Our work

Help when it matters most.

School fees, a hospital bill, food on a hard week. Across Nigeria, we step in when life gets hard and stay until things are steady.

Make a donation
Women collect bags of food beside the Foundation’s banners at an outreach programme in Lagos.
A member of the Foundation team hands a gift to a widow at the outreach in Akute.

Our work

We show up, and we stay.

Three programmes across Nigeria: for children who are out of school, for older people and anyone facing a hospital bill they cannot pay, and for families going through a crisis.

Pupils in green school uniforms sitting together outside their classrooms.Two older women sit with the gifts they received at the Foundation’s widows’ outreach in Akute.Women look through the gifts they received at the Foundation’s outreach in Akute.
Pupils in green school uniforms sitting together outside their classrooms.

Our flagship programme

Street to School

Getting children who are out of school back into a classroom near home, and keeping them there.

  1. Find

    We find children who are out of school.

  2. Enrol

    We place them in a classroom nearby and cover the uniform, books and fees.

  3. Stay

    We make sure they stay in school.

Support Street to School
Two older women sit with the gifts they received at the Foundation’s widows’ outreach in Akute.

Programme two

Older people and hospital bills

Care for the older mothers and fathers in our communities, and help with hospital bills for anyone who cannot pay them.

  1. Visit

    At set times in the year, we visit hospitals and gather older people for outreach days.

  2. Settle

    We pay hospital bills that patients and families cannot meet, and help with the cost of care.

  3. Stay

    We keep in touch afterwards, so no one faces it alone.

Support this programme
Women look through the gifts they received at the Foundation’s outreach in Akute.

Programme three

Families in hard times

When a crisis reaches a family, we step in with what they need most to get through it.

  1. Hear

    A family tells us what they are facing, or someone tells us about them.

  2. Step in

    Food, shelter, or help clearing debts and urgent costs.

  3. Stay

    We stay with them until they are back on their feet.

Support families

The work so far

What the work adds up to.

Four figures from the Foundation’s own reporting, across Street to School and our wider work in Nigeria.

Street to School, since 2018
175
Children taken off the street and into a classroom.
200
Mother careProjects supporting women and their families.
3,824
BeneficiariesPeople helped directly by our programmes across Nigeria.
5,090
OutreachPeople reached through our community outreach.

What drives us

Our mission

We exist to provide succour for the less privileged, especially vulnerable women and children , and to make our communities liveable for all

01Our vision

To be a foundation recognised around the world for lifting people out of poverty.

Who we are

02Our supporters

Every contribution matters to our work, and every one is gratefully received.

Make a donation
A schoolboy receiving a new school bag from the Foundation at a student scholarship event.
A woman smiles as the Foundation team hands her a gift at the widows’ outreach in Akute.
A woman lifts her hands in praise at the Foundation’s widows’ outreach in Akute.

About Mercy Alexander Foundation

Standing with people at the point of need, whatever their age.

Who we are

Since we began, we have worked with individuals, organisations and government agencies on projects that have reached thousands of Nigerians.

Mercy Alexander Foundation is a Nigerian charity based in Iju, Lagos. Alongside our flagship programme, Street to School, which has placed out-of-school children in classrooms since 2018, we care for older people, help with hospital bills and stand with families in crisis.

Mercy Alexander, founder of the Foundation, in a white suit.
Founded by Mercy Alexander

“A little help, given at the right moment, can change the direction of a life.” How the Foundation began, in Mercy’s own words.

Read Mercy’s story

Media

Moments from the work.

See all photos and videos
Women dance together at the Foundation’s widows’ outreach in Akute.
Widows’ outreach, AkuteOlder people
Volunteers in Foundation caps handing a gift bag to a market trader.
Mother’s Day outreachFamilies
Older men and women seated outdoors at a Foundation outreach.
Remembrance outreachOlder people
A hall full of older women gathered with the Foundation team at an outreach, holding bags of food.
Outreach to older mothersOlder people
Children holding new school bags, with Foundation volunteers and parents behind them.
Student scholarshipStreet to School
Pupils in green and white uniforms gathered in a school yard.
School visitStreet to School
Women queuing as a volunteer hands out bags of food at a Foundation outreach.
Food for familiesFamilies
Widows look through the gifts they received at the Foundation’s outreach in Akute.
Gifts for widowsOlder people

Testimonials

“It gives me immense pleasure to share my thoughts about Mercy Alexander Foundation. The Foundation has shown my grandparents love by making sure their health needs were taken care of, and has also helped with funds to further care for them.”
Folakemi KadiriOn her grandparents’ care