Mission

Affordable Knowledge Foundation (AKF) is an international not-for-profit, non-partisan, 501 (c) (3) Organization dedicated to promoting and sustaining the provision of affordable purpose-driven, target-oriented  quality education, pivotal to generating much-needed capacity for sustainable and all-round development, world wide. Duly incorporated with the Department of State of the State of New York, the AKF is particularly out to address the problems and challenges in the education sector in the developing world, particularly in Africa where, at this moment,  

• Classrooms, books and libraries, science apparatus and laboratories, computers and other basic educational raw materials, tools and facilities are either totally non-existent or are grossly inadequate. The few that may be available are often outdated;

• Teachers teach/children learn under trees, often exposed to scourging heat/heavy rains (depending on what time of the year) and other hostile tropical weather conditions;

• Basic science subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology are taught without relevant laboratories, equipment, chemicals and specimens for practical ;

• Comprehensive schools are largely so only in name as technical/vocational schools are grossly short of required instructors, workshops and equipment;

• Computer science is taught without computers, even in tertiary institutions and few have access to modern information technology, particularly the Internet;

• Learning abilities of most schools children are drastically hampered by hunger, malnourishment and sicknesses ;

• The Teacher/Pupils ratio stands at 1:40. Teachers are, therefore, often overtaxed and pupils cannot receive required individual attention to make learning meaningful;

• Teachers, particularly in primary and high schools, are not regularly updated in their areas of specialization.

• Most children are denied schooling or drop out of  schools because of exorbitant fees;

• Education curriculum and national/regional development goals and implementation plans of action are often not adequately linked;

Vision

• To help the developing countries to sustain ably meet  their manpower needs (capacity) for effective planning, execution and local/national/regional ownership of sustainable development efforts and programs worldwide;

• To adequately empower and prepare the citizens of developing countries, particularly the youth, for the workplace of the 21^st Century and to place at their disposal the tools for fair competition and equal opportunities in a globalizing world;

• To facilitate and/or guarantee the promotion and sustenance of the culture of democracy, rule of law, human rights, free enterprise, wealth generation and progress, for the improvement of the well-being of peoples worldwide.

• To enhance the pursuit and sustenance of peace and security at local, national, regional and international levels and ensure a happy future for all;

• To empower developing countries to adequately address social ills and acts of impunity including child labor, child soldiers and prostitution, human trafficking, slavery, discrimination against women, racial discrimination, mass ignorance and all forms of intolerance; and

• To enhance the implementation of poverty alleviation measures and to provide the weapons to win the fight against environment degradation, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and the other killer diseases.

Back to Top
************

Purposes

AKF, therefore, seeks to partner with like-minded foundations, charities, agencies and individuals, Governments, inter-governmental organizations and their agencies, communities, schools, research institutes, libraries, professional groups, publishing firms and other relevant manufacturing corporations/businesses and financial institutions, to :

1. Explore ways and means of producing, acquiring and providing textbooks, journals, scientific equipment, laboratories and other basic educational infrastructure and materials, at affordable rates, to all levels of educational institutions and their pupils, students, researchers, particularly in developing countries;

2. Solicit for, collect and distribute used, new and/or unsold stocks of books, journals, publications, computers and laboratory equipment from libraries, schools, research institutes, professional organizations, agencies, publishing firms and other relevant businesses, for free distribution to needy educational institutions, researchers, teachers and students and libraries;

3. Help to build, equip and maintain community educational centers, including standard science laboratories, computer training and internet cafés and, where and when appropriate, to establish experimental science centers and laboratories to serve a group of surrounding elementary and high schools in needy communities;

4. Seek for and obtain scholarships, fellowships, grants and other forms of financial and material assistance and opportunities for deserving yet deprived pupils/students, particularly from developing countries, for further studies within their countries and/or abroad;

5. Help provide education to communities during conflicts, natural disasters and in other situations of humanitarian emergencies, including in camps for refugees and internally displaced persons as well as help restore the education systems, amenities and infrastructure after such conflicts;

6. Map out and implement educational projects and programs, in collaboration with like-minded local, national, regional and international bodies both in the private and the public sectors, with a view to reducing or eliminating mass illiteracy worldwide;

7. Examine and identify the role (s) of education in addressing socio-economic challenges, including poverty alleviation, drug addiction, environmental pollution/degradation, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other infectious and killer diseases and to evolve and implement strategies to tackle them;

8. Examine and identify the roles (s) of education in facilitating the promotion and sustenance of the culture of democracy, rule of law, transparency and accountability, good governance, human rights, gender equality, social and economic justice, equal opportunity and free enterprise, among others, and to map out relevant strategies for the effective application of the identified roles;

9. Conduct remedial/tutoring/mentoring and adult literacy/education programs, in needy communities;

10. Mobilize and collaborate with Governments and their relevant agencies, inter-governmental organizations and their relevant agencies, relevant corporations, like-minded not-for-profit/non-governmental outfits, foundations, charities, funds and programs, research institutes and other similar bodies, to help build, equip and maintain research, science and related workshops and laboratories in schools, in needy communities;

11. Arrange and effect exchange programs, at all educational levels, between educational authorities, schools and pupils/students in the developed countries, on the one hand and their counterparts in developing countries on the other; including regular exchanges between like-minded students through e-pals (internet) magazines and columns in the Corporation's website;

12. Organize and conduct seminars, workshops, symposia, roundtables, conferences, panel discussions and summits for the review, update and sharing of best practices and strengthening, compiling and ensuring widespread distribution of strategies for making knowledge and quality education, in all areas of human endeavors, affordable and available to all, worldwide; particularly in developing countries;

13. Conduct researches and disseminate the findings thereof on how education systems and institutions, particularly on how their curricula, could be employed to maximize and optimize the capacity of communities/countries, particularly in the developing world, to initiate, execute and control/own sustainable development goals and programs as well as play central roles in the promotion and maintenance of peace and security at local, national, sub-regional, regional and international levels; and

14. Undertake periodic surveys, including reports and recommendations, on the state of education worldwide, particularly regarding the provision of affordable knowledge and purpose-driven, target-oriented quality education.

Back to Top
************