Women of Rubies
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#RubyGirl | “I Started My Foundation After The Death Of My Friend Who Impacted Lives”- Abati Esther

 Abati Esther is the third child in a family of six. She was born on the 10th of May, 1999. She is an Indigene of Ogun State. She is currently in her fourth year in Olabisi Onabanjo University studying Law. She is a blogger, an aspiring model and an humanitarian.

She shares her “RUBY GIRL” story with the team

1. Let’s Know You. Who is Abati Esther? 

I am Abati Esther, the third child in a family of six. I am 21 years, clocking 22 soon by May.  A penultimate law student of Olabisi Onabanjo University, a blogger, an aspiring model and an humanitarian. I am a co founder of PREESIM FOUNDATION and a member of Pealim Foundation, the CEO of Ayo_Stitches, a brand that deals with male and female materials, wears amongst others.

 Has Law always been your dream course? If not, what prompted you to study Law?

Yes, Law has always been my dream. And I’m also happy that my dad loves the profession so I was not forced to study the course.

You’re the co-founder of PREESIM FOUNDATION. What birthed the vision and what does it entail?

Hmmm, PREESIM FOUNDATION is a non-governmental organization established by two of my best friends and me, the name of the foundation was derived from our names: Precious, Esther and Simi. After the death of one of my friends, I saw all what she accomplished before she died, she made sure she impacted lives and helped the less privileged through the establishment of a foundation. May her Soul Rest in Peace. Then, I thought that if my friend who knew she had short stay on earth could do something so inspiring like this, why can’t I also impact lives and make people happy? So, on August 9, 2020, a day after Precious’ birthday, I messaged my two best friends and discussed with them, they were happy because they also thought of establishing a foundation. I gave them the name of the foundation and they loved it.

The foundation was fully established on September 1, 2020. The main aim of the foundation is to provide for the needy and help the less privileged. Though there are lots of foundations around, yet they can not reach everyone, this is why we are joining the other foundations in reaching out to lives. We are not just providing material needs, we are also trying to impact lives.

And ever since the establishment of PREESIM FOUNDATION, we’ve had the privilege of reaching out to the less privileged, educating the female students on how to be sexually safe and personal hygiene. Also, on March 26, 2021, we were able to reach out to the needy at Ijebu Igbo and the students of Imere Moslem School at Ago Iwoye on April 1, 2021. We are not stopping there. By the special grace of God, we will be reaching out to the orphans to celebrate children’s day with them in May. You can check our page on Instagram @preesim_foundation.

4. Your greatest fear?

My greatest fear is losing my loved ones.

5. What is the influence of your black ebony skin on your modelling career?

Like I said earlier, I’m an an aspiring model, I’m not in any agency for now due to some factors. But my complexion is a blessing from God which I don’t have any intention of tampering with. Most people do appreciate my complexion and I’m always happy, it is part of the reason why I want to venture into modelling but I don’t want it to affect my education. I believe if I work more, I can achieve something great with it.

 What are the topics or subjects you address in your blog and what inspires your writing?

Some of the topics I address in my blog are: Addiction, Rape, Social Injustices and Racial Discrimination, Unfriendly Wife-Beaters… Others can be found at wwwtheabatisblogonline.wordpress.com .

What inspires my writing? Well, I’m not the type that writes always. The main thing that inspires my writing is the society.

 You’re a member of Pealin Foundation, what is the significance of foundations like this in the society and what are the major challenges they face?

Pealim Foundation is also a non-governmental organization whose aim is to help a child live well. I am also a member of this foundation.

Foundations like these have lots of impacts in the society. They help in improving the standards of living of millions of families in the society. They educate and enlighten the society on things they are not aware of. They help to fight hunger in the society. People are really suffering, when you get to different communities, you will know that lots of people in the society needs help, financially, emotionally, spiritually and even health wise. These are the reasons why foundations like these exist.

