As a child in Nigeria, Joseph Ukiri dreamed of someday moving to America.
“If you ask children there where they want to live someday, 90 percent will say they want to go to the United States, United Kingdom or Canada, because that’s what they see on TV,” Ukiri said.
He and his classmates didn’t have water in their school, so they walked during lunch each day to retrieve water from a well. Many of them also had very little clothing, often wringing out freshly washed clothes with a towel and immediately putting them back on before they were fully dry.
When Ukiri got older, he began the process of moving to the U.S.
“It took me eight years to get a VISA to come here,” Ukiri said. “I had an uncle who lived in Indiana who kept encouraging me and letting me know of the opportunities here.”
After spending a few years in London, Ukiri eventually made his way to Indianapolis in 2010, with a goal of working on airplanes like his uncle. Instead, he changed his focus to cars and attended automotive classes at Ivy Tech. He worked for General Motors before eventually starting his own full-service auto shop called Jossy’s Auto Shop in 2019.
Jossy’s is now a AAA Approved Auto Repair Shop located at 2910 Main St. in Anderson, Indiana on a lot that used to be a gas station, but sat empty for several years before Ukiri purchased it. The property was filled with overgrown bushes and weeds, and the walls inside were covered in a thick layer of grease. Ukiri did most of the renovations himself to save money, often working until two or three in the morning to get the work done, since he was completing auto repair work for clients during the daytime.
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“It was a lot of work and took a long time to get it cleaned up,” Ukiri said. “I knew it had potential, though, and just kept putting the work in.”
The journey from Nigeria to London to Indiana was surprising to some of Ukiri’s friends and family, who questioned why he settled in Anderson rather than London or New York City.
“That’s what people see in Nigeria—they think of big skyscrapers and a busy city,” Ukiri said. “They think everyone is living a good life, wearing shoes and even jumping on beds with their shoes on. They just think that’s how everyone lives. I tell them many families struggle in America, too. Some may have a good Christmas, some may not. Some still get sick. It may just look different here than in Nigeria.”
Ukiri’s heart for helping children in Nigeria has grown over time, taking shape in a nonprofit foundation he started in 2016 called the Ukiri Global Foundation.
“I started collecting donations like school supplies, clothing and toothbrushes and would take them there a few times a year,” Ukiri said. “Eventually my younger brother said, ‘why don’t you do this under a protected umbrella by making it a foundation?’ I didn’t know how to do that, but he helped us get started with a Facebook page and website.”
Since 2017, Ukiri has traveled to Nigeria dozens of times, often taking as many as eight bags of luggage filled with donations with him on his overseas flights. The foundation also provided water for an entire school in 2019.
During his most recent trip in December, Ukiri, his wife and two children were able to take enough donations for 512 children.
“It was amazing. My kids were so happy seeing other children getting much needed clothing,” Ukiri said. “It was a huge shift in perspective for them to see other children get so excited over used clothes.”
“These kids are so thankful,” said Chris Hiday, General Manager of Jossy’s Auto Shop and close friend of Ukiri’s. “You give them a pencil and they might cry because they’re so happy. There is such a need for even basic school supplies there.”
Another major need for the children: shoes.
“There was one boy we met who we gave a pair of used shoes to that were probably a couple sizes too big, but he was just so happy to have his own pair of shoes,” Hiday said.
Ukiri also spends time playing with and talking to the children he visits and says he feels a renewed sense of hope every time he meets with them.
“There is a girl there who has one leg, but says she wants to be a doctor someday,” Ukiri said. “Even though she is on crutches, she still makes it to school every day, because she wants to learn. That is an inspiration for me right there.”
Ukiri is planning another trip in December 2025 to take more donations and provide water for another school, which costs about $5,000. He said he knows how important their mission is, because he has had similar experiences to the children the foundation serves.
“I woke up every morning and had to fetch water to bring back to my house, then do the dishes, sweep the room, eat breakfast, walk two miles to school and make sure I got there on time,” Ukiri said. “Now my kids here in Indiana—all they have to do is wake up, put on clothes, eat breakfast, then get in the car and go to school with a full stomach and all the school supplies they need.”
Ukiri is thankful for the many people here in Indiana that help provide him with donations to take on his trips to Nigeria. While the children and schools in Nigeria may face many different concerns, the Ukiri Global Foundation’s focus is providing them with water, school supplies and clothing.
“We can’t do it all. You visit these schools, and you see a lot of different problems. You will get lost trying to fix everything,” Ukiri said. “That’s not going to change overnight, but if individuals who are fortunate do a little bit, if everybody can just do a little bit, it might make a huge difference. Just the small gestures we are doing is going to boost the confidence for these kids. I know that, because I know how hard it was for me.”
If you are interested in learning more or making a donation to the Ukiri Global Foundation, visit JossysAuto.com or their Facebook page.