For nearly 20 years, Children of Rural Africa (CORAfrica) has relied largely on the generosity of individual supporters to sustain its education and community development programmes across rural Nigeria. As the organisation marks its 20th anniversary, it is preparing to take a new step by seeking institutional grants to expand its reach and strengthen its long-term sustainability.
The non-profit organisation will celebrate its anniversary on August 5, 2026, with events taking place simultaneously at its headquarters in New York, United States, and in Abuja, Nigeria. The occasion will bring together founder Fr. Peter Obele Abue, board members, volunteers, donors, partners and supporters to reflect on two decades of community service.
A major highlight of the anniversary will be the launch of CORAfrica’s 10-year strategic plan, which outlines the organisation’s vision for expanding access to education, healthcare, agriculture and livelihood opportunities for children and underserved communities.
According to the organisation, its programmes have, since 2006, been financed primarily through personal contributions from its founder, alongside support from family members, friends, associates and individual donors. Those contributions have enabled CORAfrica to establish schools, provide scholarships for vulnerable children, develop vocational training programmes, support community farming initiatives and implement projects aimed at improving the lives of rural families.
The organisation said its next phase of growth will include applying for major institutional grants to support the expansion of these initiatives. It noted that the move is intended to diversify its funding base and increase the scale of its community development programmes.
As part of that effort, CORAfrica plans to submit grant applications to a number of international philanthropic and development organisations whose work focuses on education, child welfare, public health and rural development. According to the organisation, these include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving, USAID, UNICEF, GlobalGiving and the Open Society Foundations, among other potential development partners.
Founded in 2006 by Fr. Peter Obele Abue while pursuing a doctorate in International Development at Cornell University in New York, CORAfrica was established to help improve access to quality education and promote sustainable development in underserved communities. Over the years, the organisation has expanded its programmes through its Community Education Centre (CEC) model, which combines education with healthcare, agriculture and economic empowerment.
Its interventions have included the establishment of schools, scholarship programmes for orphaned and vulnerable children, vocational skills training, community agriculture projects and support for internally displaced persons and refugee communities, particularly in Cross River and Benue states.
The anniversary celebration will also feature exhibitions highlighting the organisation’s impact since its inception, educational partnership engagements, recognition awards for volunteers, donors, development partners, community leaders and staff members, as well as tree-planting activities and other legacy projects.
According to CORAfrica, the anniversary is both a celebration of the individuals and organisations that have sustained its work over the past two decades and the beginning of a new chapter aimed at building broader partnerships to increase its impact in rural communities across Nigeria.