Although to carry out any project in foundations is not easy. Because there is no project you will want to carry out that will not involve money. I can remember the first outreach of my foundation, PREESIM FOUNDATION which was on December 11, 2020. We made graphics to call for donations and we asked members to pay any amount and as at then, we were just six members including the three founders. On December 2, when I called Precious to ask whether we’ve been able to get some cash, she said no money has entered the account. I became unhappy, I told her that we have less than two weeks to carry out the project, she said this foundation is not for us Esther, it is for God, so trust him, He will do something about it. Well, I trusted God, I started praying. Some days later, one of my friend’s sister called me and said she will like to sponsor the foundation, she asked for the foundation’s account details which I gave her. I was so happy. To cut the long story short, we were able to gather some money to carry out the project, in fact, the rice we shared was bought for us by one of our sponsors. Then, I believed that WHAT GOD CAN NOT DO DOES NOT EXIST.

Besides this, foundations do have problems with their members. Some members are not committed and you know that you can’t force people. Most people don’t understand why they are volunteers. They become volunteers because they want people to know that they are in a foundation. Not knowing that it has to do with lots of sacrifices and commitments.

 Your favourite quote?
As earlier said, my favorite quote is “What God can not do does not exist”

You have your own fashion line, Ayo_Stitches. How do you cater for the fashion needs of your customers?

As I always say, I’m not a professional, I’m still learning. The idea of owning a fashion line came during the covid 19 lockdown period, I must say that I achieved a lot during this period.
Ayo_Stitches is a brand that deals with male and female materials and wears. Well, catering for the fashion needs of my customers have not been easy because I only have opportunity to sew at home, I rarely do that in school because I don’t have sewing machine in school and my parents won’t allow me to bring my sewing machine to school. But most times, when it’s not during exam period and my customers want to sew, I usually borrow my friend’s sewing machine to do that and if I’m busy and I noticed that my customer really needs it, I will ask one of my friends to help me with that. God really blessed me with good friends.

You serve as the Financial Secretary of Justice Cloaks Chambers. How has the experience been for you?

Well, I’m still the financial secretary of JCC. Though I’m new to holding posts because I’ve never held one before but I’m learning. Sometimes, when we want to have meeting, I would have forgotten because I’m not used to it. But the President has been helpful.

Mention 3 women who inspire you and why.

My mum is the first woman that inspires me. That woman is a strong woman, infact she is my role model. She perseveres a lot and never gave up. The second woman is Precious’ mum that is my best friend’s mum. She constantly lets me know that without God, I am nothing. She helps my spiritual growth.

The third woman is Mrs Funke Felix-Adejumo. I love the way she dedicates herself towards impacting lives and her seminars do inspires me. I love everything about her

 If you were the president of Nigeria for one day, what changes will you put in place?

Hmmm, a lot. One of them is youth empowerment. The second is that I will try my possible best to fight hunger in the society. Also, I will improve the educational sector and make sure the less privileged get educated. There are lots of children out there who are willing to go to school but are not capable financially. Also, I will improve the health sector. In fact, I will change a lot.

Your advice to young females five years younger than you

My advice to young females younger than me is that your life matters a lot to you. Don’t allow what people say to affect your life. Lots of girls out there are going through a lot but don’t have anyone to speak with which is why they do things like committing suicide.

You are a woman even though you are young so be strong and be happy. And always put God first, with Him, everything is possible.

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Meet the First Female Vice Chancellor of The University of South Africa, Prof Puleng LenkaBula.

Prof Puleng LenkaBula is the first woman to be appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Africa (Unisa) in its 148-year-long existence.

She resumed her new position in January 2021.

She was the Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs and Community Engagement at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Before joining UFS, Prof LenkaBula was the Dean of Students at the University of Witwatersrand, where she was a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office (VCO) and the senior executive team.

Professor LenkaBula is of mixed decent (Lesotho and South Africa). She holds a PhD in Ethics (Theology and Philosophy) with specialisation in Ethics of the Economy, Ecology and Politics (Social Ethics) from the University of South Africa.

She obtained a Master’s degree (MTS) in Social Ethics from St Andrew’s College at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada and a Bachelor of Education with three majors in English, Theology, and Education from the National University of Lesotho.

Professor Puleng LenkaBula is a board member of local and international ecumenical and academic formations.

Her appointment is indeed commendable as a significant step towards transformation and inclusivity. The appointment of Prof LenkaBula to such as powerful and influential position at UNISA, will surely give the much needed momentum to the university’s ongoing transformation agenda, and initiatives.

. “The global knowledge arena does not have many women,” she says, “let alone black women in leading positions. For me, this appointment validates the sentiments of black girls and black boys who might not have had the confidence that they could be able to assume leadership positions in different sectors. They might be inspired to know that it is possible to become the leader of a university of our size and impact.” Prof  Puleng says.

