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In Inspiration July 5, 2021 By Women of Rubies

Tanzanian Born Susan Mashibe Is An High-Flying Pioneer In Aviation Services

A pivotal moment in Susan Mashibe’s life happened when she was just four years old, standing at the airport in Kigoma in Tanzania, holding her grandmother’s hand and watching as her parent’s plane took off. It was a poignant moment and one that made her think that if she could only fly a plane herself, then her parents would not leave her behind again.

That key moment was to change her life forever and was to take her on a journey from her childhood in Mwanza and Dar es Salaam, to studying at Western Michigan University and qualifying to eventually becoming Tanzania’s first female FAA-certified pilot and mechanic.

However, that was not the end of the story, only the beginning of the next chapter to fulfilling her entrepreneurial destiny. In the summer of 2001, she had just received her pilot’s license and was applying at Delta Air Lines Inc. when the terrible events of September 11th were to change the world, and aviation in particular. At that point, Susan abandoned her efforts to get a U.S. work permit and returned to Tanzania to build her aviation career in her home country.

It proved to be a life-changing move and today, Susan owns and operates VIA Aviation, a highly successful and unique aviation company founded in 2003, and specialising in providing world-class private jet handling and hangar services. Today, the company provides a wide range of aircraft handling, clearances and ground support, security and fuel in Dar es Salaam.

VIA Aviation generates revenue of over $2 million, and Susan has plans to expand the business to more than 20 countries throughout Africa. At Kilimanjaro International Airport, the company already has 80,000 square feet of hangar space. Susan’s client list is able to boast Heads of State, monarchs, global corporate executives, and the military. The company is also now a multi-million dollar aviation business and highly regarded around the world.

She has achieved all of this in an emerging and largely male-dominated industry in Africa, and her success is a testimony to the power of education, economic empowerment, and self belief. One of the key’s to Susan’s entrepreneurial success in life – she says she has no fear! Simply a deeply-held and long-standing passion for aircraft.

It is so inspiring to see the dreams of a very young girl growing up in Tanzania becoming a reality in later life, particularly when those dreams break the barriers to entry for a whole new generation of women in Africa’s aviation sector.

Not only is Susan Mashibe an amazing example of a women entrepreneur making great strides in breaking into the global aviation industry, but she is also inspiring and encouraging a new generation of women aviation across Africa and beyond. She is living proof that women entrepreneurs can be gamechangers in the world.

In Inspiration July 5, 2021 By Women of Rubies

#Interview| “We Need To Get Autism Awareness To Rural Areas”- Beauty Kumesine

Beauty Kumesine is the founder ofBlazing Heart Autism Center (BHAC).

With over 12 years of experience working with children who have developmental difficulties, she has specialized her abilities and knowledge in the area of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related diseases.
Beauty is an outspoken advocate and public speaker who talks from the heart.

Beauty serves on many boards as a director and advisory , and contributes to the capacity building of her community; for her, each child is important. Every youngster can find hope and assistance.

For the past 12 years, Heart Autism Center has been willing and ready to do more for parents and children.

In this interview with Women of Rubies, she shares her journey.

Tell us about your growing up

Growing up for me was fun, I remember vividly sharing my stuff and also time with a lot of children at different times with who didn’t have what to eat, didn’t wear the kind of cloths I wore or even have what I had then.

I’d take my stuff and give them. When they came to my neighborhood,I’d take them to my mum and introduce them as my friends (I really didn’t know them) and she’d feed them for me and we’d play for long hours before they’ll go back home.

My early childhood prepared me to help people but I was too young to realize what I was doing. Looking back, I’m glad I had the kind of upbringing I had. Thanks to my lovely parents and brothers.

What inspired you to start BHAC?

After my university education, I met a friend who introduced me to Special Needs. I didn’t know that I’d become immersed deeply in this but I am grateful to be here and contribute my quota to humanity.

BHAC was born out of passion. Passion has lead to commitment and consistency and it is my honest prayer that somehow, someday, I see the children who I cater to make visible positive progress and live an independent life.

You spent 2 years learning how to deal with people with ASD, what were some of the life lessons you learnt during this time?

