By PALANG KASMI
It was a day of accolades, celebration and thanksgiving as people from all walks of life gathered to mark the 20th anniversary of Kids With A Vision Foundation (KWAVF), a non-profit that has, over the years, raised generations of orphans and vulnerable children in Plateau, Bauchi and other states.
The event, held on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at Novel Suites and Resorts, Rayfield, Jos, attracted personalities from government, private and political circles, as well as family members, friends, well-wishers, children and staff of the organisation.
For two decades, KWAVF has worked to protect, educate, nurture and empower children, particularly those from disadvantaged homes and communities affected by poverty and crises in Plateau State.
According to United Nations-backed demographic indicators and foundational situational analyses, Plateau State has an estimated 160,000 orphans, accounting for approximately 12.3 per cent of the state’s childhood population.
The anniversary featured a series of presentations and speeches and was marked by three major milestones: the celebration of KWAVF’s 20 years of existence and its work in orphan care; the unveiling of the Pathfinder Academy, an initiative aimed at grooming boys and promoting positive masculinity, character, purpose and leadership; and the 45th birthday of the foundation’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Grace Solomon Adams.
Two decades of impact
Attesting to the foundation’s transformational impact, the General Manager of Plateau Express Services, Dr Samuel Jok Gwott, explained that 20 years ago, what Adams embarked upon was merely a dream when she decided to provide a home for children in need.
“Twenty years later, what was difficult is now reality. As we all know, money can buy food, pay school fees and do other things, but it cannot give love and affection, and this is what the celebrant has displayed by giving a home to homeless and vulnerable children,” Gwott said.
While unveiling the Pathfinder Academy initiative, Gwott assured the foundation of his support towards its actualisation.
The keynote speaker, Dr Victor Kuchili, who spoke on the theme, ‘The Boy Child: Raising a Generation of Purposeful Children’, tasked parents, guardians and other stakeholders with the responsibility of mentoring boys and investing in their development.
He stated thatt purposeful leadership entailed service, accountability and perseverance, urging those raising boys to empower them to become independent, make decisions, undertake difficult tasks and think critically.
“In our society, we allow them to be seen, and not to be heard, and we do not allow them to take responsibilities. But instead of trying to fix every problem for the boy child, can we allow them to take responsibility, listen and obey authority, and move them from the behaviour of being brave, ‘man up’ and heroic to becoming men of character who can express vulnerability and fear?” Kuchili asked.
Also speaking, the wife of the Secretary to the Government of the State, Dr Ulan Jatau, described the establishment of the academy as timely, saying Plateau State needed an institution dedicated to raising responsible boys.
“Plateau State needs an academy for bringing up boys,” she said, lamenting that many parents had relegated their responsibilities to teachers instead of creating time for their children.
‘Orphan care is tough, but the blessing is huge’
In an emotional presentation, Adams thanked the children of KWAVF for allowing her to mother them for 20 years and appreciated everyone who had contributed to the success of the organisation.
“Orphan care is tough, but the blessing is huge,” she said, recalling that she accepted the call to establish the foundation in 2005 during a discipleship retreat in Port Harcourt.
Recalling her childhood, Adams said she lost her father at the age of three and grew up with a struggling widowed mother before starting the foundation at 25.
A year after establishing the foundation, she also lost her mother, but remained determined to continue with the work.
Speaking on the vision behind the newly unveiled Pathfinder Academy, Adams said KWAVF had spent more than 20 years housing children and providing orphaned and vulnerable children with education, trauma healing, counselling, entrepreneurial skills and other forms of support.
“But we realised there were more boys than girls in the orphanage, and families were coming to adopt more girls than boys because more of the ills perpetrated today in society are being committed by the boy child,” she said.
Adams observed that while numerous philanthropic and social interventions had been directed towards the girl child over the years, little attention had been given to the boy child.
She expressed concern that social ills and criminal offences, including rape, abuse, phone snatching and illegal mining, were often perpetrated by or involved boys and young men.
“But while we are training the girl child to be what we want her to be, we forget to train the man she will bring up tomorrow to say she wants to marry,” she said.
Adams expressed hope that the initiative would become a major breakthrough and a grooming ground for promoting positive masculinity among boys in Plateau State and across Nigeria.
Building a generation of responsible men
The Chairman of the KWAVF Board of Trustees, Prince Charles Dickson, explained that the foundation had come a long way, having spent the past 20 years raising girls and young women.
“Now that the job has been done, who takes care of those beautiful girls?” he asked, expressing concern about what he described as a growing culture of laziness among some young men and the prevalence of domestic violence and other social vices.
Dickson identified inadequate mentorship and a dearth of responsible leadership as part of the challenges facing the country.
While decrying the rising rate of crime, jungle justice and other social ills in Nigeria, he said Jos and Plateau State had become vulnerable to various forms of substance abuse.
“If we don’t act now, this will become a source of major challenge in the future,” he warned.
A documentary on the vision and mission of the Pathfinder Academy was also presented, highlighting the vulnerabilities of boys and the need to listen to, nurture, guide and direct them towards becoming confident and responsible men.
The celebration also featured a spoken-word presentation in honour of Adams, cultural dances and performances by children of the academy and other groups.
In a goodwill message, one of the foundation’s key partners, Back2Back Nigeria, said the initiative had transformed lives, restored dreams and given children opportunities to discover their potential and look forward to a better future.
The organisation’s Director, Mr Azubuike Kalu, represented by Fanta Zakka, pledged continued support for KWAVF to enable it to touch more lives.
The foundation also presented gifts to partners and organisations that have supported its work, including Back2Back Nigeria, which has provided scholarships to 30 of the 58 children currently in the home; a school that has provided free education to more than 30 children; Shadok Bakery, which supplies free bread to the home weekly; Habib Yoghurt, which provides free yoghurt to the children; and Novel Suites and Resorts, which has provided its event hall free of charge for the foundation’s programmes since inception.
Prayers were offered for the celebrant, while goodwill messages came from organisations including the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, the Child Protection Network and the Association of Orphanages and Homes Operators in Nigeria (ASOHON).
The organisations commended Adams for transforming the lives of numerous orphaned and vulnerable children and for establishing an initiative aimed at raising boys to become responsible leaders and productive members of society.