every expense can be traced and audited. We keep transaction confirmations and receipts for the money we spend on each girl's behalf, and we share term-by-term updates on how she is doing.

More than school fees

Paying fees keeps a girl enrolled. We want sponsorship to do more than that. Every sponsored student also joins ACHONU's year-round enrichment programming, built around four pillars:

• Education access: keeping her enrolled, supported, and on track academically.
• Financial and digital empowerment: building the practical skills she will need to manage money and work in a connected economy.
• Reproductive and health education: giving her accurate, age-appropriate knowledge to protect her health and make informed choices.
• Leadership and mentorship: helping her find her voice, set goals, and see herself as someone who can lead.

These programs are what turn a single year of paid fees into lasting, compounding opportunity.

The multiplier model

ACHONU is built on a simple idea: an educated girl does not only change her own life. Through mentorship and leadership programming, each girl we sponsor is prepared to one day support the girls coming after her, whether as a mentor, an employer, an advocate, or a donor herself.

That is why we call it the multiplier model. Your sponsorship does not stop with one student. It becomes the start of a chain.

We are building this carefully. We are starting with a small founding cohort so we can refine and document every part of the model before we grow. Our 10-year goal is to sponsor 1,000 girls. Our long-term vision is a self-sustaining network of educated, economically empowered women across Nigeria, led by our own alumnae.

Getting to know your student

Once your total giving reaches $550, which is the cost of half a school year for one student, we will introduce you to the student your gifts support. From there, you can:

• learn who she is and follow her progress through the school year
• speak with her during conversations arranged and supported by ACHONU
• if you both wish, build a mentoring relationship over time

For many sponsors, this is the most meaningful part of giving. For many students, knowing that someone far away believes in them is a source of real encouragement. Mentoring is always optional and always moves at the pace that is comfortable for her and her family.

Protecting our students

Our students are children, and their safety and dignity come first in everything we do.

All contact between sponsors and students is arranged through ACHONU Foundation and happens only with her family's consent. In practice, this means:

• Conversations are scheduled and facilitated by ACHONU, not arranged privately between a sponsor and a student.
• Sponsors and students do not exchange personal phone numbers, email addresses, social media accounts, or home addresses.
• Any letters, messages, or gifts are sent through ACHONU.
• A student's family can pause or end contact at any time, and so can the student herself.
• We protect each girl's privacy in everything we share. Photos, stories, and personal details are published only with family consent.

These safeguards let sponsors build a genuine connection while making sure every relationship stays safe, respectful, and centered on the student's wellbeing.

Other ways to give

Every gift makes a difference, whatever the size.

• $10 a month covers one girl's school supplies, exam fees, uniform, and health fund for a full year.
• $90 a month sponsors one girl for a school year.
• $180 a month sponsors two girls.
• $450 a month sponsors five girls for a school year.
• $900 a month sponsors a full cohort of ten girls, with naming rights.

ACHONU Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, headquartered in Austin, Texas, with NGO registration in Nigeria. Your gift is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Ready to start?

A school year is made of small, steady things: fees paid on time, a uniform that fits, exams she is registered to sit, and someone in her corner. Your monthly gift provides all of it.

Every sponsorship keeps a girl learning.