Learning is a part of life. You grow everyday. The first two years of my Special Needs journey, I spent it unlearning what I initially knew about persons with special needs, changing my personal narrative and understanding about special needs and also relearning the NEW for me.

I am still learning as I see new things and have new experiences with the children I cater to.

Kindly tell us more about your PortharcourtWalk4Autism initiative, an it’s impact since inception?

PortHarcourtwalkfor4Autism is a unique roadshow initiative that was birthed out of the very peculiar need of the region I reside. The awareness level of ASD is low and hence understanding and acceptance is almost zero when BHAC started. I saw myself explaining to people on a daily basis and personally advocating everyday and everywhere I went. I need us to reach a larger audience and so we started the road show PortHarcourtwalk4Autism and as the name says, we want Port Harcourt to hear about ASD, Understand it and that way, our children and families who have individuals with ASD will be accepted in the society without discrimination and stigmatization.

You’ve been running BHAC for 12 amazing years, How has the journey been so far ?

The journey has been challenging but very rewarding. It gives me joy to see that the children we serve at BHAC thrive and make progress no matter how minute that progress is.

What are some of the challenges of your work?

Like in every sphere of human existence, challenges faced by us at work range from human capacity as we have struggled in the past creating a great and commuted work force.

We have and are also facing the challenges of FUNDING and also expectations from the families we serve.

Could you kindly tell us some of your other projects and activities.

We create awareness in the urban and rural areas, constant capacity building for our team members, research and daily interventions for individuals with ASD.

Kindly mention 3 women who inspire you to be better and why?

My Mother Mrs Florence Anwuri- I cannot over emphasis this because my mother is a role model to me and she inspires me to be better everyday. I thank her for all she has been and is to me.

Mrs Dotun Akande- She is honest, focused and also a person builder. Mrs Akande has held my hands tight and always comes through for me personally and also BHAC. She always reminds me that I can do whatever I set my mind on. I love her and she knows but I’m making this official….I Love you Mrs Dotun Akande.

Do you think Nigerians are well informed on how to deal with people living autism?

Nigerians in my opinion are not informed on how to deal with people living with Autism.

There’s still a lot of misunderstanding, misdiagnosis and mismanagement of people who have ASD in Nigeria and the information channels are limited.

Awareness is growing but it’s more in the urban areas than in the rural areas. We need to think of ways to get this awareness to the rural areas and the sooner the better.

If you were to address parents with kids living with ASD, who are finding it hard navigating parenting, what would you tell them?

The challenges parents face can’t be overemphasized. Parenting is difficult and having a child or children with ASD is challenging on its own and the society we live in doesn’t make it easy for parents.

I hope that we help build a community free of discrimination and stigmatization where love and support thrives so that parents can also mitigate their challenges and live long for their children.

—

Beauty Kumesine
Special Needs Coordinator
Autism Advocate
SLST,AC, RBT+234-803-885-2183, +234-802-9998-880Every Child can Learn,Not just in the same way…Progress isn’t always Measured on Paper….
www.blazingheartfoundation.org

In Inspiration July 1, 2021 By Women of Rubies

Ghana’s Ethel Delali Cofie Is A Pioneering Leader Of Africa’s ‘Women-In-Tech’

Ethel Delali Cofie is a leading tech entrepreneur from Ghana and the founder and CEO of Edel Technology Consulting, a company that provides IT and software services as an enabler and catalyst for businesses to achieve their goals.

Ethel is the founder of Women in Tech Africa, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for work supporting women in ICT.

She has been featured by the BBC and CNN for her work in technology and promoting women’s leadership. Ethel sits on numerous boards and is also a President Obama Washington Fellow for Leadership (YALI).

Ethel Delali Cofie. Founder, Edel Technology Consulting

Remember the mistakes you make are all part of learning, so instead of overthinking things just do it, and on your way down you will figure it out.

Ethel Cofie is a woman with a genuine passion for technology and is a real advocate for women’s entrepreneurship in the sector. Today, her company Edel Consultancy, which she founded in 2013, is the primary vehicle for driving her technology passion. At the same time, it provides a platform from which to run powerful women in technology networking groups and alliances, focused on education and enhancing women’s careers in the sector.

In the preceding decade, she gained invaluable global industry experience working with a wide range of innovative and transformational tech systems and products in different capacities including Product/Solutions Management, Business Analysis, Software Development, Service Management, Strategy Development and Implementation.

