self development Archives

In Inspiration June 5, 2022 By Esther Ijewere

I Started My Business Out Of My Passion For Humanity- Dr. Joy Ezeike

Life they say has different faces and only the tough people can stand the challenges involved. It is better to fail in novelty than to succeed in imitation, a belief that makes Amb. (Dr.) Joy I. Ezeike is unique in life; she believes in her own concept of creating a different world in business and personal life.

A woman of many parts, Ezeike is an entrepreneur and business professional par excellence, a renowned certified media expert with global training experience, and an astute personality with proven managerial and administrative competencies. She retired to a private personal business after several years in the banking sector.

Her love for photography, cinematography, movie production and event management spurred her to establish a media company, Omas World of Glamour Ltd. As the Founder/CEO of the organization, she made sure that the required energy that engenders business growth was invested and the company grew to become the number media company in the city of Port Harcourt, with strong presence in Lagos and Abuja.

Her contribution to the social-economic development through the media industry earned her different awards from different reputable bodies, including religious organisations, in recognition of her role in society and capacity building. The most recent is the Garden City Advancement Award where she received a platinum honors as enterprising personality of the year in 2021. Also, the Rotary Club of Ogudu GRA honoured with an award in recognition of her service to humanity.

A honorary doctorate degree holder (Hon. Causa) in media and art from Omini Bible University Oklahoma USA, She shares her inspiring story with Esther Ijewere in this interview.

Childhood Influence
GROWING up and family life in a humble background got me ready for life. I grew up in a very peaceful, fun and loving family with parents who taught me almost all I know. Of course, I didn’t know I would be here right now doing this, but somewhere along the line, it came to me and ever since, to the glory of God, it has been a success story.

Inspiration Behind Omas Group Of Companies And Omas Mega 4 Projects
Love and Passion for humanity; the passion to create unending employment for the young ones in our society. The Holy Spirit has been the guide and anchor: He directs, and I simply follow.

The foundation for hope is an NGO set up to cater for the elderly, helpless and needy of our society. My Story is a movie about my life to give hope and belief to others who are either upcoming or think they have lost it in life. Face of Omas is a pageant brand geared towards uplifting the girl child, while Omas studios TV is an online platform.

The Journey So Far
It Wasn’t smooth at first, but the Holy Spirit kept me going, so, I Thank God for the success we enjoy today. It’s been a tough yet fun ride; I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me.

What Informed My Decision To Leave Banking Sector For Entrepreneurship
I left the bank because it was pre-planned; I left to be a mother to my children and a wife to my husband. My regional manager refused me leaving thinking there was a problem at the home front, but there wasn’t any. I didn’t just believe in people taking care of my kids, so I took a sabbatical leave from the bank. But business came calling and I answered; I can return to banking at any time.

Society And Its Support For Women In My Kind Of Business
Societal support doesn’t really count for me, because society is not the vision bearer; they won’t really understand your drive. My pulling force in life/business has been heavenly support and that is what really counts for me. But then, generally, it will be better if society will support women, especially in the media industry.

Three Women Who Inspire Me And Why
I have drawn inspiration from many Nigerian women, the likes of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Rev Nches Iredu. Then on the international scene, you have the likes of Michelle Obama etc. These are women, who have been on various ladders of leadership, and some are leading big organisations and institutions. So, they inspire me a great deal; it makes me believe that there is no limit to what a woman can achieve.

Achieving Work-Life Balance
It has been God; He makes all things possible. He keeps giving me top-notch dedicated workers who always key into the vision. How I do it, I don’t know; God just keeps making it happen. I must tell you that it is not always very easy balancing marriage and work, as both are demanding, especially when you have children to take care of. However, marriage should not deter women from working and even giving sufficient time to work.

These days, the emphasis is no longer on the housewife; this is because to catch up with the demands of the family requires all hands to be on deck. As a matter of fact, I have provided strong support for my husband as long as the day-to-day running of our home is concerned. Over time, I have understood the home front and also my career; it takes dedication, absolute dedication, and self-sacrifice to balance the demand from the home front and career.

