Welcome to Our World!

Welcome to the Twelvesprings Foundation website and we hope that this visit will encourage you to take supportive interest in what we do. You are most welcomed to join us on our mission to lift our people spiritually and materially out of poverty and deprivation, into dignity and comfort, through grass-roots engagement in community programmes.

That time comes in the life of every people, when history is truly made. For Africa, that time is now. Twelvesprings Foundation was founded twelve years ago by Prince Adesina Haastrup and his wife, Marion Oyefunke Haastrup as a Christian family trust in Bristol. Its mandate was and remains sponsoring efforts to aid development in Africa through promoting personal and cultural growth, and by providing inspiration and facilities for integrating higher standards and values into daily life. Today, the Foundation is calling on every African to join hands to release our continent’s psyche from the shackles of the traditional culture and habits that have held us down for far too long. The forthcoming conference, “Unleashing Nigeria Together” is a major initiative of the Nigerian civil society, with support from the Federal Government and the business community. The aim is to launch Nigeria into its destiny as a genuinely great African Nation in advance of its 50th independence anniversary in 2010. As we witness the globalisation of cultures and economies across the world, this conference is geared to deliver the key to liberating the latent talent of a new generation from any debilitating tradition of our cultural heritage. We are sure that those who attend will experience a freeing of their spirit and a new awareness of rights, opportunities and individual responsibilities in our emerging nation.

Following is a short history of the Foundation since its inception in 1997:

1997:  Proposed the creation of a Community Access Television Channel in Bristol, in partnership with Coad Media Limited.

1998:  Post production of Transformed Working Life, a video teaching tool used for instruction on Christian ethics in the work place. The International Christian Chamber of Commerce sponsored this project.

1999:  Launched the sickle cell anaemia awareness campaign in Bristol, following the death of a dear friend, Adenrele Adebajo.

2000: Began research on sickle cell anaemia for a documentary film

2000 (June):   Proposed using Bode Sowande’s play, Orinata, as a vehicle for sickle cell anaemia awareness campaign in the UK.

2001 (October):   Collaboration with Bode Sowande Theatre Academy was initiated. Twelvesprings Foundation hosted the first performance of Orinata in the UK at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

2002 (June):   Proposed the forming of Sickle Cell Anaemia Relief Centre (S.C.A.R.Ce.) here in the UK, and in Nigeria. Its functions will include the provision of medical, social and material support for, sufferers, their families and carers.

2002 (July):   Registered the Twelvesprings institute in Nigeria. It was proposed that a Centre for Personal Development Studies be built on State University grounds in Nigeria. The Twelvesprings Institute’s mandate is to equip young Nigerians, especially those from under-privileged background, with disciplined self-belief, a sense of direction, basic vocational skills and community spirit.

2002 (October):   Bode Sowande was invited to the presentation of An Evening with Bode Sowande in Bristol, a discussion get-together on the future of theatre as a vehicle for sickle cell anaemia awareness campaign. Twelvesprings Foundation initiated and hosted the event, with generous support from the Organisation for Sickle Cell Anaemia Research (O.S.C.A.R) and African Initiatives (AI).

2003 (March):   The Twelvesprings Foundation establishes an internet presence. This website was formally launched on 8 September 2003.

2003 (May):   Theatre interns of Bode Sowande Theatre Academy invited to Bristol to perform the play: ORINATA

2003 (July):   Prince Haastrup traveled to Nigeria to film part of the documentary film: “Under the Sickle”.

2003 (August): The first meeting of the proposed Trustees of S.C.A.R.Ce, a Twelvesprings initiative, was held on the grounds of University College Hospital, Ibadan. It was hosted by Professor Wuraola Sokunbi, Head of Haematology, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

2004 (March): Visited sickle cell anaemia sufferers at the Bristol Oncology Centre.

2004 (May): PowerPoint presentation of "Under the Sickle", with clips from the documentary film at NHS Direct AGW, Bristol. It was presented as part of a training programme for Health Information Advisers.

2004 (June): Two more PowerPoint presentations of "Under the Sickle", with clips from documentary film in the NHS Direct Wiltshire Room to groups of NHS Direct Nurses, as part of their continuing training and staff development programmes.

2005 (April):   Opened the Nigerian office of Twelvesprings Foundation S.C.A.R.Ce in Ikeja, Lagos.

2005 (May):   Met with Lagos State Commissioner for Health, the Honorable Dr. Leke Pitan. Collaboration between Twelvesprings Foundation and Lagos State health Department was discussed, and assurances of support were given by the Honorable Commissioner.

2005 (May):   Meeting with Head of Haematology, University of Ibadan, College of Medicine, Professor Wuraola Shokunbi. Clarified health care needs for sickle cell anaemia sufferers. The first batch of information leaflets, analgesics, IV fluid and folic acid were delivered to UCH (A Nigerian University Teaching Hospital) by end of May. This became a monthly event.

2006 (May):  Joined forces with IMPC and Cross River State Government on a reality TV programme: “Creative Academii”. This was aimed at discovering and rewarding talented and promising creative young Nigerians.

2007:  Started developing a new and more effective TV programme with IMPC aimed at encouraging entrepreneurial endeavours in a nation with a high level of unemployment and yet without provision for social and economic security for its unemployed.

2008 (July – September): Collaborated with IMPC to produce the first successful season of “The Entrepreneur”, a reality TV programme sponsored by Ecobank and Vitamalt. This programme extends support to enterprising Nigerians who otherwise will have no means of realizing their potentials.

2008 (October – November): Produced a 30 minute documentary titled “Growing Rural Businesses with ICTs”. The project was sponsored by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and executed in collaboration with Growing Businesses Foundation (GBF). It identified and acknowledged the positive role of micro-finance loans and ICTs in improving the quality of lives of enterprising rural dwellers, their families and communities.

2009 (February): Introduced free training in basic business skills and facilities for micro-finance loans to members.

2009 (March): Planning started of the first annual conference in Nigeria to take place in September. This is a major step in joining others to prepare Nigeria for a necessary cultural evolution as well as re-igniting our campaign to build local relief centres across Nigeria for sickle cell anaemia patients.

We support our members in transforming  their lives into the best of God in them one at a time. For detailed information on our activities and how to become a member of The Twelvesprings Foundation, please contact our Administration office on:

Admin@twelvesprings.org.uk, or call +44 117 959 1985

Go to the “Members” page now and find out what it is like to live in our world. We look ahead to embracing you as one of us.

Remember, you can connect to our website from anywhere in the world