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A2S volunteer (and Director of Marketing for ColorID), Mark Degan joined us on our trip to Nigeria this summer. He helped set up an ID system for our After School Academy, that was generously donated by ColorID, a leading supplier of high quality identification products and services based in the Charlotte, NC area. Mark was …

A2S volunteer and veteran educator and teacher, Carol McQuillen, made the trip to Nigeria with us this year and held a teachers seminar for the teachers at our After School Academy and teachers from the surrounding community. We are so impressed with Carol and her ability to pour joy and dedication into her profession and …

Wow. What a week! We are coming to the end of the most busy and action packed week of service that I have ever experienced at A2S.   Before we left from the States, I looked at the schedule and said to myself that there was no way we’ll be able to pull all this off …

It is hard to believe that this is my first A2S trip. I traveled to Nigeria in 2010 to meet Andrew’s family but the timing never seemed to work to go on an A2S trip. After seeing Andrew pour his heart and soul into this work over the past seven years, I finally have the …

Access to Success is excited to announce our three finalists for the inaugural A2S Entrepreneurship Incubator, a shark tank-type competition held by A2S in order to provide budding businesses the opportunity to receive mentorship from both African and U.S. business leaders. After collaborating for one year, these winning companies will receive an A2S no-interest loan …

Today was Day Two of the Entrepreneur Incubator… And they brought the heat! Those were the thoughts that ran through my mind as the pitch finalists campaigned passionately and purposefully during the seven-minute slot allotted to them for one more shot at the goal—to claim a coveted spot among the winning trio. There was marked …

If I ever had any doubts, they have since been replaced by the clear and present evidence that Nigerians are a hardworking, enterprising, creative and passionate people. Nine teams of varying sizes showed up at the Access To Success Entrepreneur Incubator with a clear purpose, drive and desire to learn and grow their business ventures …

Tuesday, July 4, 2017 Two cultures. One people. Exponential impact. Despite leaving on Saturday, today was the day it really sunk in that our team is in Nigeria. There were no (delayed) airplanes, no checking into hotels, no moving luggage, no being disrupted by uncontrollable circumstances. Today we operated on our time – well, African time – …

    Monday, July 3, 2017   We landed shortly after 4 p.m. in Lagos. The sun was shining, slightly cloudy and the touch down was uneventful. We stepped into the terminal and were swiftly greeted with thick, muggy, humidity filled air. The temperature was in the mid 80’s but the heat index made it …

Monday, July 3, 2017 Well, after a couple of laps between Lagos and Benin City, we were finally able to land and get to the work of the mission trip. While we were not able to see the new A2S office or Andrew’s childhood home, we did get to spend time renewing friendships with the …