Her career path took her to the UK between 2006 and 2009 where she undertook her MSc in Distributed Systems at Brighton University, followed by a corporate position as a Business and Systems Analyst with RDF Solutions. Both proved to be invaluable experiences that were to help shape her next career moves.

I failed a lot along the way but learned many lessons, which made it easier to get back up and try again. So persistence was key in my development as a professional and a businesswoman.

She is also a woman entrepreneur that believes in making a positive contribution to society through her knowledge, expertise and innovative ideas. In 2010, she worked on a number of game changing social projects in Africa, such as the Ford Foundation funded election-monitoring project for Nigerian Elections, and also the Bill and Melinda Gates Funded Mobile Technology for Health. The project was so successful that it has been implemented in Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and India, proving that technology can indeed save lives. She was also the Technology Consultant for Dream Perfect in Sierra Leone, working on new Mobile Technology Solutions in the country.

Having made a considerable contribution to the success of these social development projects in Africa, she returned to the corporate world, taking up the position of Head of Commercial Solutions at Vodafone in Ghana, responsible for managing a team of technical and business analysts. This new role gave her a different outlet with which to fulfill her passion of supporting businesses in their efforts to provide customers with great services and products, to provide excellent customer service, and make profits by providing excellent and appropriate technology solutions. After resigning from her role at Vodafone in 2013 following a successful career with the company, she launched Edel Consultancy as the new vehicle for driving her passion.

I have 3 passions: Technology, Female Leadership and Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship.

“I created women in tech Ghana because I wanted to create a girls’ club – if corporate promotions and business has been conducted over the golf club and over beers, then I was going to create a space for women in tech to help each other move up and excel.” She said.

I believe entrepreneurship is Africa’s way out of poverty. Entrepreneurship is on the increase, because Africa, at last has been emerging and the economies are booming — several countries are starting to really increase entrepreneurial activity and move to opportunity entrepreneurship, rather than necessity entrepreneurship.

Ethel Cofie is a real inspiration, not just to women entrepreneurs in Africa’s tech sector, but to all those women who would like to build a career or a successful business in this highly competitive and male dominated industry. She is living proof that with enough tenacity, self-belief, and a vision to be an industry game changer for the benefit of others, you can achieve incredible results.

In Inspiration June 30, 2021 By Women of Rubies

Divine Ndhlukula, Queen Of The Security Industry In Zimbabwe

From a young age, Divine had always told herself and everyone around her that she would be an entrepreneur and run her own large business in the future.

This was driven by her recognition of the need to create a decent and secure livelihood for her family. Her quest to start and run her own business stayed with her throughout her formative years when she was studying and working to build her career.

She set out to learn all the critical elements needed to run a successful business, undertaking various development programmes along the way, enrolling on an Entrepreneurial Development Programme in 1995.

“I have never really been a half-measure kind of person and this period of my life was characterised by me trying to take on everything — all at once — even when this meant swimming against the stream”

At the same time, she started researching and tracking various entrepreneurial opportunities in the local marketplace, eventually in 1998 seeing a potential business opportunity in the security services sector.

Divine had identified what she saw as glaring service delivery and professionalism gaps in the private security sector, inspiring her to create and build a new type of security company with a difference.

She was also motivated by a desire to empower previously disadvantaged women in Zimbabwe who were not able to access opportunities for formal employment, recognizing that the security sector had the potential to be a large-scale employer.

Divine is a true champion of women’s empowerment in Zimbabwe and is currently the largest employer of women in the country outside the government sector, with 900 women employees on her payroll.

Never try to cut corners. Your business and personal life should be anchored on a firm ethical foundation. From the first day you establish the business, even an informal hustle, you should establish a culture founded on ethics and good corporate governance principles.

Divine Ndhlukula founded SECURICO Security Services from humble beginnings in Zimbabwe in 1998. Divine identified a need in the market for a quality oriented security company and she has driven SECURICO to become the market leader in Zimbabwe.

She has tackled a previously male-dominated industry head on and her business success story is nothing short of remarkable – marking her as one of Africa’s most tenacious and inspiring women entrepreneurs.

