Peace Corps Nigeria Alumni Foundation

The Peace Corps Nigeria Alumni Foundation (PCNAF) was formed in 2001 by a small group of former Peace Corps Volunteers in the Washington, DC area with a desire to play an on-going role in helping to develop the country where we performed our service in the 1960’s.  We decided to focus our attention on addressing some of the nation’s educational needs.  Our mission is to help reduce poverty and foster economic growth in Nigeria through programs that promote equity and access to quality education.

Nigeria, with a population of over 160 million, is Africa's most populous country. However, more than 10 million children of primary school age in Nigeria - more than any other country in the world - are denied access to basic education.  Most of those children are girls.  In the northern region of Nigeria only 4% of females complete secondary school.  Therefore, based upon the belief that educating and empowering women and girls is a key to economic development in Nigeria, addressing the disparities in girls’ education is a top priority for our organization.

In addition to providing support to female Nigerian students in both Nigeria and the U.S. who need financial assistance to complete their secondary school and undergraduate education, we are also committed to serving as a catalyst for enhancing public awareness in the U.S. about the critical need to improve equity and access to quality education for children - especially girls - in Nigeria.  A major component of our mission is providing support to teachers who want to use the basic education crisis in Nigeria as a vehicle for helping students understand what the term 'global interdependence' really means, and instill in them a sense of global responsibility.