The Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe Foundation (HOW) is a Nigerian non-profit organization founded in 2016 by banker and entrepreneur Herbert O. Wigwe and headquartered in Lagos. Its CEO is Anthonia Ally.[1]
History and objectives
Herbert O. Wigwe (1966–2024) founded the HOW Foundation in 2016 as a social enterprise. It focuses on youth empowerment through leadership and mentorship and on health, specifically malaria and prostate cancer.[1]
Programs
Give Malaria No Place
The Give Malaria No Place (GMNP) initiative with Doctors Save A Life Foundation includes education, rapid-response testing, and distribution of mosquito nets and medication to prevent and treat malaria.[1]
Prostate cancer awareness
Recognizing that prostate cancer is particularly common among Black men and that low awareness among Nigerians leads to its being diagnosed only when advanced, the foundation sponsored a charity football match to mark Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September 2017.[2]
Youth programmes
The foundation finances leadership and mentorship seminars with U.K.-based motivational speaker Joshua Ajitena for students in government secondary schools, and awards prizes and scholarships to top students.[3][4][5] The foundation is also a major sponsor of God's Children Great Talent, an annual gospel-focused talent contest for children and young people organized by the City of David parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.[1][6]
Food distribution during COVID-19 lockdown
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation distributed food and relief packages in Wigwe's hometown of Isiokpo and other communities in Rivers State, to alleviate the effects of lockdown and other restrictions.[7]