SECURICO today provides its clients with a complete security solution – uniformed armed officers, armoured vehicles for transportation of valuables, onsite banking, trained guard dogs, and electronic security systems. The company also does private investigations, employee vetting, and security consulting.

In fashion&style June 28, 2021 By Women of Rubies

#Rubygirls | Improving Self Esteem In Women

I’m Okonkwo Emmanuella Chinaza the current Face of Glamorous Queen World 2021

I am currently schooling at Abia state polytechnic studying Public Administration.

My Role model is Amudat. Like she will always say be focused and never give up. And that has really kept me going.

Describe yourself in 5years to come what it will look like for you

I look forward in learning new skills and improve in my modeling career. In five years from now I see myself more professional .

How has beauty pageant helped in improving self esteem in women

Being part of a pageant gives young women the courage to try new things.

And develop a greater sense of confidence. In as much as we dont try to rely on someone we give ourselves the best in all we do we try something new and make sure it turns out to be great. we also make sure we love ourselves

What is your drive and passion relating to being a Beauty Queen

I’m always motivated and always want to try new things .

What is your Philosophy of life

I don’t fear failure but rather fear not trying. And if I believe very strongly in something, I standup and fight for it.

My dear young girls out there. Go for whatever thing you want in life. Don’t fear failure, standup and fight for what you what. And always make improvements in whatever you do.

In Food June 28, 2021 By Women of Rubies

Adanne Uche, A Nigerian Agro-Processing Entrepreneur Improving Consumer Nutrition Through Her Spices And Cooking Ingredients

Great meals go beyond having excellent culinary skills or knowing how to mix ingredients or spices to achieve great taste. It involves ensuring the cooking ingredients used are healthy enough for consumption. This is why Adanne Uche, a graduate of Foreign Languages and Literature, started Ady’s Food Mart in 2017 to improve nutrition and help consumers stay healthy and also ensure families and catering companies have healthy options of cooking ingredients to use for their meals.

Adanne was inspired to venture into this line of business when she observed the overwhelming influx of adulterated food ingredients and spices in the market and its effects on the health of its consumers. This is why she saw a need to process and package healthy food ingredients and spices for consumers in Nigeria and Africa, where healthy African dishes are appreciated.

It has been a rollercoaster but something I am confident in saying is that we have scaled to become a household name.

With no previous knowledge in entrepreneurship. Adanne started her first business after the birth of her first daughter, but having no entrepreneurial skills it failed after 2 years. She started another business after a year, it still did not work, that is until she found something she really enjoys doing and that is cooking.
So she decided to cook and do something that could give her joy and at the same time pay her a salary.

Ady’s Food Mart was birthed with a N30,000 loan from her brother. She decided to solve food adulteration problems starting with Palm Oil, then grew to other food ingredients and a world of spices, where they process, package and distribute healthy spices to families in Nigeria.

From her journey and experience, the simple piece of advice she can give to anyone is “Find your passion that can get you paid, study it, look for someone that has done it before you, learn from them, run with it, and be resilient.”

In Inspiration June 26, 2021 By Women of Rubies

Mariam Lawani, A Nigerian Entrepreneur Tackling Poverty And Unemployment Through Waste Recycling

When you step into Nigerian rural communities, you would notice that poverty, unemployment and poor waste management practices are their major challenges. This is why Mariam Lawani has decided to solve these problems in her own way by starting up a business called Greenhill Recycling.

Greenhill Recycling is a Social Enterprise addressing the poverty and unemployment crisis in Nigeria, using recyclable waste as the currency of exchange.

At Greenhill Recycling, they harness the power of rural communities to solve waste management problems in Nigeria. They have a reward system and the reward for recycling model gives households, especially in indigent communities the opportunity to exchange their recyclable waste (e.g. plastic beverage and water bottles, broken chairs, buckets and bowls, water sachets), aluminum cans, old corrugated cartons and office paper for redeemable Green points, which can be exchanged for items of value such as groceries, pay utility bills or provide school supplies for children.

To impact on communities and create a source of livelihood for another human being is my greatest satisfaction!

For Mariam, entrepreneurship began since her university days where she sold Mary-Kay make up items in school.
She observed her mother as a child succeed in several businesses. Her mother ran a restaurant for decades. She also owned a supermarket and a boutique. Mariam learnt stock keeping as she worked in her mother’s boutique during school breaks as a child.