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Meet Captain Kgomotso Phatsima, Female Military Pilot in the Botswana Defence Force

Captain Kgomotso Phatsima, one of the first female military pilots in the Botswana Defence Force.

She is the founder and President of Dare to Dream – a social enterprise dedicated to the advancement of young women and girls in STEM Aviation and Aerospace as well as Entrepreneurship development skills.

She holds a Bachelor of Education in Mathematics from the University of Botswana, Basic Military Flying from the Flying Training School (Botswana Defence Force), Commercial Pilots Licence from Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana, Master of Science (MSc) in Strategic Management from the University of Derby.

“When I was growing up, I never had the chance to sit like this with a pilot or get into an airplane until I had the chance to fly one,” she said.

“After I qualified as a pilot, I sat down and thought: ‘What can I do to give the upcoming generation – especially those who grew up in a village, like me – an opportunity to do that?’.

“I started Dare to Dream to give back to the community and to try and open up their eyes to opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to,” she added.

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Meet 23-Year-Old Emma Theofelus, Africa’s Youngest Deputy Minister

 

Hon. Emma Theofelus, Africa’s youngest appointed Deputy Minister. On 22 March 2020, at age 23, she was sworn in as Namibia’s Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology.

Hon. Theofelus is a Lawyer and Social Justice Advocate with a demonstrated track record of working in the legal services and advocacy industry.

She is also considered as one of Africa’s youngest Member of Parliament (MP). Before her life-changing appointment, she was employed as a legal officer in the Ministry of Justice where she dealt with drafting human rights reports as well as implementing the human rights strategy of the nation, among others.

She has also worked with various youth groups, such as Global Shapers Windhoek.

She shone in those ranks and her effort appear to have earned her a spot in the nation’s parliament.

She holds an LLB (Honours) in Law from the University of Namibia, a Diploma in Business Management from Amity University and a Diploma in Afrikan Feminism and Gender Studies from the University of South Africa.

As a teenager, she has served in various positions including – Deputy Speaker of the Children’s Parliament of Namibia.

Celebrate her greatness!

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Ropa Mupambwa, inspirational and trailblazing Zimbabwean born female Footwear and Handbag Designer and founder of Celyn Roze, a footwear and fashion brand based in Calgary, Canada and sold globally.

Mupambwa moved from Zimbabwe to Canada when she was 12 years old.

Upon arriving in Canada, her first job was at the mall, because she was drawn to fashion, styling, and working with different fabrics.

She noted how women go through stages in life, from having children to growing older, and through these times, they need their heel height to change.

Women have always wanted the luxury of wearing any shoe they want in any heel size they prefer but most of the time, the heel sizes are restrictive.

Ropa Mupambwa aims to produce fashion staples such as her one shoe, five different heels under her fashion brand Celyn Roze to fill the gap.

In 2019, this led her to launch Celyn Roze with the vision of designing shoes in five different heel heights: flats, 3.5 cm, 6 cm, 9 cm, and 12 cm.

All Celyn Roze shoes have a signature orange sole and a cushioned insert so that wearers can benefit from the comfort of extra padding (something all women have been waiting for).

“I noticed that people would end up wearing the wrong heel height, or they just ended up not buying shoes because they don’t have the right heel height,” she said. I wanted to fill in the gap in this challenging day.” she said.

Mupambwa credits her mom, whose name is Celyn Roze, as a massive inspiration for her journey in the fashion industry.

“When I started designing and selling shoes, I wanted my brand to be different. I wanted something unique and to solve a problem as well,” she said.

Ropa credits her mother, who used to sew ready-to-wear outfits, and grandmother’s crocheting skills for her fashion sense.

“My mom has a sleek fashion background, and she did a little bit of tailoring back home,” she said. “She used to do ready-to-wear outfits and wedding dresses. She even made her own wedding dress.”

Ropa believes women should be free and confident to embrace whatever heel height they want according to the various life cycles they go through as well. Women should be allowed to feel beautiful in any heel height they wear.