Truthfully speaking, I work hard and I give time to my work. I even work at night, yet I still find sufficient time for my husband and children. One thing that has helped me is my time management skill and I think people should learn the principles of time management; it will help them to balance the time they give at home and at work.

Challenges Of My Work
Lack of Government support and lack of collaboration with established firms in putting Nigerian media at the top sector. Dealing with young minds and eradicating poverty by creating unending employment requires a lot of investment. We need well to do individuals, firms, and the Government at both state and federal levels to come in and support training and equipping these young minds so we keep them off the street.

Other Projects And Activities
The Face of Omas will be coming soon with the view of uplifting the girl child. The Foundation for Hope is already catering for children in orphanage homes amidst plans to do some big charitable works and medical outreach in villages. Omas Studios TV has already started filming programmes and TV content for the general public. My story has been shot with the 1st episode already out on YouTube.

To Young Women Who Want To Go Into Business
First of all, clearly understand your vision and follow it up. Have a passion for your business. Passion is what drives you in any business, not minding how much you earn. Be a person of integrity; never be a two-sided person in business. Make the Holy spirit your everyday companion. ‘Women should be goal-oriented, women should focus on their goals and be intentional about them, the opportunities to excel in life are equal for men and women’ -alluring_jloo

Business Nugget
Do not worry about success at startup, stay dedicated and work towards being significant. With determination, success will come naturally.

Why I Am Extending My Business To Lagos
We have touched young lives in Port Harcourt and we are doing the same in Abuja, why not Lagos? We are excited to see Omas World of Glamour enter the Lagos market. We have been able to provide our clients with media production services that produce measurable results, as well as insights for future expansion and now we are here in Lagos. This will be an advantage for customers in the Southwestern part of Nigeria, as we are here to provide them with the best delivery and pricing.

The most exciting facet that we look forward to is continuous development, allowing us to achieve our vision of being the foremost media production company with a global outlook.

In Editor's Choice June 5, 2022 By Esther Ijewere

My Mission Is To Empower 5000 Young African Women With Basic Digital Skills- Excellence Joshua

A famous person once said; “Innovation is the outcome of a habit, not a random act.” That is what technology has done to the world; it made us recognise the power of consistency and focus.

Excellence Anurika Joshua belongs to the crop of women who are making a difference in the world through technology, and lifting other women while at it. She is the founder of Techy Train incubator, a Nigerian-based onshore and offshore training and outsourcing organisation that specialises in equipping African young women and female entrepreneurs with digital skills to empower them to get jobs in their countries and to also maximise remote job opportunities around the world. This will help in reducing the gender wage gap and to also support capacity building among African companies and startups development worldwide.

A Digital Media Consultant, Pan Africa social entrepreneur, and a blooming African development expert who has trained and created job opportunities for over 3000 young African Women in the Tech Space since 2019, in 2021, she started the Tech-Up Girls Initiative with her team to empower 5000 young women across Africa with basic digital skills before the end of 2022. The World Bank Fellow, and recipient of the AGS survivor-woman award is also the winner of Mentoring Her Pitchathon, as well as the 1st Runner-Up of The Youth Innovation Challenge by The Funding Space. In 2021, she emerged as one of the winners of the Startup Lab Pitch Competition of the Nigeria Tech Summit. A trailblaser who is passionate about using technology to drive change across areas in women, health, and education, she shares her story with ESTHER IJEWERE In this interview.

Childhood Influence
Yes, my childhood kind of did. My dad used to have a business centre even before I was born; first in Niger State and eventually in Abuja, the University of Abuja campus precisely. When I was about seven years old, on my birthday, my dad bought me a typewriter as my birthday gift and a book to learn how to type.