Mariam had an older brother who also worked the path of an entrepreneur and watching her brother and mother succeed in business as an entrepreneur motivated her to become a entrepreneur.

Mariam chose the path of waste recycling because she got tired of all the waste that flooded her street whenever it rained, causing flood and traffic jams. Thus reducing productivity time for her, and causing her to be late for work.
Asides the aesthetic impact, it negatively impacted on the health of the people as they constantly had to use insecticides at home.

Interestingly, at the time, there were only 2 formal recycling companies catering to over 22 million residents in Lagos State. There was a huge market and the solution of Green Recycling was instituted to solve the waste management problem in Lagos state first and in extension Nigeria and Africa.

I have experienced challenges, some losses, learnt some hard lessons, built amazing networks, got business certifications and an ongoing MBA degree, made some wrong decisions and very good ones and so far, I would describe the journey in one word – Rollercoaster.

We have succeeded to make recycling convenient and relate-able for residents in Lagos state. People can now truly associate waste to value, they can now use waste to solve their daily problems and so for them, it is no longer waste, but a resource in motion. We have also empowered several women to start up their own businesses in the recycling value chain, by offering a franchise opportunity to them.
The ability to change other people’s lives.

As her words of encouragement to people who want to start their own business, she said “Do not see the limitations, they are there deliberately to discourage you. Engage in sufficient research, ensure your solution meets a need and just do it!”

In Career Gems June 25, 2021 By Women of Rubies

Funkola Odeleye Recognized In Leading Edge Initiative

The Reykjavík Global Forum – Women Leaders launches today Leading Edge, an initiative to celebrate and amplify the work of women who are fostering economic growth and social change. Among the five featured women is Funkola Odeleye of Nigeria, the co-founder and CEO of DIYLaw Technologies, Ltd.

Passionate about developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nigeria, Odeleye’s company automated legal services for small and medium enterprises, including the process for business registrations. It has already contributed to the creation of 125,000 jobs by helping entrepreneurs scale their companies and become competitive.

Odeleye’s goal is to help reduce unemployment in Nigeria by 50 percent by 2030.

“There isn’t true leadership without rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty. Leadership is serving,” she says in her video.

With this approach to leadership and service, Odeleye wants to create a stronger economy in Nigeria and serve as an empowering role model for her young daughter.

“I have a 4-year-old daughter and I don’t just want to be a nurturer and a cater for her. I want to be one of the first inspirations that she has,” she added.

The Leading Edge initiative is one of the centerpieces of this year’s Reykjavík Global Forum – a globally renowned convening where hundreds of leaders from all sectors, including politics, business, civil society, academia, the arts, and media, “Power Together” every year in Reykjavík to build a more resilient and equal society.

The five global business leaders showcased as part of the launch exemplify the power and potential of female leadership in shaping economies across different sectors and regions of the world.

“These five impressive leaders have achieved tremendous success in their lives and careers. Their commitment to using their voices, platforms, and power to build successful businesses and contribute to the economy of their countries is outstanding,” said Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Founder & President of Women Political Leaders (WPL), co-host of the Reykjavík Global Forum – Women Leaders. “The Reykjavík Global Forum is an opportunity for leaders from all continents and all sectors to focus on solutions to advance society; and with creative, innovative women like these at the table, we can move forward faster towards more equitable workplaces, governments, economies, and communities.”

Videos highlighting the stories, setbacks, and successes of the Leading Edge ambassadors have been shared on social media, at WhatsYourEdge.org, and on the initiatives section of the Forum website, reykjavikforum.global/initiatives/, with a call to action for changemakers to amplify these messages and contribute their own stories.

“We all have a story to tell, and our hope is that this cohort of inspiring Leading Edge women will start a global conversation on what is possible when more women lead,” said Hanna Birna Kristjansdottir, Chair of the Board of the Reykjavík Global Forum. “The global GDP could increase by $28 trillion in 2025 if men and women participated in their economies equally. Particularly as we begin to envision our post-pandemic world and as we look to build forward equal, the full participation and leadership of women will be essential to a more sustainable recovery.”

