Stronger Together

I went through a lot during my undergraduate years. Financial hardship pushed me into situations that shaped me in ways I never imagined. I lost my mother in my second semester of 100 level. Being the child of elderly parents made it even more difficult—my father was already over 80 years old when I gained admission into higher institution. It was a very challenging season of my life.

Those experiences gave birth to a passion in me—to prepare teenagers for the financial realities they may face in higher institutions. I didn’t want them to be caught unprepared the way I was.

Through a programme organised to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, I obtained permission to visit government girls’ secondary schools. It is a day set aside globally to celebrate and empower girls. I used the opportunity to teach vocational skills, especially simple crafts that students could easily learn and use to earn income. The goal was to help them support themselves while in school and also have something solid to fall back on after graduation instead of waiting endlessly for white-collar jobs.

During one of these programmes, I met Funmbi. She was an orphan living in a slum. Through mentorship and training, she learned catering. She worked hard, saved money, and today she is in her final year studying Sociology at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. Her journey is a testimony to what opportunity and guidance can do.

I also met Dorcas. She struggled academically but had exceptional creativity. I trained her in bag making and Ankara slipper production. Today, those skills are generating income for her. Although she is still young and not fully independent, she earns steadily from the woman she works with.

There are many more stories. Hephzibah is now a student of Obafemi Awolowo University, producing cake boxes and handmade beads—skills she learned through the training. Amazing will complete her training this month. She now knows how to make bags and do tie and dye. These skills position them to always have something to rely on.

When you train a girl, you are not just empowering one individual—you are equipping generations.

I give skills to gain satisfaction and fulfilment.

I will like to do more, there are so many of them that cannot afford this training despite the subsidy, if you're call into moulding teenage girls life. Please be part of this movement.