Ayodele Olalere
Foluso Omosebi, the Founder, Foluso Omosebi Care Foundation, now VSS Foundation, has said her desire to put smiles on the faces of the less privileged in the society prompted her to establish her foundation in 2023.
For Foluso, a graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Osun State, and a philanthropist, growing up in Lagos and witnessing the level of poverty in her community was disheartening to her. She saw the young and old, men and women struggling daily with little or nothing to earn a living..
Sharing her experience at the event chaired by the Chief Executive Officer, Peniel Metropolitan Limited, Pastor John Adeyemi, to launch a new name for her foundation, VSS Foundation from Foluso Omosebi Care Foundation in Lagos on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, the Republic of Ireland based philanthropist said she was motivated to give back to the society due to her personal experience while growing up.
Hear her: "Due to my personal experience while growing up in my community, I saw how poverty was dealing with people, making people live a life they.do not want. So I promised myself that when I grow up and be able to achieve something for myself , I would give back to the community,” said Foluso.
After relocating abroad and ‘achieving something great for herself’ after years of hard work as a home care specialist, Foluso decided to give back to her community as promised, so she founded Foluso Omosebi Care Foundation in 2023 in the Alimosho area of Lagos State to cater for the needs of the less privileged.
Without financial support from anyone, Foluso has kept the foundation running in the last two years from the little money she makes working abroad , ensuring financial assistance is provided for small business owners such as petty traders and others to assist them in their businesses. Those with medical assistance were also given financial assistance for medical treatment, a sign of her long held desire to put smiles on the faces of the downtrodden.
At the launch event on Wednesday, some of the beneficiaries of her foundation thanked her for her philanthropic gestures.
One of them is Dimeji Abdullahi, a visually impaired graduate from a higher institution in Ghana.
According to Abdullahi while expressing his gratitude to the foundation, he became blind in 2018 when he came to Nigeria to observe the mandatory one year National Youth Service Corp after completing his education in Ghana.
He said he later learned leather work to support himself due to his visual impairment but had no money to establish himself in the skill until he met Mrs Olaide Gold, a close confidant of Foluso who later introduced him to the foundation for financial assistance.
“I thank Mrs Foluso Omosebi for helping me through her foundation. I was into leather work and also learned how to produce liquid soap when I met Laide Gold who introduced me to the foundation. The foundation supported me to establish my leather work and I am very grateful to them, “ Abdullahi said.
Another beneficiary, one Mrs Bakare simply known as Iya Okiki testified to benefiting from the foundation. Her story is pathetic and sad. Hear her:
“When I gave birth to my daughter, she had no anus,” she said with tears . She added: “We started looking for money for her treatment but we couldn't raise money and in the process, my husband abandoned me with her and two other children. For four years, my daughter could not go to the toilet because she had no anus. She has not been going to school because schools are rejecting her because of her condition.”
She continued: “ I met Laide Gold who introduced me to the foundation. Mrs Foluso through her foundation paid for my daughter's operation at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH and has been paying for her drugs too. Though the first surgery has been done and a date has been given for another surgery but we need money for it. The foundation has been helping us but we need help from more people to assist us and the foundation for the surgery.”
Farouk Kalejaiye, a 14-year old beneficiary of the foundation’s financial assistance said he lost his mother when he was 10 while the father also lost his job. As a result he found it hard going to school and eating until he also met Laide Gold who introduced him to the foundation. Since then the foundation has been helping him in his education.
Reminiscing on her journey in the last two years she established the foundation, Foluso said it has been full of ups and downs . She noted that though she will not relent but she's limited in what she can do alone due to financial constraints. She thereby called for assistance and partnership from corporate, local and international organizations as well as government at all levels to assist the foundation in the provision of financial support.
“Since 2023, the journey has been rough but we have been able to do a lot of things despite the financial constraints. I have been doing it alone without support from anyone. All the money has been coming from my pocket.I need collaboration with organizations, individuals and government. This job is tough. I have faced lots of challenges both physical and spiritual. I need financial support from the government so we can do more of what we are doing,” she said.
On the reason for the change of name of the foundation from Foluso Omosebi Care Foundation to VSS Foundation, Foluso said the aim was to give it a more international outlook.
“ Today we changed the name to VSS Foundation which reflects the names of my three children; Victor, Steve and Susan. I work with a charity organization abroad and when I told them the name of my foundation in Nigeria they advised me to change it from my personal name,” she said.
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