Stories from the Leading Edge initiative will continue on social media during the Generation Equality Forum, a global gathering for gender equality convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France, in partnership with youth and civil society.

Women worldwide, and those participating in Generation Equality, are invited to share their stories of female leadership, mentorship, and power on social media using the hashtags, #WhatsYourEdge and #WomenLeading. Stories will be amplified throughout the summer, culminating in the Reykjavík Global Forum 2021 from November 8 to 10. This year’s event will be a combination of virtual conversations and in-person sessions in Reykjavík, Iceland, a global leader in gender equality.

Meet the Other Women at the Leading Edge

The five women business leaders featured by Leading Edge are having significant impacts on their countries’ economies, which have mixed records on gender equality, according to the Reykjavík Index for Leadership compiled by WPL and Kantar. The Index measures the perceptions of women’s suitability for leadership in government and business.

There was very little improvement in the latest research in the way societies in the G7 view men and women’s suitability to lead. An index score of 100 signals complete agreement that men and women are equally suited to leadership. In the 2020 report, Canada scored 81, United States 76, France 74, India 68, Kenya 53, and Nigeria 47.

To learn more about these women, watch their Leading Edge videos.

Aurélie Jean, Ph.D., U.S. and France

CEO and Founder, In Silico Veritas; CAIO and Co-Founder, DPEEX

Dr. Aurélie Jean is a research scientist and an entrepreneur in computational sciences. Her consulting company, In Silico Veritas, builds algorithms and data strategies for a broad range of clients. Her AI deep tech startup DPEEX on precision medicine helps increase the survival rate of women with breast cancer by detecting and localizing the tumor up to two years before being visible on a mammography.

In her words: “We all have cognitive biases…We tend to transfer those biases to the things that we produce. Eventually, those become algorithm biases and that could lead to what we call technology discrimination.”

Chebet Lesan, Kenya

Founder and CEO, BrightGreen Renewable Energy

An industrial designer, environment enthusiast, and advocate for technology that uplifts underserved communities, Chebet Lesan’s company, BrightGreen Energy manufactures economical fuel blocks that reduce deforestation and develop other women’s entrepreneurship.

In her words: “Use what you have to do what you can. Most times, whatever you need to achieve something, you already have it in you and around you. Start where you are.”

Nivruti Rai, India

Country Head of Intel India and VP of Intel Foundry Services

A self-proclaimed risk taker, Nivruti Rai is a champion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). She strongly believes in its power to create value for humanity. She is using her position at one of the world’s leading technology companies to promote India’s digitalization with the focus on creating “population scale” solutions with technology.

In her words: “If you don’t fit into the frame—especially for women—that people have in their minds, then you have to come and break that framework.”

Eva Wong, Canada

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Borrowell

Eva Wong wants to bust the myth that entrepreneurs are born. She co-founded the fintech firm Borrowell without technology or financial services experience and without having been part of a startup. In 2019, she and her co-founder, Andrew Graham, were EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

In her words: “Do something that scares you a little. Resilience and confidence are muscles that you can build over time.”

In Inspiration June 24, 2021 By Women of Rubies

Makhosazana Megan Ngubane, A South African Educator Committed To Empowerment Through Skills Development

If you want to change people’s economic and financial status, it’s essential to give them the skills they need to access jobs or start their own businesses. In South Africa, Makhosazana Megan Ngubane has built a highly effective, specialist education business, Makhophila Training, to provide those essential skills, particularly to people in rural areas.

My business started with passion, then accreditation, and then completing courses in Business Management, Skills Development Facilitator, Assessor and Moderator. Nothing beats on the job training and experience.

Makhosazana Megan Ngubane co-founded Makhophila Training in 2010 in South Africa after being retrenched from her former place of employment. Since she is passionate about skills development and has a strong dedication to empowering people in rural areas, she started the business of training people in relevant skills.

Her background is more educational than entrepreneurial. She was raised by parents who were both in the educational sector. This contributed to her intense passion for education and informed her decision to seek accreditation so she can start up her business, Makhophila Training.

In her own words, “My business started with passion, then accreditation, and then completing courses in Business Management, Skills Development Facilitator, Assessor and Moderator. Nothing beats on the job training and experience. Over the years we have developed systems and policies we apply in our daily operations and continue to adopt innovative ways of meeting our objectives. Challenges over the years have surfaced but I have never given up on the vision.”