My mum used to be an accountant and a clerk with the then NEPA. She knew how to type very well, so she would teach me how to do ASDF and ;LKJ, you know, and all of that. I learnt how to type; that was when I was in primary three. But as I grew up, when I finished primary school, my elder brother and I would go to my dad’s business centre to help him with work. We would do things like photocopy, lamination… of course those are tech skills. So, we did all of that.

Then, when I grew a little bit older, he would tell his staff who were computer typists to teach me the computer, so they would teach me how to type and apply shortcuts on the computer. They taught me, so I knew how to type very well such that when I was in senior secondary school, I think or after junior WAEC, I was typing for money. Then a page was typed for N70 or N100? And we had so many people doing projects. It was a university environment, not everybody could own a computer or a laptop at that time, so people had to patronise business centres. And, yes, I knew how to type really fast.

My brother got more interested in coding, in software, and things like Oracle and all of that and he went further to explore that area but me, I just liked it; I love gadgets a lot. And my dad got me a phone; I think in 2006, I had just finished JSS 3. I never thought that I was going to be doing anything tech or digital skills like this; I didn’t think of it that way. But really, it helped. We would always go to my dad’s business centre to help him and I was exposed to all of these and he would just tell us, ‘don’t worry, when you are in school, when you get to the university, you won’t be stranded; you can always start your own business centre or do something.’

But you see, my story of survival from abuse pushed me to help other women and I didn’t think initially that my background was going to give me ease transitioning to tech. But here I am today; I am doing all of it. I think, yes, a part of my childhood actually prepared me in a way for what I do now.

Inspiration Behind Techy Train Incubator
In 2018, I was 25 years old, a fresh graduate from the university. I had just separated from my then abusive husband and fled with my two-year old son; I had no job, had a neurological breakdown, and was absolutely broke. I was desperate to survive. And while at it, I realised that the African society is not kind to helpless women and there were not many options for me. Despite being a graduate of Medical Laboratory Science, when life hit me hard, like it does to more than 21 per cent of Women in the world, the only lifeline I found to rebuild myself was through technology skills and digital solutions.

As soon as I began to make headway, I was determined to help other women do the same as well. I founded the Techy Train Incubator, a social enterprise to bridge the gender employment gap in Africa by training women and girls on digital skills, equipping them for the future of work and the right employability and helping them get jobs.

So far, I have led a team that has trained successfully over 7000 young Women across 21 countries in Africa on relevant basic digital skills and helped over 3500 outsource their talent globally, thereby fostering the economic development of women especially in Africa.

The Journey So Far
So far, I have led a team that has trained successfully over 7000 young Women across 21 countries in Africa on relevant basic digital skills and helped over 3500 outsource their talent globally thereby fostering the economic development of women especially in Africa. I have won a few grants that have accelerated our work and reach across Africa.

I started a foundation in 2021 funded by the Techy Train incubator to train young girls and ladies for free in relevant technology skills, especially those with financial challenges and with no jobs to cater for themselves and their children. My mission in this is to empower women and youths with tools to work their way out of poverty, care for their families and strengthen their communities. As there are so many opportunities in the Tech and online space that are yet to be tapped, I believe that with thorough guidance and training, we can help women, especially those who are suffering in abusive marriages, become financially independent, leveraging just their smartphones and the internet; helping them set up a thriving business online. It will also prevent more young women from being vulnerable to abuse.

Mission To Empower 5000 Young Women Across Africa With Basic Digital Skills Before The End Of 2022
I set up The Tech-Up Girls Initiative bootcamp with my team to empower 5000 young women across Africa with basic digital skills within three years, starting in June 2021. However, this goal was achieved within a year. So far, over 3330 have been empowered from across 19 countries in Africa and assisted over 400 women in being gainfully self-employed using digital skills. The final cohort where over 1700 young girls are enrolled will be completed by June 24, 2022.

In January 2022, I set-up the Tech-Up Ladies to teach young Nigerian female graduates how to code and become Software Developers. Nine young ladies were trained within 10 weeks for FREE and completed their training in March 2022.