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Meet 33-Year-Old South African Londy Ngcobo, First African Dredge Master and Global Ship Navigator

Londy Ngcobo Blaqmermaid is a former Maritime Compliance Manager for Transnet National Ports Authority, Founder of Global Maritime Youth and Chief Executive of Womaritime Experts, a consulting firm in the shipping industry. All which has led to her well known title “The Blaqmermaid”.

Londy Ngcobo Blaqmermaid is a 33-year-old South African born Global Ship Navigator and Africa’s First Female Dredge Master, making waves on land as Businesswoman, Global Speaker, Conference Facilitator, Women & Youth Activist in Transport.

She has over 13 years of experience in the Maritime industry, her background includes Maritime Studies, International Merchant shipping experience, Advanced dredging from Netherlands IHC.

This Black Excellence award-winning Woman in Scarce Skills serves on various boards in Transport Sector and influential organizations within leadership, women and youth spheres ensuring continuous development of Africa’s transport professions through advocacy, training, and awareness as well as strengthening the competitiveness and employment creating potential for Africans.

Captain Londy’s focus is on providing sustainable tools for women to thrive in scarce skills and her zest for life encourages the youth to think outside the box, with her Forbes Women Africa piercing phrase “I didn’t choose to be Rose from the Titanic, I chose to Captain the Titanic” and through her popular TEDx Talk “Anchors Aweigh, No Rest For The First”.

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Meet Michelle Boit, Kenya’s Highflying Petroleum Engineering Consultant…

Michelle Boit, a Petroleum Engineering Consultant is currently a Wells Operations Engineer at Glencore (Chad) and the Board Chair of Kenyatta University SPE Chapter.

Engineer Michelle Boit

Engr. Boit holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Texas Tech University and an Executive MBA in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.

She has previously worked for BP PLC as a Production Engineer.

In 2014, she relocated back to Kenya and worked for Tullow Oil as a Senior Production Engineer, becoming the first African – Petroleum Engineer.

“One of the challenges of working in the oil and gas industry is the environment. It entails working in the field and some environments are quite harsh.”

“Second, supervising men can be tough as some still hold the attitude that a woman can’t tell them anything. There are instances where I have been in the field supervising jobs that have about 100 men and some of them would address their male colleagues assuming they are supervisors and not me, which can be quite discouraging,” said Engr Boit.

She is the founder and CEO of Michelle Boit Foundation – where she mentors young engineers and link them to opportunities.

 

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Meet 23-Year-Old Nigerian-Born Miracle Izuchukwu, Private Pilot and Flight Attendant at American Airlines

Miracle Izuchuwu who recently joined the elite group of 7% of females and 1% of black female Pilots in the world is a 23-year-old Nigerian born Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot (candidate) and Flight Attendant at American Airlines.

From the Cabin to the Cockpit

“I who grew up in a society that did not encourage young girls to dream big, career-wise. I remember watching lots of TED Talks to give myself more insights on possible careers that might interest me…to no avail,” said Miracle.

In 2019, she had an encounter with an Airline Pilot while working as a customer service rep. He opened her eyes to the possibility of becoming a Pilot. A few weeks later, she went on a discovery flight that sealed it for her.

“I came home that day, called my father, and told him I was considering becoming a professional Pilot.

He said, and I quote: “if he gets on a plane and sees a woman as the Pilot, he would get off the plane” words cannot explain the pain and confusion I felt. I needed that validation,” she narrated.

“What if, in raising children, we focus on ability instead of gender?

In a world that wants us to whisper, I choose to shout,” concluded Miracle

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Adedolapo Osuntuyi Is Impacting Lives Through Dolly Children Foundation

There are so many amazing amazons changing lives, adding value to the society, and building the Nation, and Adedolapo Osuntunyi is one of them.

Adedolapo  is the founder and president of Dolly Children Foundation, a non-governmental organization focused on improving the plight of indigent children in Nigeria through Education; emphasis on quality education for all.

She is a fellow of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), West Africa Regional Centre, a US Government Initiative. The desire to start a foundation like this came in secondary school after reading her classmate’s story featured in a newspaper; during the anniversary of the NGO that took care of her from childhood.

This story, as well as other close experiences, motivated Adedolapo to start Dolly Children Foundation (DCF) on April 13, 2006, during her undergraduate years at the University.