To further ease the learning process and accessibility, she is working on an e-learning platform as well as extending the teaching of robotics and coding to rural areas.
She is proud of how much her business empowers people to the point that they can graduate and be employed through the skills gained at the training.
This is why she advises young women to never be afraid to start on a small scale but have the bigger vision. Have a mentor. They should also have a strong passion for what they do as it is that passion that makes the tough days better.

Makhosazana Megan Ngubane understands the difference she can make in people’s lives and in the society as a whole through the business she has built. She believes strongly that by providing quality skills development, education and training, every individual who graduates from her programmes can take their place in the society and go on to make meaningful contributions.

In Editor's Choice June 26, 2021 By Women of Rubies

#Interview| “Prioritize Your Mental And Emotional Health” – Omobolanle Ajijola

Omobolanle Ajijola is a Certified Trauma Counselor trained in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Early Trauma and an Executive Member of the African Network of Professional Counselors(ANEPCO).

An NLP Practitioner and a passionate Gender-Based Violence Advocate as well as being a trained certified Emotional Intelligence Specialist, she passionately spreads awareness against sexual and all forms of gender-based violence and is concerned about the total well-being of families and by extension children.

Omobolanle is the founder of Bina AI-Amal Safety Foundation, a non-governmental, and not-for-profit organization that provides social and economic empowerment to Survivors and Victims of Gender-Based Violence and disadvantaged communities across Nigeria.

She loves and enjoys working with families and children and this has led her to volunteer with organizations that share the same vision namely Rescue Village Africa, Heartminders Initiative, Amazing Amazon Initiative, and Black Diamond Support Foundation to name a few.

She has gone on numerous campaigns to schools and communities and has participated in road rallies to raise awareness on child sexual abuse and the rights of the African Child, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, and Gender inequality.

Her passion has led her to attend various courses tailored to child safety and sexual abuse prevention.

Omobolanle is a firm believer in securing a safe and well-balanced environment free from all forms of Violence. A true global change agent, while speaking with Women of Rubies, she gave this explorative insights on her journey;

Childhood Influence

I grew up , pretty much sheltered with my siblings , not going out much and spent a lot of time with my Grandma who was the resident conflict resolver in her area.

People would come to her with their issues and I’d watch her listen and then help sort whatever the issue was and soothe hurt tempers.

Same with helping those in need, no one came to her door in tears and left the same, she had a solution to every challenge.

She would always give back or give out to whoever was in need and when thanked she would say she was but a servant of Allah doing his bidding.

Watching my grandma (God rest her soul) advocate for what was right no matter if it got her on the wrong side of people and her big heart when it came to giving ,shaped me into the woman I am today.

My parents aren’t any different and till date still help whoever comes to their door.

Inspiration Behind Bina Al- Amal foundation?

My deep passion to effect lasting change in people’s live that made a real difference was the inspiration behind the foundation.

I’d gone on numerous Sexual Abuse awareness campaigns and the stories of abuse we heard stayed with me, I wanted to do more.

Watching children and women roam the streets without a roof over their head and no access to basic amenities and the high numbers of women who would turn up for Empowerment programs worried me a lot, and after a summer school project at an informal settlement in 2019

My mind was made up, I knew what I had to do.

Managing life as a certified trauma counsellor, NLP practitioner and a GBV advocate,

Each role requires a lot of energy and focus and I’ve been able to merge all into one and balance them all.

It’s not been easy but managing my time and prioritizing has helped me maintain the balance needed to flourish.

Experience as a multiple hand volunteer for several organizations

It’s been very educative, each volunteer role came from a personal experience and working for each Organization has taught me lot of things ranging from leadership, rapport and communication building, conflict resolution among other things.

It’s an experience I won’t trade for anything.

My work at Bina Al-Amal foundation, and its impact since inception

At Bina Al-Amal Foundation we provide the support , encouragement and empowerment to that people who live in informal settlements and we also provide the interventions needed for Survivors and Victims of Gender Based Violence .

