In Memoriam — Selma Martha

Selma Martha Obanewo-Richking was not the kind of woman who waited for someone else to do what she knew needed to be done. She saw the girl child — in Nigeria's northern communities, in its urban margins, in the spaces where poverty and culture converge most harshly — and she felt the weight of what those girls carried. Not as a statistic. As a moral urgency she could not set down.

So she did something about it. In the months before she passed on November 27, 2024, Selma Martha was already building. She was drawing up programs, defining a mission, mapping out the communities she wanted to reach, and naming the specific interventions that would make the most difference to the most vulnerable girls. She was not leaving this to chance or to those who might come after her. She was putting it in place herself.

She did not know how much time she had. But she knew what she wanted to do with it.

On November 27, 2024, Selma Martha left this world. But because of what she built in her final months, the girl child did not lose her. She left a plan. She left a mission. She left a Foundation.

The Selma Martha Obanewo-Richking Foundation is not a monument built in grief. It is the fulfilment of a covenant. We are not building in her name — we are building on her blueprint, with her heart as our compass and her love for the girl child as our mandate.

"Our mission is to reach the girl child where she is — in her home, her community, her struggle — and walk with her toward a better life.

Through education, health, and economic empowerment, we build the bridges she needs to cross from where she is to where she deserves to be.

Every girl matters. Every girl has something the world needs. And every one of us who can do something about it — must."

— SMOR Foundation

In honour of

Selma Martha Obanewo-Richking

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At the SMOR Foundation, every contribution matters — whether you give your time, your talent, or your resources. You help us reach further, invest deeper, and tide over more girls across Nigeria and beyond. What you give today builds the generation of tomorrow.

Our team

Our strength lies in our individuality. Set up by Esther Bryce, the team strives to bring in the best talent in various fields, from architecture to interior design and sales.

Esther Bryce

Executive director

Lianne Wilson

Broker

Jaden Smith

director

Jessica Kim

director

Our Home

Nestled in Abuja, our foundation stands as a beacon of hope for girls across Nigeria and beyond.

Address

12 Unity Street, Abuja

Hours

Mon-Fri 9am-5pm