Skills & livelihoods
Free, hands-on training in baking, tailoring, ICT and more, so young people can become financially strong and independent.
Paaneah Foundation · Ota, Nigeria
Every young person deserves a future worth growing into.
We catalyse, promote and support the development and well-being of young people, particularly the most vulnerable, starting in the critical years of early adolescence.
Skills acquisitionFree JAMB tutorialsCharacter developmentAdolescent healthCommunity outreachSTEM & ICT
Why we exist
The years between 10 and 19 shape a lifetime. We meet young people right there.
Adolescence is when habits, health and hope take root. With the right skills, information and mentors, a young person's path can bend toward opportunity. Without them, the most vulnerable fall furthest behind.
Since 2016, Paaneah Foundation has worked in Ota, Ogun State, to give young people practical skills, health knowledge and the confidence to take the next step.
Our storyThe global picture
A generation larger than ever, and full of promise.
1.3bnadolescents aged 10–19 live in the world today, more than at any time in history.
1 in 6people on the planet is an adolescent.
2016the year Paaneah Foundation began serving young people in Ota.
₦0what our skills programmes cost participants. Every place is free.
Global figures: World Health Organization, Adolescent health fact sheet.
What we do
Four ways we help young people thrive
Learning & exam success
Free JAMB tutorials and a mini library for young people who cannot afford fee-paying tutorial centres.
Character development
Shaping values, discipline and integrity so young people grow into responsible, productive citizens.
Health & well-being
Youth-friendly health information and community outreach, grounded in decades of adolescent-health expertise.
Who we serve
Every adolescent, wherever they are on the journey
Adolescents in school
Helping students do better academically and socially, and preparing them for exams and the choices ahead.
Between institutions
Supporting young people waiting to move from secondary school to university or work, so that time becomes a launchpad, not a gap.
Out of school
Reaching adolescents who have dropped out or never enrolled, with practical skills and a path back to opportunity.
Flagship programme
Summer Skills Academy
Each school holiday we open our doors in Ota for an intensive, two-week introduction to practical skills. The aim is simple: spark a lasting interest that young people carry forward on their own.
- Baking & culinary arts
- Tailoring & fashion
- ICT
- STEM
- Barbing
Leadership
First African recipient · IAAH Founders Award 2025Led by one of the world's foremost voices in adolescent health
Our Chief Executive, Professor Adesegun Fatusi, has spent more than three decades shaping how Nigeria and the world care for young people.
- Led the development of Nigeria's first National Training Manual on Adolescent Health (1999)
- Member of the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing
- Chaired Nigeria's National Technical Working Group on Adolescent Health and Development for over a decade
In the news
“We help young people become better academically, socially and in other areas of life.”
Daily Independent · 8 March 2024
How Paaneah Foundation is empowering young people with skills
Our Programme Manager on free exam preparation, character development, skills training, and the challenges of serving young people in Olosun, Ota.
Read the articleOur journey
Built steadily, from the ground up.
We started small, in one community, and have grown by listening to young people and the families who raise them.
See the full journey- 2016
Paaneah Foundation is established
Founded in Ota, Ogun State, with a focus on young adolescents.
- 2017
First summer skills training
Culinary, barbing, fashion and basic computer skills for local young people.
- 2018
World TB Day community campaign
A week of awareness and free TB/HIV screening across Ota's schools, markets and parks.
- 2022
Summer ICT Skill Acquisition Programme
Two weeks of digital skills at our secretariat, with Awards of Excellence for top learners.
- 2024
Free exam-prep centre & national press
Free JAMB tutorials and a mini library are running, and our work is featured in Daily Independent.
- 2025
Global recognition
Our founder becomes the first African to receive the IAAH Founders Award.
From our blog
Latest news & stories
Our founder becomes the first African to receive the IAAH Founders Award
Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, founder and Chief Executive of Paaneah Foundation, has been honoured by the International Association for Adolescent Health for his lasting contribution to adolescent health worldwide.
Read story
Inside our 2022 Summer ICT Skill Acquisition Programme
For two weeks in August 2022, a full hall of young people learned practical digital skills at our secretariat in Ota. Here is a look back in pictures.
Read storyDaily Independent features Paaneah's work with young people
In an interview with Daily Independent, our Programme Manager, Oluwasola Elisha, described our free JAMB tutorials, character development programme and skills training, and the challenges of serving young people in Olosun, Ota.
Read storyGet involved
There is a place for you in this work
Give
A one-time or monthly gift keeps our programmes free for every young person who walks through our doors.
DonateVolunteer
Share a skill, mentor a young person or support community outreach, in person in Ota or remotely.
Join usPartner
Foundations, companies, schools and agencies: let's design programmes that reach more young people.
Partner with usStay close
Follow young people's stories as they unfold
Programme updates, enrolment dates and moments from the field, shared on Instagram.