Maro Itoje has pledged “decades of support” to transform the lives of Nigerian children after launching new education initiative the Pearl Fund.
Saracens and England lock Itoje’s new fund will support an initial group of 40 children in Lagos through their full education, right the way from primary school through to college.
The 28-year-old has put his own money behind the major philanthropic venture, honouring his Nigerian heritage and aiming to create lasting change in Africa.
Itoje has targeted major investment from donations and corporate partnerships to build a sustainable education sponsorship scheme, aimed at orphans, fatherless children and those living in abject poverty.
The Lions powerhouse has vowed to throw his profile and influence behind the enterprise for the long run, determined to help young people in Nigeria break out of poverty and change their lives.
“This is a long-term commitment, this is not something that I would start then give up in five years,” Itoje told Standard Sport.
“To get the first cohort of children through from the start of primary school to the end of secondary school is roughly a 15-year commitment in and of itself.
“Then that’s without even thinking about university of tertiary education. So, I’m committing to decades of support for these children.
“The criteria that we set when looking at these children were orphans, fatherless or abject poverty.
“It’s widely accepted when you don’t have your parents or a father figure at home, your life chances are severely affected.
“I wanted to use that kind of criteria as opposed to academic potential, musical talent or sporting ability, because whether you’re good at football, really smart or not so smart, that should not matter. Everyone should have the same access to this fund.”
The Pearl Fund has partnered with Christian charity Stewardship, with funds split between education charity CDLi and World Vision UK.
The first cohort of students will be based in Lagos, with a third of Nigeria’s population living in poverty.
Itoje’s fund will also support projects in Eku, the town where the Saracens star’s family come from.
“We settled on 40 children in year one, because we want to grow this in an organic and sustainable fashion,” said Itoje.
“I didn’t want a situation where we had 250 children in year one, and it gets to year five and I’m struggling to raise the funds.
“I want it to grow, and as the charity grows we’ll look to influence more children.
“For children to be able to study, they need to have the conditions to be able to study.
“They need food, they need to have some kind of food support, some kind of travel support, reasonable living accommodation.
“If those things aren’t attended to then you’re not really giving them an opportunity to succeed.”
Itoje was born in London and educated at Harrow, before graduating from London’s SOAS University, gaining his degree alongside excelling in rugby.
The 67-cap second row has long since supported causes linked to his Nigerian heritage and African interests, but has moved to formalise those endeavours on a far greater scale.
“We were far over-subscribed, so we certainly need help and backing to generate the kind of funding required to realise our aims,” said Itoje.
“We’re exploring all avenues for funding, obviously we’d love for members of the public to donate and support.
“But we’re also looking at corporate institutions too.
“I’m fortunate enough to have some amazing sponsors myself individually.
“So I’ll be hopefully leaning on them to support this initiative.
“And people I’m connected with who would love to do something in this area to support, that would also be amazing.
“It’s truly an honour to be a part of the Nigerian culture, but it goes without saying that the country has a number of challenges.
“My family are certainly proud of this, and we’re definitely proud to extend our links to Nigeria.
“It’s such a vibrant country, and spending time there, you can see the enduring hope the people have, whatever their circumstances and challenges.
“By no means am I looking to solve Nigeria’s education problems all my myself.
“But I do think we’ll be able to improve the lives of these children, without a shadow of a doubt.”
For more information and to donate, log on to www.pearlfund.org.uk
