INSTRUMENT ESTABLISHING IJAW FOUNDATION

 

Ijaw Foundation is a platform for collective action by all Ijaws and Ijaw organizations in the Diaspora and the Ijaw homeland; established to raise the much-needed funds for the dire humanitarian, developmental and ecological needs of our fifteen (15) million Ijaw people, who are amongst the world's most impoverished peoples despite their abundant God-given wealth of crude oil, natural gas, aquatic resources and forestry resources. Essentially, Ijaw Foundation seeks to mobilize the vast human and material resources of the Ijaw Nation and all people of goodwill in the world to ensure the survival, security, welfare and progress of the Ijaws. The Foundation is all-inclusive, non-partisan, open, democratic and transparent.

PURPOSES OF IJAW FOUNDATION:

The purposes for which Ijaw Foundation is organized are as follows:

To promote the survival and progress of the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta.

To protect and restore the severely destroyed Niger Delta Habitat upon which the Ijaws and others depend for their survival.

To provide relief for poor, distressed and underprivileged people in Ijawland and elsewhere in the world.

To promote the educational progress and welfare of the Ijaw people in the United States, the Ijaw homeland and elsewhere.

Ijaw Foundation is a charitable nonprofit organization with Section 501 (c) (3) Tax Exempt Status granted by the United States Internal Revenue Service. It has its headquarters in New York City in the United States and shall have an office/branch each in the United Kingdom and Nigeria for administrative convenience.

The Foundation shall be administered by its Board of Directors which shall be constituted as prescribed by the Foundation's Bylaws. Member Ijaw organizations shall operate independently of Ijaw Foundation; in accordance with their respective charters upon which they are established. Similarly, Ijaw Foundation shall operate independently of the member organizations.

The following Ijaw Organizations are Member Organizations of IJAW FOUNDATION:

Ijaw People's Association of Great Britain & Ireland Bayelsa State Association (USA) Ibani Furo Awo (USA) Igbani Awo Association, Inc. Kalabari National Association Inc. Wakirike (USA) Ijaw International Alliance (Dallas, Texas, USA) Ijaws of Northern California (USA) Abonnema Foundation Izon Council for Human Rights Bayelsa State Union of Great Britain & Ireland Izon Association of Southern California (USA) Ijaw United Fund (Texas, USA) Ijaw National Alliance of the Americas (INAA) Ijaw National Congress North America (INCNA) Andoni Forum USA Ijaw Women Association Texas USA Minnesota Ijaw Community Organization USA Izon Ebi Association of Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia Sons and Daughters of Buguma USA Inc Ijaw Institute of Strategic Studies (IJAWISS) London Tari Club Nembe Ibe Association UK/Eire

These organizations shall be referred to as the Member Organizations. Other Ijaw organizations shall become Member Organizations on a voluntary basis as and when established or whenever any such existing Ijaw organization so desires.

Individual membership is open to all Ijaw persons on a voluntary basis.
 

• Raise funds for the dire HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS OF THE IJAWS who are today highly endangered.

• Fund projects that will protect, restore and preserve the Ijaw habitat which has suffered severe ecological damage from years of oil exploration.

• Host the Ijaw Resource Center - a collation point for information such as Chronicles of the Ijaw Struggle for Emancipation, research publications, books, carvings, paintings and other historical artifacts that showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Ijaw people.

• Collaborate with other world institutions engaged in humanitarian works to seek ways of averting the imminent danger of extinction facing Ijaw communities of Nigeria.