"The desire to launch The Hope and Dreams Initiative started while visiting Nigeria, my then six year old daughter, an avid reader, requested that I take her to a children's library, as it is tradition in my household to go to the library every Saturday.
When I told her that it wasn’t possible, there is no children’s library around, she said, 'Mummy why don’t you gather your friends together and raise money and build one for the children of this community and I will invite Michelle Obama to come.' At that moment I was moved by my child’s idea and dreams to do something.
We as parents know the importance of providing meaningful learning opportunities to children from a young age. " - Nguzo Ogbodo, President & Founder
The Hope and Dreams Initiative is a non-governmental organization founded in 2011 with the commitment to change the poor reading culture in under-served communities in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Following in the steps of Walt Disney's quote that, "our natural resource is the mind of our children," we believe that literacy is an essential foundation for democracy and books have the power to not move an individual but to shape our journey as a nation. Yet millions of children and youths struggle to nurture their knowledge, talents, and dreams because of lack of access to basic amenities. To achieve this goal, The Hope and Dreams Initiative focuses on two areas to make the greatest impact; literacy and gender education.