BACKGROUND

The director of Nico Mbarga Sweet Mother Foundation (Nico Mbarga Jnr.) conceived the idea of birthing the foundation, as a result of the inspiration in the philosophy of his late father’s music.  His father, (Prince Nico Mbarga) the African music legend and founder of Rocafil Jazz band had a special place in his heart for mothers, children and the family in general, in building society for common good.

Mbarga’s love for mothers and family, is expressed in the philosophy of his hit songs like sweet mother, good father, my pikin, happy birthday, family movement, lucky marriage, na my choice, simplicity, akie special etc.

And if “Sweet Mother” was dedicated to all mothers and the things they do for children, it was inspired by the loving sacrifices Mbarga saw his own mother, a widowed farmer, make after his father died. The lyrics began, “Sweet Mother, I no go forget you, for dey suffer wey you suffer for me.”

His passion in seeing that our mothers were shown gratitude, for all the sacrifices and love they continually made for their families, reflected in all of his legacies, to that effect he didn’t just dedicate his greatest hit (sweet mother), which became one of Africa’s best seller, selling over thirteen million copies worldwide, and becoming an anthem for families in major celebrations, but he also built one of the biggest hotels found in his Ikom Cross River base, as at that time, and named it Sweet Mother Hotel, also the whole of that street in Ikom, became officially known as sweet mother street till date.

It is from this background that Nico Mbarga jnr. decided to demonstrate this passion further and practically by birthing a project of consolidation after 20 years of his demise.  

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

NMSMF is committed to empowering women and subsequently, children through the provision of basic needs of life for mothers and children and equipping them with productive abilities that will aid life.

The foundation shall relatively be touching the lives of families at large, because when you take care of a mother, you have taken care of a generation.

While women are at the center of family life, as caretakers for their husbands, children and extended family members, they often have very little or no access to some basic necessities of life like good food, shelter, clothing, medical and maternal care, thus the foundation will address the nutritive, accommodative, medical and emotional needs of women and their children, and work to improve their lives economically, socially, physically and otherwise.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The number or ratio of mothers who are living in penury especially in Africa is so high, due to the fact that most of the time, it is the mothers that bear the burden of raising the children in cases of broken homes, having children out of wedlock, death of husbands etc. But the most amazing thing to note here is that no matter the circumstance that had led to the mothers being in the awful conditions they find themselves, they hardly allow the children feel the pain they go through or transfer the frustration aggressions to the children; rather they bear the burden of bringing up the children with love. This is why this foundation has come up to intervene and assist in providing these mothers with basic welfare services to help them fill in the gaps and make life worthwhile for them and their children.

Most women have had no option but to take over a number of roles which should have been men’s responsibility. Most single and young mothers have had it overwhelming providing for their families with an income of less than a dollar a day and hence increase in unwanted pregnancies, abandoned children and general crime rates.

It has been observed from research, that most Women often have an unequal or limited access to the economy in developing countries, and Nigeria is no exception. Women are gradually being pushed to become sole caretakers in most households, and in such situations, a decline in a woman’s health often lead to a decline in the standard of living for the entire household.

Those who begin small businesses have ended up closing them and giving up because of doing businesses the wrong way. Thus, NMSMF has come up to fill the gap that young mothers have, as they need it to thrive.

Instead of working hard in businesses and getting no tangible profit, it is important that these women work hard on themselves, be equipped with the necessary tools and skills for entrepreneurial development and can subsequently give back to society.

MISSION STATEMENT

To improve the living standard of poor mothers and children by providing them with basic necessities of life for free

VISION

To improve the living standard of humanity with special focus on poor widows, destitute women/children in suburbs and rural communities, equipping them with productive skills for self-reliance and helping them to make informed decisions and life choices

OBJECTIVES: 

Note that all the objectives bellow are directed to our target population; poor widows, destitute women and children

·         Annual cultivation of cassava and rice farms to facilitate and compliment the foundation welfare programs

·         Free distribution of food items and clothing

·         Free provision of temporal homes for homeless mothers and children

·         Free training programs on entrepreneurial skills

·         Free provision of orientation services to pupils and students of public primary and secondary schools.

·         Free welfare for the aged women who have nobody to look after them

·         Free provision of free maternal and child care services

·         Free provision of free pre-natal and post-natal services.

·         Free diagnoses and treatment of reproductive tract infections.

·         Free community Seminars on; healthy living, reproductive/sexual health and family planning

·         Free provision of rehabilitation services to women and children with psychological and emotional trauma.

ANTICIPATED COLLABORATIONS

We anticipate collaborating with identified well-meaning personalities and organizations of goodwill that may have the will to reach out to society but lack the appropriate and trusted channels to do so. We shall also partner with states government, ministries of women affairs, corporate organizations, and international organizations like USAID, UNESCO, WHO, UNO, UNICEF, UNDP, etc.

EVALUATION

Our organizational staff will keep detailed beneficiaries and programs records, monitoring the progress of our beneficiaries, using periodic evaluations to modify our services as necessary. We will track the following indicators:

• Number of women and children that access our welfare services

• How often specific services are provided 

• Amount and frequency of service distribution

SUSTAINABILITY

The sustainability of the NMSMF will rely largely on the annual Sweet mother charity concerts which shall be hosted in different cities at the end of every year, the proceeds from the concerts shall be channeled into the welfare programs of the foundation.

We shall also start up mega farming projects that will get most of our idle mothers who are living in penury meaningfully engaged, the proceeds from the farms will be used to finance the foundation and the crops distributed in our quarterly outreach programs.

CONCLUSION  

The overriding purpose of this organization is to give hope to the hopeless, specifically destitute mothers and children. We shall emphasize the social development of identified helpless widows, destitute women and children because they are not only the most marginalized, but also the most likely generators of long-term change. Poverty and disease have a devastating effect on communities in Africa, leaving an overwhelming number of children without one or both of their parents, as a result, the number of orphans is alarming and growing rapidly. We strongly believe that by specifically targeting helpless mothers and providing them with essential life amenities, we will enable them to not merely survive, but live longer and healthier lives, while continuing to care for and raise their children for a better society.