Basically we offer prevention and intervention against Child Abuse, Rape, domestic violence, and all forms of violence against children and women while Providing prompt sensitive and psychosocial support to survivors of abuse and ensuring perpetrator is prosecuted, Provision of sexual abuse awareness programs to engage and enlighten Teenagers and young Adults on Sexual and Gender based violence and the need to be more socially and morally aware while providing the necessary psychosocial support , Provision of temporary shelters for the homeless for women especially women and families who had gone through one forms of abuse and those who live in informal settlements (shanties and rural areas),

Empowerment for women in rural and vulnerable communities and Free Education for children in rural and vulnerable communities.

Our impact since inception has been amazing.

For our survivors and Victims of Sexual and Gender based Violence, we have been able to offer psychosocial and intervention services to at least 10 families and counting.

For our informal community recipients , we have been able to offer education to over 100 of the children in the informal community as well as provision of palliative during the covid -19 lockdown.

Our teen conferences designed to educate and empower young adults has reached over 100 youths and counting, providing them with information on the dangers of sexual and gender based violence and the importance of leadership skills

Work Challenges

Our major challenge has been getting the required amount of help our informal settlement residents in terms of the shelter need as they are constantly being evicted

Another challenge is their belief system , they feel they have no hope and no one cares about them.

For our Survivors and Victims it’s tackling the silence and stigmatization that doesn’t encourage them to open up freely about their experiences

For our teens and young adults it’s helping them with the difficult choices and temptations they face in a world where information overload is everywhere.

Other projects and activities?

We are working on a building a stable environment for our informal settlement residents and helping them create a better quality of life through Empowerment and Job creating programmes.

A group therapy hub for our Trauma warriors and a teen hub for our Young adults to help them cope with this fat paced world.

3 Women Who Inspire Me

Christiane Amanpour, Oreoluwa Adebiyi and Mrs Achenyo Idachaba for their fearlessness in reporting the truth, Their can do attitude and above all love for humanity.

They inspire me to be a better version of myself and to continue to push through even when people don’t understand the journey.

My experience at social Innovators Bootcamp and its forthcoming impact

To be honest , I’d joined the bootcamp to achieve two things: to gain clarity and get the structure needed and to come 2nd was a bit of a shock. I never imagined I’d make it to the top 3. It was a humbling experience for me, I gained so much more than what I signed up for.

My SIBC Experience taught me one valuable lesson, I’m doing something right and this is going to set the tone for a lot of our activities moving forward at Bina Al-Amal Foundation.

Right steps to take in reporting a case of Domestic Violence & Rape.

For Both cases the most important thing and the first step is to Document evidence.

For a rape victim the best way to Document evidence is to go as soon they are able to a Sexual Assault Referral Centre preferably Mirabel Centre to get checked by a doctor and to get the medical attention needed

For a Domestic Violence Victim, we encourage them to take pictures of bruises, take voice recordings only if it is safe to do so.

Next step is to go to a police station to report the case. At the station, ask for their Gender Desk or Family Support Unit.

After this the police would ask for evidence of assault to which a letter would be sent to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre who carried out the examination for the rape victim.

For the Domestic Violence Victim, evidence would also be collected.

How to overcome Trauma, and stay grounded

In handling Trauma, I encourage client’s to

1)Give yourself time. It takes time – weeks or months – to accept what has happened and to learn to live with it,take it one step at a time.

2)Acknowledging your experience,that way, you can start to understand what drives your feelings of fear and anxiety, and change your perspective over time.

3) Join a Support Group, being involved with other survivors of trauma, sometimes hearing others and knowing you’re not alone offers you some of the comfort needed.

4)Ask for support from family and friends willing to help, don’t isolate yourself.

5)Take some time for yourself: It’s okay to want to be by yourself or with close family and friends

6)Talk it over with a Professional. This is where therapy comes in to give a more grounded sense of healing.

7)Get into a routine to resting a sense of normalcy

8) Exercise.

On staying grounded:

1)Appreciate life’s simple pleasures.

2)Practice gratitude.

3)Take a break.

4)Prioritize your mental and emotional health.

5)Be the change you want to see in the world.

6)Stay active.

As a Woman of Rubies

What makes me a Woman of Rubies is my selfless character and passion to see a fellow woman attain great heights and my not giving up on those who need me.

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