Being A World Bank Fellow, And Winning The AGS Survivor-Woman Award
First, the World Bank Fellow award, I had just started Techy Train not too long ago and then I applied and pitched my business to go into the Access Bank Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton and I didn’t really think I was going to be selected. I scaled through the first stage and then I got selected among 50 women that were trained by the International Finance Corporation and World Bank Group for that programme and it was a phenomenal experience. We went through quite a number of unique business skills training; very practical hands-on and it was just too good. So, after that, part of the award we were given was becoming World Bank Fellows and it’s really a boast. It has been a good one. It is not just about that; it is about the community that we have found and the support and the leverage that we have had since then. The AGS survivor-woman award is something that is very remarkable to me that I just will not forget, because it was my very first attempt at sharing my story, so Mwanga Africa was partnering with the AGS tribe, now Herconomy, to share stories that touch lives. I was very reluctant, I didn’t want to share it and for some reason, I won. For me, it wasn’t that; it wasn’t about the prize money of $1000 that was given. It was the fact that my story was valid; it was the fact that for the first time, I was vulnerable enough to share my experience and it changed my life. I used a part of that money to get my very first new laptop and then I registered for Codecademy to study full-stack web development and that was a journey to greater things in my life.

So, I feel privileged. It also gave me quite some visibility and from then, I saw that I was not alone. So many people were going through the same experience I had, but were not bold enough to come forward and I saw myself providing help and support to most of them.

Society And Its Support For Women In Tech
I think right now, not many women are in the tech space and despite this, I don’t see so much discrimination. I think in the tech space, it is more about how good you are. If you are good, they give you the opportunity; so, it is not about being male or female. At least, I have not experienced that. I even see that they want more women, but we don’t have so many women that are skilled enough to do the job required so the gap is wide.

You see, they always want women; I don’t think they discriminate. I think there is just so much to be done, and I think that more people should support and encourage women to actually go in that field. If it is in that angle, then I think yes, we should support more women to go into tech.

Three Women Who Inspire Me And Why
First, my mum; the woman is so resilient, determined and powerful. She’s one person who if she’s backing you, you can go to sleep. She literally keeps encouraging me. I admire Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji for her tenacity. I admire Dr Lola Adeyemi for her heart. She’s a gift that keeps giving and constantly sees the good in others. In the work I do, I have to keep giving, keep impacting with or without external support and remembering her and what she has done for me, I am encouraged to do more.

Challenges
Some of the challenges I have experienced in my line of work include inconsistent power supply. You don’t have power, you don’t even have fuel to power the generator; it could be a lot of work. Another thing I have experienced is being able to balance work and family; it can be a whole lot especially parenting my son alone. There are sacrifices and things I have to give up to actually make some things work.

Thirdly, it is not easy to build a business with a good structure in Nigeria. Many things, many people want to relate with you one on one, so it was very difficult transitioning that we have a team and this is how things will work.

Other Projects And Activities
We have the Tech-Up Ladies. In the Tech-Up Ladies, the plan for 2022 is to empower 20 young women with software development skills. We have empowered nine already through a 10 weeks programme; they finished on March 31, and it’s been phenomenal.

Now, moving on from the Tech-Up Girls that we are achieving in a bit, we are looking forward to partnering with well meaning Nigerians, Non-profit organisations and people that are interested in empowering women and girls, especially with tech skills in Nigeria and across Africa. We are looking forward to partnering with them to facilitate programmes to reach more people. We have a system that works, we just need resources to channel them to reach more people.

We are also working on leveraging partnerships with other African countries to go there and empower girls there but to use local content for girls in those localities. Most importantly, we are also working on building a marketplace for women in tech from Africa where they can sell their skills to individuals and corporations around the world. The platform is to be built specifically for women in tech and by women. We are looking forward to resources to make this happen.

