Potential
Every scholar has more in them than a report card can show. The Foundation looks for promise, effort, character, and the willingness to grow.
About the Foundation
Helping young people move
forward with dignity.
The Sekinat Onasanya (SON) Foundation is a Nigerian educational nonprofit dedicated to scholar development through educational support, mentorship, leadership development, character development, opportunity readiness, and service.
01 · Who we are
The Foundation
A life of service became
a public commitment.
The Sekinat Onasanya (SON) Foundation is a Nigerian educational nonprofit dedicated to scholar development through educational support, mentorship, leadership development, character development, opportunity readiness, and service.
The Foundation works with public secondary schools in Lagos, and its first programme, the Future Leaders Scholars Program, begins its Pilot Year in September 2026.
Our vision. A future where every young Nigerian, regardless of background, has access to structured educational support, professional mentorship, and a genuine path to their full potential.
Our mission. To develop young people through sustained, high-quality programmes that build academic confidence, character, leadership, and readiness for future opportunities.
02 · Our namesake
Mrs Sekinat Onasanya
The pattern the Foundation
was built to repeat.
The Foundation operates in direct expression of the values demonstrated by its namesake throughout her life.
Mrs Sekinat Onasanya has shown a consistent and practical willingness to help people move forward, especially those who were uncertain, struggling, or simply without someone to believe in them.
The Foundation translates that pattern of personal commitment into structured programme delivery: potential identified early, encouragement treated as a developmental act, and support that is practical and preserves dignity.
03 · What we believe
The founding belief
Potential is widely distributed.
Opportunity is not.
Across any secondary school population there are young people with the capacity to achieve something significant, whose circumstances have simply not yet revealed it.
Development requires conditions: encouragement, accountability, structured learning, and knowledge of opportunity, sustained over time. The Foundation exists to provide those conditions.
It serves students who need to be believed in, and who will respond to that belief with growth.
Read the Scholar Development Framework →04 · What guides us
The SON Scholar Values
Five values that guide
every decision.
These values come from the example that inspired the Foundation. They guide how scholars are encouraged to grow and how adults in the Programme are expected to treat them.
Integrity
Scholars are expected to be honest, reliable, and consistent. The Foundation holds itself to the same standard.
Growth
Scholars practise difficult things, accept honest feedback, and learn that struggle can be part of progress.
Service
Growth should help others too. Scholars are encouraged to serve their peers, their school, and their community.
Courage
Courage grows through practice: speaking, leading, applying, contributing, and trying before everything feels certain.
05 · How we work
The Foundation’s approach
Start small.
Serve carefully.
The Future Leaders Scholars Program is a structured, year-long development programme for academically promising SS1 and SS2 students.
Scholars attend the Saturday Academy each month during school terms, meet their Mentors twice monthly, build a Scholar Portfolio and a reading habit through the Reading Journal, take on leadership and service responsibilities in their school community, and prepare for the opportunities beyond secondary school. The Foundation also provides practical support for school-related needs, delivered directly and with dignity.
The Pilot begins in September 2026 with one Partner School and a first cohort of up to ten Scholars: five from SS1 and five from SS2. Scholars are selected through their school on potential, character, motivation, and need, alongside academic performance.
Starting with depth is deliberate. The Pilot’s purpose is to serve a small cohort thoroughly, learn honestly, and build the evidence for what comes next.
Current position. The Foundation is registered in Nigeria as Incorporated Trustees, registration number IT 9707713. The Pilot is still pre-launch: the Partner School has not been confirmed, no Scholars have yet been admitted, and the Foundation has not completed a programme year.
Learn about the Programme →