A state government ministry has issued a formal letter of recommendation for our work — recognising not just what we did, but how we did it. This is what institutional charity looks like.

NextGem Founder Victoria Abiye Kiolawson with Efeke Pereyi, Permanent Secretary, Bayelsa State Ministry of Sports Development.

When NextGem Foundation approached the Bayelsa State Ministry of Sports Development in 2025, we had a simple request: to use the Samson Siasia Stadium — the state’s premier sports complex — for our inter-orphanage sports competition. What we received in return was trust.

Now, the Ministry has formalised that relationship with an official letter of recommendation, endorsing NextGem Foundation and requesting that any support or collaboration within the power of relevant authorities be extended to our work.

We were given the stadium. We gave it back better than we found it.

The Samson Siasia Stadium was made available to us free of charge. That is a significant act of trust from a state government and we treated it as one. Every element of the event was managed with care: logistics, safety, crowd flow, and the condition of the facility throughout. By the time we handed it back, the Ministry noted in their recommendation that the venue had been treated with the highest level of responsibility and returned in an orderly manner.

We also brought value to the state. Guests who travelled from Port Harcourt for the competition remarked that they had not expected to find a stadium of that standard in a newly formed state such as Bayelsa. That visibility is the kind of goodwill that puts a state on the map and is something we delivered, not just received.

The official letter of recommendation, signed by Permanent Secretary Efeke Pereyi.

Commissioner Igali was represented at the event by the Director of Sports. His words when we visited him afterwards said everything about the reputation we are building here at NextGem.

“I’ve only been hearing good things about your programme.”

— Commissioner Daniel Igali, Bayelsa State Ministry of Sports Development, upon receiving the post-event souvenir from NextGem Foundation

Why this endorsement matters beyond the letter

Nigeria has no shortage of charitable intentions. What it has a shortage of is charitable organisations that operate with institutional discipline. Charities that show up prepared, follow through completely, and leave things better than they found them. This endorsement is a signal to every government body, funding organisation, and potential partner that NextGem Foundation is that kind of organisation.

We are not a one-year project. We are not a CDS initiative that ended at NYSC. We are building something that is meant to operate for decades. We are a structured, scalable foundation that can serve vulnerable children across Nigeria long after any individual involved has moved on. Endorsements like this one are milestones on that road.

STATE GOVERNMENT PARTNERS TO DATE

This latest endorsement joins formal recommendations already received from the Bayelsa State Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and the Ministry of Youth Development — both of which recognised our work and requested support from any authority that could offer it. Three ministries. Three independent validations.

One consistent verdict:

NextGem Foundation is a credible partner in the mission of child welfare.

A message to organisations who can help us go further

We were given a stadium for free. We were given that not because we asked for charity, but because we had demonstrated that we would use it well. That same logic applies to everything NextGem does; We are a responsible steward of resources; venues, funding, partnerships, and trust.

If your organisation, foundation, or institution is looking for a partner that has already proven it can operate at a state government level — that has the endorsements, the processes, and the track record — we want to hear from you.

The children we serve deserve backers who are as serious about their futures as we are.

Partner with NextGem Foundation

We are actively seeking institutional partnerships and funding partners to expand our operations across Nigeria. View our full partnerships page, read about the Orphanage Games, or support our work directly.

→ Become a partner

→ The Orphanage Games

→ Support our work (donate)

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NextGem Foundation is a registered Nigerian non-profit building structured platforms and pipelines for orphaned children across all 36 states of Nigeria. Our programmes include NextGem Spotlight, NextGem Support, and NextGem Refiners.


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