My mum called me from Iyana-yesi, Ogun state. Her voice was different. She started telling me about her students the brilliant ones. They hadn't come back.
Some foundations begin with a vision. This one began with a phone call and a question I could not stop asking: why should brilliance go to waste because of a school fee?
The call
My mum lives in Iyana Yesi, Ota, Ogun State. We speak often, the kind of calls that exist somewhere between duty and delight.
But this one was different. I could hear it before she said a word.
She started telling me about a few of the children she knew in the community. The ones whose hands were always first in the air. The ones who read ahead of the lesson, who remembered things from terms ago and connected them to today. The brilliant ones.
They hadn't come back to school.
Not because they didn't want to. Not because they had given up. Their parents, most of them widows, most of them alone, simply could not pay the fees.
Their barrier was never ability. It was always money.
What I did
I made some calls and arranged for their fees to be paid.
Then I did it again the next term. And the term after that. Quietly, personally, consistently.
It worked. They came back. They excelled.
But I knew that quiet generosity was not enough. It depended on my income. My capacity. My attention. It could not scale. It could not outlast me.
These children deserved something more permanent than one person's good intentions.
What I built
So I built it.
Gifted Paths Foundation was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria on 18 May 2026. CAC Reg. No. 9555751. Official. Legal. Permanent.
The name carries everything I believe. Oluwatamilore - the Yoruba name of my son, which means: God gave me a gift. Every child we serve arrived in this world with something of value. Their paths have simply been blocked.
We are here to clear them.
EduCare sponsors school fees, uniforms, and textbooks; paid directly to schools, tracked every term. WomenRise supports widows and vulnerable women. YouthForward equips young people with digital and entrepreneurial skills. Community Outreach shows up every season.
This is not charity. This is a system built to last.
You can be part of it
The first cohort is already confirmed; ten children in Iyana Yesi, starting this September.
I funded them myself. The next ones need you.
Sponsor a child from ₦18,000 per term. Fees go directly to the school. No cash changes hands. You receive a written update every term.
Or refer a child who has already dropped out. You do not need to be a teacher. If you know a child in Ijaba, Iyana yesi area, Ota, Ogun State who should be in school, tell us. We will take it from there.
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