FOUNDER of The Irede Foundation, Mrs Crystal Chigbu, explained how she transformed her daughter's inability to walk into a lifeline of hope for others. Driven by faith, she defied fate to establish the foundation. Its primary mission is to help child amputees regain mobility, embrace independence, and live life to the fullest.
How it started
"When Beulah was born, the diagnosis made it clear that amputation was the best option following the congenital deformity of her right limb. We realised Beulah needed a supportive limb as everyday childhood moments became bar-riers, first steps, playtime, walking into a classroom with confidence. As parents, we saw that this wasn't only about mobility; it was about dignity, access, and her right to participate fully in life. We knew that a supportive (prosthetic) limb was needed once we decided to amputate the limb."
In their words: "Where a child with limb loss lacks mobility, their primary caregivers are also restricted as their lives revolve around the children's activities. We primarily exist so that child amputees and their families are able to live self-sufficient lives,"Chigbu noted.
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Comments from beneficiaries' parents
"I would call The IREDE Foundation our destiny helper. The foundation has saved me from countless tears and worrying about how my son would walk on his own. The IREDE Foundation has made me a happy mother and has also made my son a happy boy," Mrs Telufusi remarked.
Mr Mike Eboh: "The IREDE Foundation has been helping my daughter, Zuriel Chinaza Eboh since October 2020. Zuriel was using a padded shoe, Now her prosthetics from the Foundation have made life easy for us all."
Independence for Parents:
Mrs Ozioma Alagba said the provision of prosthetic limbs by The IREDE Foundation has helped her son, Michael become more independent. "I don't have to carry him again. He is now able to live a normal life. This has given me the opportunity to do something for myself."
Was it fate or faith that birthed The IREDE Foundation?
It was both. Faith led us to see ability where others saw limitations, and to believe systems could change. Faith helped birth hope in us that a missing limb wouldn't limit the fullness of her life.
Fate was the condition we were faced with. This condition placed us in rooms with other families, clinicians, and policymakers who were ready to act. What began as a response to our daughter's need evolved into a community-led movement, centered on rights, inclusion, and evidence-based care to ensure that no child is left behind because of limb loss or limb difference.
The IREDE Foundation, impact, challenges, future prospects
The IREDE Foundation is a non-profit advancing inclusive health, education, and economic participation through mobility solutions, family-centered care, and systems change. Our approach is rights-based: children and young people have the right to health, to education, to work and to be included. Our work follows a simple but powerful truth: a child's journey to ability does not begin or end with a prosthetic limb, it is shaped by the community that surrounds them. This is why our model stretches from the clinic into homes, schools, workplaces, and policy rooms.
"A child's story often begins with identification by a caregiver, school, or hospital, followed by a guided medical referral that leads to prosthetic fitting, physiotherapy, psycho-social support, and eventually reintegration into school or work. But what truly strengthens this journey is the family. Through our peer groups, counselling sessions, and caregiver training, families discover that they are not alone, and they gain the tools to champion their children with confidence and reduce stigma at home and in their communities.
As children regain mobility, we walk with them into the classroom supporting their transition back to school, equipping teachers with practical inclusion toolkits(Iredeians), and working with school boards to improve accessibility so every child has a seat, a voice, and a chance. For older children and young adults, we extend this support into the workplace. Through soft skills training, internship placements, and employer sensitization, we ensure that mobility opens doors not just to movement, but to opportunity and economic independence.
Our work is strengthened by our belief that disability inclusion cannot be pursued in isolation. We intentionally partner with disability-led organizations to advance universal design, promote reasonable accommodation, and champion a collective movement where children with different disabilities stand together for their rights. And because sustainable change requires systems to shift, we actively convene conversations with ministries of health and education, professional bodies, and legislators driving policy dialogue that embeds inclusive health and education into national priorities.
Together, these efforts form a story bigger than prosthetics - a story of community, dignity, and justice. It is the story of how a child's restored mobility becomes a family's restored hope and a nation's step toward a more inclusive future.
The Foundation's footprint
Every footprint The IREDE Foundation has helped to create tells a story of reclaimed hope with over 700 children and young adults who now walk, run, and play with confidence after receiving prosthetic limbs. This is in addition to more than 400 families who have watched their children return to classrooms, and communities that once felt impossibly distant. It is the story of 100 young people who stepped into jobs, internships, and dreams they once feared were out of reach, and of a nation beginning to listen as IREDE's voice rises in policy rooms and technical working groups, pushing for a future where disability is never a barrier to belonging.
Behind every number is a heartbeat, a relieved parent, a determined child, and a community slowly learning that inclusion is not just an intervention. It is a promise of dignity and possibility for every Nigerian child.
Policies being pushed
On the policy front, we are pushing for assistive technology and rehabilitation to be embedded in public health coverage and school health programmes, ensuring that access is not dependent on luck or privilege. And we continue to build cross-disability coalitions, powerful alliances advocating for accessibility, employment, and anti-discrimination enforcement because real inclusion happens when every voice rises together. This is the future we are shaping - one where mobility, dignity, and opportunity belong to every Nigerian child.
Remarkable beneficiaries' stories
Instances abound. One of such persons is a survivor and beneficiary named Princess. The young lady after a tragic accident and a medical mismanagement that led to her leg amputation, Princess is now back in school, creating content and nurturing her dream of becoming an author.
Another is Michael, born with a congenital disorder, Michael had both legs amputated after being stigmatized as "cursed." Today, he is an inspiring champion, thriving in life and aspiring to become a teacher. Not just that, his mum is in our peer network and leads the local support that helps new families navigate routines and advocate in schools.
Another of such beneficiaries is this young lady, Debby. She received a replacement limb and coaching through our work readiness track. With employer sensitization, she secured a role in a hospital as a nurse and now lives a full life while mentoring other youths with disabilities.
Next phase
As The IREDE Foundation looks towards the future, its next chapter is shaped by an unwavering commitment to scale what already works. The team is preparing to take its acclaimed clinic to classroom model into additional states, ensuring that children who receive medical care can transition seamlessly into schools that understand and accommodate their needs supported by state insurance schemes and strengthened school health systems.
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Hand in hand with this expansion plan is a deepening collaboration with disability-led organizations across the country, working together to champion reasonable accommodations in classrooms and workplaces, not only for children with limb loss but for people with all forms of disabilities. It is a vision built on partnership, shared advocacy, and the belief that inclusion must be both holistic and intersectional.
To make this future sustainable, the Foundation is also investing in the backbone of long term accessibility to local manufacturing. Also, plans are underway to establish fabrication labs, train more technicians, and advance research that adapts assistive technology to Nigeria's climate and terrain. At the systems level, IREDE is developing a national outcomes dashboard to track children's progress from mobility to school attendance to employment, giving policymakers the evidence they need to shape financing and national standards.
And because true change requires a shift in mindset, the Foundation is preparing nationwide public engagement campaigns with ministries, media houses, and influential voices to normalize assistive technology and celebrate ability in all its forms. Together, these efforts paint a bold and hopeful picture of what comes next: a Nigeria where every child, regardless of disability, moves through life with dignity, opportunity, and equity.
...And Beulah, how big are her dreams? Is she living with them?
They are as big as her courage and she's already living many of them. Beulah reminds us daily that mobility is a means, not the end. Her dreams like those of the children we serve are about belonging, leadership, and purpose. Our job is to ensure systems keep pace with their potential.
Words of advice to people with this ability?
