Arochukwu, Nigeria – December 2025 —
The Mary Ikoku Foundation (MIF) has announced plans to host its 2nd edition of the Free Nkwo Market Festival in Arochukwu, Abia State.
The event, set to hold this Yuletide, will hold on December 30th, 2025, at the Alvan Ville Event Space, Amanagwu, Arochukwu, Abia State.
In a Press Statement signed by its coordinator, Deaconess Mrs. Nkechi Iroegbu, this extraordinary community event brings back the unique concept where absolutely everything is free — groceries, farm produce, clothing, toiletries, household essentials — and payment is made not with money, but with Love Currency, a symbolic note that honours dignity, compassion, and shared humanity.
According to her, in the maiden edition of 2024, about 1,000 households benefitted from the humanitarian venture, restoring hope and meeting urgent needs. This year, the target is even higher: to impact over 2,000 families and expand access to food security across rural Abia communities.
“The MIF Free Nkwo Market Day is not just an event. It’s a revolution of love, dignity, and empowerment,” says Ikoku, founder of MIF
“We are changing the narrative — from helplessness to self-reliance, from hunger to harvest, and from charity to community-led action.”
At the heart of this initiative is the Aka Ajaja Women Farmers Project, a female-led rural farming enterprise inspired by the First Lady’s ‘Every Home a Garden’ campaign. Since inception in 2024, the project has trained over 700 women, cultivating cassava, yams, maize, pepper, and vegetables — some of which are sold to fund community support, and others distributed freely at the market.
The Free Nkwo Market celebrates these women, honours grassroots resilience, and creates a platform for individuals, companies, and institutions to support a homegrown solution to poverty and hunger.
The statement also called for collaboration from corporate sponsors, food companies, donor organisations, government institutions, philanthropists, and volunteers.
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