Nadia Zakaria has built and equipped an orphanage for vulnerable children in Kogi. The 16-year-old completed the project after raising support from family, friends and members of the public.
OKENE, KOGI STATE — Nadia Zakaria, the 16-year-old daughter of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has built, equipped and handed over an orphanage home in Etahi Community, Okene, Kogi State, with the commissioning held on Sunday, August 9, 2026.
The facility was handed over to Oyiza-Salem Divine Orphanage Home after Nadia started the project at age 15 and mobilised financial support from family members, friends and members of the public. A statement from Senator Natasha’s media office said the teenager raised the funds for both the construction and furnishing of the facility, while her mother said she did not contribute money to the project.
The commissioning attracted community residents, religious leaders, children and other guests, turning the handover into a public celebration of a youth-led charity project. Nadia told guests that she wanted to support children who had not enjoyed the same opportunities she had while growing up, and she said the project began as an idea before supporters helped turn it into a completed home.
Nadia also explained that raising enough money initially appeared difficult because she was only 15 and had never undertaken a project of that scale. She credited her family, friends and strangers who responded to her appeal, saying their support enabled her to build the home and furnish its rooms. She then encouraged other young Nigerians to start helping their communities rather than wait until they become older or wealthier.
Senator Natasha, who attended the commissioning, stressed that her daughter independently mobilised the resources used for the project. According to the senator, Nadia sourced the money without her financial contribution. Natasha also disclosed that the teenager has started planning another community intervention — a heavily equipped care home for pregnant women in Kogi Central.
The intervention also drew attention to the conditions the children faced before the new facility came on board. Pastor Kisito Zuberu, founder of Oyiza-Salem Divine Orphanage Home, said the children previously slept on the ground. He described the new building as a major improvement in their living conditions and said the facility would give the children a safer and more dignified place to live.
According to information published by Oyiza-Salem Divine Orphanage Home, the organisation operates in Etahi, Okene, and focuses on caring for orphans, abandoned children, widows and people with special needs. The organisation says Kogi State’s Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare approved the orphanage in November 2018, after an application and follow-up process that began in 2015.
Newstridez reviewed the organisation’s publicly available information and found that its work goes beyond providing accommodation. Its stated objectives include meeting the children’s physical, emotional, medical, social and educational needs, while also helping them develop practical skills and pursue education. The organisation says it aims to create a family-like environment rather than treat the children as residents of an institution.
The orphanage currently supports children at different stages of education, according to its management. The information released around the commissioning said two children attend university, another studies nursing at Obangede, one has graduated from the University of Abuja, another attends Kwara State University and another awaits National Youth Service Corps mobilisation. Eight children attend primary school, while two others learn vocational trades.
For Nigerians, the project also highlights the growing role young people can play in community support, especially where vulnerable children need shelter, education and basic care. While government agencies and charitable organisations carry major responsibilities in child welfare, projects such as this can add support at community level when donors and volunteers work with established care organisations.
The development also gives Nadia’s project a wider significance beyond the commissioning ceremony. Her decision to raise funds at 15 shows how youth-led philanthropy can begin with a simple community need and grow through public support. At the same time, the long-term success of the facility will depend on continued funding, proper management, child protection standards and sustained access to education and healthcare.
Nadia Zakaria’s next proposed project could further extend that intervention if she secures the resources and approvals needed for a care home for pregnant women in Kogi Central. For the orphanage, attention now shifts from construction and commissioning to the daily welfare of the children, while the management continues its work of providing shelter, education and care.