Origin of name-Founder’s story:

The name comes from the early life experience of the founder, Dr. Amaka Chike-Oduh. She struggled medically and financially to make it through Elementary and high school and had a brain injury at age 11. Her family unable to afford college, her high school teacher, paid for her college entrance exam. She promised to pay it back, but her teacher affirmed it was a gift. It took early marriage to sponsor her way through the University.

Amaka Understood the value of access to opportunities. After graduation, she realized that her story was not unique. It is the story of so many children, especially girls from low-income families, who dropped out of school and left to marry early because of lack of access and financial support. Amaka considers herself lucky and wondered what these random acts of kindness would mean to other girls and boys who need help and strategies to scale up globally.

Realizing how vital education was to eradicate poverty in many families, a testament to her own family, Amaka and her friends visited more than 60 schools, distributing college entrance exam materials, and paid for gifted students to take the college entrance exams.

From this initiative, Global Education Drive was born. GED also started the best Student Award in most underserved schools, an original initiative by Amaka’s high school principal to motivate students to do better.

Mission First-Student & First-Preneur

Global Education Drive (GED)exists to end family unit poverty by enabling access to quality education and skill acquisition to the First Student. They create schools, extracurricular activities, and global programs around the universal goal of ending extreme poverty for all. GED partners with community leaders, stakeholders, and influencers to focus on building vital education programs.

First Students (First-Generation students) and First Preneurs (First Generation Entrepreneurs) are selected based on talent, academic excellence, taking into account cost, impact, commitment, and sustainability.

GED also supports student writers, students driven community service, and other extracurricular activities.

Support

The charity gets its support from its founder, Mastermind Members, Community Stakeholders, and influencers. Its annual Edufest event is at a select community as its accountability partner. During Edufest, GED partners with the Rotary Club in a yearly march for Education fundraising event.

In the 2020 GED Edufest, four Education Ambassadors, notably Prof. Kenneth Onyia, Dr. Charles Ude, Chief Donatus Offordu (Amaka’s high School principal), and former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremmadu, were honored. These are individuals who have contributed Significantly to Tertiary Education access to scholars in their various communities.