Adedolapo graduated from the prestigious University of Central Lancashire, Preston UK, with a masters degree in Child Health & Social Care. She obtained an Africa – America Institute Scholarship to study Social Sector Management Course at the Enterprise Development Centre, Pan – Atlantic University.

She has gained experience in child protection, early childhood and community development programs and over 5000 children in 22 communities have benefitted through various interventions of the organization.

Some of her foundation’s amazing feat;

Reading Clubs
Our weekly reading club meetings which hold in the public primary schools and the communities we serve. Children are encouraged to read at least a book per term. Also, they are expected to learn new words, act drama, compose and develop their own thoughts from every book read.

The reading materials and educational activities carried out in the clubs are initiatives that inspire excellence, leadership and increase their literacy abilities.

This initiative has resulted in a marked improvement in the interest of children towards reading and has improved their ability to express themselves.

Sponsorship Programmes
The Sponsor A Child program has assisted children whose parents lack the financial backbone to support their schooling. I must say here that most of the children we sponsor have either lost a parent or both or are caregivers to their parents. Before our intervention, these children were unable to access desired and quality education which hindered their learning processes. Over the past year, DCF has provided sponsorship inform of educational aid and welfare to these children.

Back To School Initiative
Basic educational tools, school uniforms, shoes, bags etc have been provided to children with financial needs by the Foundation.

The initiative has also helped in bringing out – of – school children back to school by covering tuition fees, and needs.

This has helped to motivate over 5000 children to go back to school, as well as boost their confidence, and participation in school activities.

Training and Workshops for Public Primary School Teachers

In the past year, over 70 teachers and still counting have been trained in DCF workshops. Workshops and training sessions are organized for teachers to bring them up to date on 21st-century teaching methods.

These workshops have focused on topics like Numeracy made easy, 21st-century teaching methods, phonics, understanding your learner, managing diversity in your classroom e.t.c

After School And Summer School Tutoring Programmes
Our extra tutoring programmes which are available after school and during the summer break is targeted to help children from low – income backgrounds that are lagging behind academically.

Our motive behind these interventions is to engage the children in academic exercises that would effectively improve their academic performance, reduce child labor, and child abuse. Child laborers, street children, and dropouts have especially benefitted from this program since inception.

School Building Projects
School rebuilding is a project we took on from 2015 where we refurbish public primary schools with dilapidated structures.

We move into these outdated facilities to upgrade and equip them with the necessary educational materials and infrastructures. Thus far, a block of four classes, a staff office, library, and store have been built from scratch.

The project estimates to provide a healthy learning environment for over 1000 children by the end of 2018.

The bottom line here is that no child should be left behind. Our approach to these interventions is a holistic one whereby children lagging behind in school would catch in our reading clubs, if they are not catching up in the reading clubs, they would catch up in our after-school and summer programs, if they still need support, they would get it through our back to school initiatives.

We celebrate Adedolapo for her passion for humanity, and affinity for change.

 

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Odunayo Aliu Is Providing Quality Education for Kids In Marginalized Communities

Odunayo Aliu is  the Founder and Director of Bramble Network an organisation creating alternative learning spaces where children from low economic background in rural communities can have access to quality education.

Odunayo had a vision for a world where all children have access to quality education irrespective of their geographic location or socioeconomic background and that was why she founded the organisation which focuses on the physical, emotional, mental and social development of children in these communities.

Its Bramble Learning Space helps children find their passion for learning, through play and use of creative resources. It is designed to support diverse learning styles and takes children through artistic expressions, communication, scientific thinking, sports and various bodies of knowledge they choose to explore.

The organisation also runs a community reading room – Bramble Reading Room – where children of all ages, from various socio-economic backgrounds, reading together or listening to another child read a story.

Bramble is also creating a network of educators that will change the educational space in Nigeria from the grassroots. It is building a community of passionate and committed educators who will be trained by Bramble on how to implement unconventional learning methods in the marginalised areas of Nigeria.

Odunayo is also the President of The Love Letters Child Support Initiative, a community based child right organisation mobilising educational aid for children in rural communities.

Odunayo has a bachelors degree in Biology Education from Obafemi Awolowo University and studied Leadership and Social Work from Kanthari Institute of Social Change. She’s also an Ashoka Changemaker and a 2019/20 fellow of the LEAP Africa Social Innovators Program.

We celebrate Odunayo for her work in providing  access to education for kids in underserved communities.

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