The Elizabeth Jack-Rich Aid Foundation (EJRAID) has called on parents to become more actively involved in their children’s education, warning that sponsorship alone is not enough to guarantee long-term success.

This came during a special hosting event organised by EJRAID in Lagos State for all students currently benefiting from the foundation’s scholarship scheme, which covers primary, secondary, and tertiary education across Nigeria.

The foundation, known for sponsoring hundreds of indigent students annually, reaffirmed its commitment to a holistic approach that prioritises not just access to education but the emotional and social well-being of every child under its care.

The founder of EJRAID, Elizabeth Jack-Rich, told parents and guardians during the event that the home continues to be the first and most important influence in a child’s development, regardless of the foundation’s efforts.

Jack-Rich said, “It’s not all about sponsoring kids to school or making sure they graduate from school. It’s also very, very important that we work through that path with them. We can’t just say, ‘Oh, my child is in school,’ but do you know what your child is doing in school? Can you boast to say, ‘I understand my child’s activities in school and what they want’? Are you helping them in guiding them in the kind of courses they want to do? Not say, ‘I want you to be a doctor,’ or ‘I want you to be a lawyer.’ No, but guiding them to help them realise what they want to be. The world is now beyond doctors, lawyers. Yes, those are amazing professions, but there are other successful professions. So we shouldn’t just try to coerce our kids into doing what we think we want them to do, but guide them, help them build their future.”

She added, “When they come back from school, you might not know what their assignments are, but the fact that you care enough to ask them, ‘What did you do today?’ ‘What’s your assignment?’ because, whether you like it or not, children enjoy communication. That’s how they feel seen. That’s how they feel heard and how they feel part of a community. And we can’t expect the external community to treat them better if we are not laying the example of how they should be treated.”

Jack-Rich also reminded students that education is the tool that sharpens their skills, builds their confidence, and prepares them for global impact and that they hold the power to shape their own destinies.

She also encourages students to see themselves as part of a mission to eradicate issues in the world and strive to be the best.

At the event, Tunde Onakoya, the founder of Chess in Slums Africa and a global advocate for education through chess, spoke to students about how a simple game helped him overcome challenges and succeed in life and told the children not to listen to people who say they are too small or not good enough.

According to Onakoya, “It is important to find something that you love, that you can do very well. Even if it is that you can sing, you can draw and dance, or you can write, or even if it is in school that you’re doing well, make sure you’re very excellent at it. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you become one of the best at doing it. You know, the world respects you for it. I know that we are still very young and still trying to understand what your place in the world is, but it is important that you are excellent at everything that you do. Don’t let anybody ever tell you, ‘Go away, you are too small; you don’t know anything.’ That’s not true. Don’t let anybody tell you that what you can do doesn’t matter, or you are not good enough. Tell yourself, ‘I’m good enough, and my talent will be useful for the world.’”

Educationist Rotimi Eyitayo, CEO of Team Masters Global, also addressed the students. He emphasised the value of goal-setting, having a clear vision, and being deliberate about their future. He also urged them to take their studies seriously, maintain focus, and cultivate strong morals that will enable them to become successful and responsible adults.

The Elizabeth Jack-Rich Aid Foundation (EJRAID) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2017 with a mission to improve the lives of economically disadvantaged Nigerians. It achieves this through a mix of charity work, strategic investments, empowerment programmes, and educational scholarships.

Since its founding, the foundation has recorded many impactful achievements. In 2018, it sponsored six university students for their master’s degrees with a total of $30,000, showing its strong commitment to higher education and leadership. By January 2019, EJRAID had disbursed $350,000 to 200 widows in Rivers State, providing financial support and relief.

That same year, the foundation launched a major project to empower 1,100 women in underprivileged communities across Nigeria.

The programme focused on skill acquisition and entrepreneurship, with training in areas such as fashion, ICT, catering, and bead-making. Each woman was given ₦100,000 in seed funding to help start a small business. In 2022, to mark Mother’s Day, the foundation gave four women ₦1 million each to grow their businesses further.

In December 2024, EJRAID partnered with the Patrick Stephen Purple Heart Foundation for Widows to provide food worth ₦100,000 per household to 200 widows in 16 Nigerian states. While the lead partner handled the Lagos area, EJRAID supported 50 widows in other parts of the country, contributing ₦5 million to the project. The foundation focused on vulnerable communities like Makoko and Ikorodu in Lagos, as well as Oyo, Ogun, Rivers, Abuja, and Kaduna, among others. During food distribution in Makoko, the emotional impact of the support was witnessed first-hand by EJRAID’s Project Coordinator and the Elin Group Content Creator.