Our mission

The mission of Next Generation Christian Foundation is to transform the lives of gifted but disadvantaged young people in the developing world through education. We will achieve this by:

Providing

Providing scholarships for gifted children in the developing world who would otherwise be excluded from education

Developing

Developing cooperative and supportive relationships with the schools where these children are being educated

The History of Next Generation Christian Foundation

October 2009

Father Anthony Ikhenoba, founder of the charity, called the first meeting of what was to become the steering committee of NGCF. At that time Fr. Anthony was parish priest of Our Lady of Peace and Blessed Dominic Barberi Church in Earley, Reading. His previous ministry was in deprived areas of Nigeria and his yearning to help the most vulnerable in society spurred him on to sow the seed of the organisation. He saw a way to forge a connection between his parishioners in Reading and those he had ministered to in Nigeria, to the enrichment of both. Initially the charity was known as the Next Generation Music Foundation. Fr. Anthony considered music as one of the major tools through which the foundation would achieve its objectives, because music can speak to the heart in a way so powerful that it can change the heart and subsequently change society.

June 2010

Charity work started with the provision of water borehole to a school in Nigeria. Money for this project was agreed, signed and the project was completed in late 2010. The charity made enquiries about registering with the Charity Commission who confirmed that registration was not possible until the charity achieved an annual turnover of £10,000.

February 2012

The organisation changed its name to NGCF – Next Generation Christian Foundation – as a better description of its charitable focus. On 18 February Reading Community Gospel Choir held its first performance in aid of NGCF at Our Lady of Peace Church, following an invitation from the trustees to help the charity with its fundraising. Since then, the Gospel Choir concert has become a regular event in NGCF’s calendar, with further concerts held in July 2013, February 2015 and April 2016, raising over £7,500 for NGCF to date.

September 2012

NGCF awarded the first scholarships to six gifted young Nigerians who otherwise would be denied the opportunity of a secondary education due to their family circumstances. These six students – four girls and two boys – entered JSS1 (the first year of secondary school). One year later, three more NGCF scholars (two more girls and a boy) joined them at the same school.

February 2013

The trustees started the groundwork leading to charity registration and completed the first draft of the charity’s Constitution. The final version was agreed in November 2014, by which time the charity had achieved the required turnover to apply for registration.

September 2014

In 2014, NGCF decided to extend its area of focus for the award of scholarships in Nigeria. A girls’ school in the eastern part of Nigeria became NGCF’s second school and scholarships were awarded to two students there, as well as to another two students at the original school.

September 2015

Following extensive work by the trustees, NGCF gained UK registered charity status on 22 September 2015 with charity number 1163690. Three more scholarships were awarded at each school, with a further seven scholarships (four and three) in 2016.

2017-20

NGCF continued to expand with more scholarships awarded at both schools each year. The first six scholars graduated from school in 2018. Four of these are now studying at university or polytechnic, as are the three students who left school in 2019. In 2020 the first two graduates from the girls’ school also secured places at university.

2020-22

The pandemic years were challenging both for NGCF scholars, who had to cope with the disruption of extended lockdowns, with no effective option for remote learning, and for NGCF, with our fundraising activities severely affected. For two years we were unable to offer any new scholarships. Fortunately, things started to pick up in 2022 when we again sponsored two children to start at each school, with a further two starting at each school in 2023.

2023-24

As of the school year 2023/4, NGCF is sponsoring a total of 22 students at the two schools, in years JSS1 (year 7) and JSS2, SS2 and SS3 (the final year). Of the 31 students who have already left school, 19 have so far gained admission to university or polytechnic and one is studying at a seminary. The others are mostly still going through the application process – sometimes for the second or third time, as it is fiercely competitive, but our scholars are determined and resilient. We look forward eagerly to congratulating our first university graduates.