Being A Woman Of Rubies
It is the fact that Excellence has gone through a deep furnace experience. So, when I teach, I don’t teach from my head knowledge. I know what can work, because it is not abstract knowledge; it is because I have walked the path. I have gone through the pain. I have seen all of it; I have seen the failure, I can pre-empt what will work and what will not work. So, I am not going to give motivational talks or just hype women. I am not telling them where I have not been. I am not bringing them out from where I have not been. I know the road; I have been out of ‘prison’’ so I know how to show them out so that is what makes me unique. Despite it all, I thrived against all odds; coming out and now going back to bring out other people from there.

Advice For Young Women Who Want To Pitch Their Tent In The Tech Sector
I will say come in, come on in; there is more than enough room for you in tech. There is a uniqueness that women bring into developing products that are created in tech that men alone cannot bring. So, I would say please and please do come on to tech; come and humanise technology. We love you, we appreciate you and we would want to see you. I think there is room for you to be all that you can be without limitations, without discrimination. I think more women should come.

Important Tech Nuggets
In transitioning to tech, do not think abstractly; discover what tech skill intersects with your academic background, experience and skills, as well as which will remain relevant down the road. Do not learn a skill just because others are learning as well.

In Career Gems June 2, 2022 By Women of Rubies

Motherhood NG Initiative Organised Welfare And Medical Outreach To Celebrate Children’s Day

Motherhood NG Initiative through one of its pet projects, ‘project Hope for Children joined people around he world to celebrate this year’s childrens’ day with children in rural and undeserved communities in five states in Nigeria on Saturday 28th of May, 2022.

Project Hope for Children 2.0 planned to impact 7000 children with provision of Medical care, Hygiene and Nutritional kits, guidance and counseling and not to forget lots of fun games and music.

The purpose of this project is to encourage and promote good hygiene and healthy nutrition among children in underserved communities which will in turn have a positive impact on their personal well-being, self-esteem and self-worth .

This year’s Childrens’ day celebration cum Project Hope for Children was held simultaneously in Iwaya community Lagos state, Durumi IDP camp Abuja, Imafo community Akure Ondo state and Ibadan Oyo state.

The day was marked with free medical care for children by Mother and Child Hospitals Ikeja Lagos, provision of lots personal hygiene items, book reading and donation, talks and counseling, cutting and sharing of cakes, lots of dancing and other fun activities for the children.

The maiden edition of Project Hope for Children took place on the 27th of May, 2021 where more than 3000 children in Lagos and Ogun state were provided with nutritional and hygiene kits made up of item like toothpaste, toothbrushes, bathing soaps, sanitary towels(for girls), milk, healthy drinks and snacks etc.

Abiodun Alabi the coordinator said the successful and simultaneous celebration of children’s day by Motherhood NG Initiative can only be attributed to the collective effort of various amazing sponsors and selfless volunteers.

In Inspiration May 30, 2022 By Women of Rubies

How Chiddie Anyasodo Is Helping People Find Love Through Chotayah

A graduate of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Chiddie Anyasodo is the co-founder of Chotayah, a high-end executive matchmaking service for professional Africans all over the world. Through the platform, Chiddie and her husband Ben, have helped many African singles discover and route out the obstacles preventing them from being in a healthy relationship. Chiddie’s career path evolved from engineering into full entrepreneurship over the years. She has worked in different phases of the Upstream Oil and Gas industry – initially as an International Mobile Field Engineer with Schlumberger, working in different countries. She also worked as Business Development Manager, later joined another company as the Global Vice President for Commercial, before moving on to build her own businesses.

Having previously experienced numerous heartbreaking failed relationships, Chiddie understands relationship pains and so empathizes fully with clients. This understanding ignited her passion to study relationships, how people can find High value Spouses and build healthy fulfilling relationships in their own terms .

Chiddie coaches and strategizes with heart, bringing the perfect combination of visionary thinking and practical experience to her service.

Chiddie is happily married to Ben Anyasodo, they are both co-founders of their matchmaking platform, Chotayah

Ben and Chiddie Anyasodo, Co-founders – Chotayah

Ben and Chiddie have a proven track record of creating head-turning power couples who augment each others’ successes.

