ABOUT US
Stepping Stones Nigeria was conceived in 2006 by British couple, Gary and Naomi Foxcroft. They were in Eket, Nigeria for a research on the oil industry when they noticed a trend of child abandonment in the area. This led to building the Stepping Stones Model School in Uquo, Esit Eket L.G.A. Discovering that child abandonment in the area was caused by deep rooted traditional belief especially child witchcraft, they started raising funds to tackle this challenge, joining forces with Luckyimoh Inyang ( a passionate young man they met in the course of their work), the system gradually evolved into the birth of Stepping Stones Nigeria Child Empowerment Foundation (SSNCEF), with its corporate headquarters in Eket, Akwa Ibom State.
OUR VISION
SSNCEF envisages a Niger Delta where all children had access to their rights and opportunities for development; and are protected from all forms of abuse and exploitation.
OUR MISSION
SSNCEF is working to protect and promote the rights of vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the Niger Delta of Nigeria through advocacy and service delivery.
OUR FOCUS
SSNCEF’s main areas of focus are Child Stigmatization and Abandonment; Child Trafficking; and Child Labour; and Violence.
OUR CORE VALUES:
- All children have the right to be protected from physical and psychological abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
- All children should have access as much as possible to universal basic education, primary health care, nutrition, shelter and family love, and clothing.
- All children should participate fully in matters concerning them.
- All interactions with children should be carried out with the best interest of the child at heart and should be grounded in the principles contained within the UNCRC.
- We do not believe that children can be ‘witches’ and we are not concerned with proving or disproving the existence or non-existence of child witchcraft. However, we respect the right of individuals to hold this belief on the condition that this does not lead to the abuse of child rights as outlined in the UNCRC
- We believe that the Church and the wider Christian community have a moral responsibility to acknowledge the role of the church in preventing child abuse and to work with all stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the violations of child rights. It is the duty of all churches to ensure that children are protected from harm and that their teachings do not lead to the abuse of children.
- We insist that the government should promote child development and prevent child abuse by ensuring full implementation of the Child Rights Act
- The role of individuals and civil society in promoting and protecting the rights of children cannot be underestimated because children do not have the capacity to protect themselves in a world dominated by adults. We believe that all citizens have a moral obligation to protect children from harm, regardless of whether they believe or not that children can be ‘witches’.
OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:
- To ensure that street, abandoned and other vulnerable children have increased access to essential services including health, education, nutrition, and clothing.
- To strengthen the capacity of families, including children to protect and care for themselves and support other vulnerable children.
- To raise awareness and increase understanding of issues affecting street and abandoned children (especially child witchcraft stigmatization) among policy makers and the general population through advocacy and social mobilization.
- To mobilize community-based responses and support for street, abandoned and other vulnerable children’s life opportunities, protection and care.
- To liaise effectively with relevant Government Ministries, Agencies, Departments, or NGOs/FBOs/CBOs with a view to offering complementary services.
- To strengthen capacity of partners in child protection programmes implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
 |
|
OUR QUOTABLE QUOTES! |
| |
|
"If our American (Nigerian) way of life fails the child, it fails us all".
Pearl S. Buck
"Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and
health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship."
Kofi Annan
|
 |
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
OUR TEAM
 LuckyImoh Inyang (Programme Director)
|
|
Lucky is the Programme Director of SSNCEF. He has spent all his working life in children’s charity and is vastly experienced in child protection, rights based approaches and advocacy. He has decided to take a course in Psychology to
further improve his dealings with children and has attended and spoken at several related workshops and seminars. Deeply passionate, he once confessed that he doesn’t see himself doing anything other than working withdisadvantaged and vulnerable children.
|
 Diana-Abasi Udua (Advocacy and Campaign Officer)
|
|
Diana is a graduate of Foreign Languages from the University of Uyo but has developed keen interest in development work after being involved in Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) during her NYSC. She has wealth of experience in working with Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs). She has also worked as the Project Coordinator of the CEDPA Better Life Options (BLO) Project in Ibeno L.G.A. of Akwa Ibom State, as implemented by Lilies Organization and has attended several workshops on development programming and is well vested in program management & implementation. She joined SSNCEF in August 2008.
|
| |
 Utibe Ikot (Programme Manager)
|
|
Utibe majored in Environ- mental Protection and Resource Management in the University of Calabar and graduated in 2005. He is well grounded in project manage- ment, proposal development, financial management and PRA methodologies having worked with the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) for the last three years as Project Coordinator of the organization’s Better Life Options (BLO) Project in Esit Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. He joined SSNCEF in July 2008. He has attended several workshops on development management.
Literacy
|
| |
ADVERTISE WITH US
|
|
