PROJECT CHARILOVE 

Organizational Vision
Citizen Base Strategy
Results

Organizational Vision

From his position within the Federal Government in the 1980s, Ashoka Fellow and Charilove founder Chris Omusi was witnessing a negative change in social development. “As a country, I could see that we were losing focus,” recalls Omusi. “We were forgetting about human development and focusing on material acquisition. I saw so much suffering.” For Omusi, the disabled lay at the heart of an increasingly larger number of marginalized populations.

Omusi founded the citizen sector organization Project Charilove in 1990. Project Charilove has designed and developed an ‘umbrella approach’ to rehabilitation. They bring the deaf, blind, paraplegic, mentally retarded, and orthopedically disabled together to appreciate each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and thus learn and develop together in a relationship that enhances their self-esteem and is mutually beneficial-- a symbiotic relationship.

Project Charilove sees everyone as a teacher and a learner, even with the able bodied. Together, all learn a wide spectrum of skills, each according to his or her talents or abilities. Charilove’s philosophy is that personal development will provide value to society. The person with a disability, when taught, can learn and become enabled; and when enabled, they can become productive; and when productive, they can become gainfully employed; and when gainfully employed, they can become useful to themselves, to their family, and to society; and when they thus becomes useful, the society and the entire nation will learn and benefit, decreasing the pejorative attitudes that led to marginalization.

Citizen Base Strategy

Project Charilove’s association with the disabled made them societal outcasts. Community members did not understand why Charilove wanted to go against the natural social order. Therefore, while initially funded by international agencies and international religious organizations (particularly the Jesuits and the Church of Latter Day Saints), Omusi saw success in local resource mobilization as a benchmark for social change and set out to diversify his resource base locally.

Omusi began his diversification by obtaining fixed assets (which would reduce operational costs) through in-kind donations. This was a simpler task than trying to fundraise—as there are many individuals in Nigeria who have abused charity and thereby clouded the public’s perception of local fundraising. UBA Plc gave rent-free accommodation; Catholic Social Services Abuja gave mobility aides and some basic musical instruments; UNICEF-Nigeria supported Charilove’s special self-help training and development program. The US Embassy, Lagos donated the shoe making/repairs training unit and Mobil Oil Nigeria Unlimited gave lawn mowers. Next, Charilove recruited volunteers skilled in a particular vocation, such as tie-dying, shoe-making, toy-making, and hair styling. These volunteers trained the students/clients in these vocations, thus giving them commercial and marketable skills. A unique aspect of Charilove’s structure is that each client trained in a vocation becomes not only responsible for producing, they also become responsible for training the next class of clients in that skill.

With these skills, clients produce goods that are sold in the commercial market. Producing a needed product began to change the public perception, and from there, Charilove was able to begin raising local financial donations. Many public institutions and individuals, such as the local Montessori school, now hold private fundraisers for them.

Results

At the moment, there are about 80 young people with various forms of disabilities at Charilove. They are trained and work in the areas of music/drama, crafts and production, tie-dye production, and hair care.

“In Nigeria, people are generally poor,” observes Omusi. “People are generally hungry. But they are doing what they can for our clients. That is our success.”

Read a profile about Chris Omusi, Ashoka Fellow.