Who We Are

Long before KUTH Foundation had a name, it had a habit. Its founder, Engr. Gerald A. Azonobo, spent years giving quietly and from his own pocket: walking into Lagos hospitals to clear the bills of patients who were being held because they could not pay, supporting orphanages where abandoned children had been left with no one, visiting homes for the elderly, and helping students who were dropping out of school for lack of funds. He asked for nothing in return, rarely even a thank you.

That instinct was shaped by Festac Town, where he grew up. It was a community of real talent and real danger, where too many young people were losing their futures to drugs, crime and despair because they had stopped believing anything better was possible. The conviction underneath everything was simple: people do not only need relief, they need hope. That word became the Foundation's name and its purpose.

In 2011 a friend put the question plainly: why not bring all of this under one umbrella and give it a name? Keep Up The Hope (KUTH) Foundation was founded on 27 May 2011 and incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission on 10 November 2011 (Reg. No. 48350). It was announced at a launch and dinner in Lagos in early 2012, and today the Foundation holds a current SCUML certificate (RN: SC251400170).

What began as one person's giving is now ten connected programme areas. KUTH stands with widows facing hardship and injustice, cares for orphans and vulnerable children, supports the elderly, and runs free medical outreaches for communities that rarely see a doctor. It provides education and scholarships, defends inmates held only because they cannot afford a lawyer, and champions people living with Down syndrome. Through initiatives like the KUTH Soccer Fiesta, it reaches young people where they are, using sport to gather and mentor them and to carry the same message of hope that started it all.

For most of its life KUTH worked in silence and funded its own work, choosing service over publicity. Today, as it marks fifteen years, the Foundation is opening its doors to partners, grants and collaborators through the KUTH 15 campaign, so the hope it has carried since 2011 can reach further, and reach more of the people who need it.