The services they’ve crafted for Chotayah are bespoke and exquisite, tailored to each client’s desires and challenges, and focus on putting the seeker back in complete control of finding their ideal mate.

Together they have helped many African singles discover and route out the obstacles.

About Chotayah

Chotayah has become the most trusted name in high-profile African matches and marriages.

Speaking on the inspiration behind Chotyah, the sought after relationship coach had this to say: “I got rejected many times with excuses like ‘you earn too much,’ ‘a woman shouldn’t earn more than a man’. ‘You are too boyish, too ambitious’. ‘Your job exposes you and makes you travel too much’ and ‘you won’t make a good wife’. ‘A successful woman will never respect a man’.

“At one point, I was told by some pastors and relatives that I had a spiritual problem. You can imagine. After praying so much and the cycle kept repeating, I decided to try alternative methods.

“First, I tried to use some Western dating sites like E-harmony and Match.com. But they always rejected my application as I was Nigerian. I also tried to hire a matchmaker in the USA then, but she didn’t work with people outside the USA.

“So, I decided to go on my own. That experience made me start reading and exploring what makes relationships work. I also got a relationship coach, started studying serial men and women who always seemed to have lots of attention from their love interest.

“I took everything I learnt and crafted my own strategy to find my man. It took me about 8/9 months to find my man and no more heart breaks. My friends who knew about all my negative experiences started using the same formula and it worked for them.

“And every day, I see so many people like me going through the same challenges that I went through. Successful high-flying people who have succeeded everywhere but seem they are not able to succeed in the love department.

“I then decided to go study matchmaking in the UK and Relationship Coaching in New York. My husband is a Behavioral Change Expert & Therapist. We decided to join our passion and expertise to give birth to Chotayah.”

To know more about Chiddie’s , Follow her via her social media accounts below

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

In Career Gems May 24, 2022 By Esther Ijewere

First Lady Of Lagos, Others To Speak At Nimi Ekere’s Strive Conference on May 27th

It is said that it or easier to build strong children than repair broken adults. Being a child in today’s world is unarguably not as seamless as it used to be as there are so many distractions that appear alluring that children encumbered with.

Technology, westernization, peer pressure influence, poor parental guidance and a whole lot more are just a few of what this generation of children have to grapple with.

A lot of them want to be heard but no one is listening and in no time they are caught up in the web of gross moral decadence and irresponsible living.

The STRIVE conference is an annual event that is aimed at bringing children together to educate, inform and guide them on the path to go and how to navigate the dark corridors of the menaces in the society and stand out to become responsible leaders of tomorrow.

The theme of this year’s conference is; Creating a Better Future for the Nigerian Child.

There will be speakers of international repute that will take them on Cybersafety, Character Development, moral values and Etiquettes, Mindset Re-orientation, Purpose Discovery and a lot more.

The conference will also have in attendance top government dignitaries like the amazing first Lady of Lagos State, Her Excellency, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo- Olu and the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo.

According to the organizer; Dr. Nimi Ekere; ‘Strive’ conference, is first of its kind for children, in Lagos State. This conference will have notable speakers, child advocates, religious leaders and role models speak to the children on how they can stay away from vices, protect themselves from abuse, live their dreams and become whatever they set their hearts to become. It is going to be a phenomenal one and the first of its kind in the country and Africa.

Dr. Nimi Ekere, a Consultant Family Physician, a Fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Family Physicians. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants and a Certified Management Consultant. Dr. Ekere is a Certified Management Specialist with distinction in Time Management from the London Graduate School. Dr. Nimi Ekere is also a child advocate, author, speaker, coach and humanitarian.

She is also an author of four books for children, pre-teens, teenagers and parents on the dangers of child sexual abuse with effective remedies. Three of these books are government-approved for use at schools in Lagos State. Just recently, all four of her books were approved and added to the curriculum of the Rivers State Ministry of Education to be used in primary and secondary schools in the state.

Date is Children’s Day, 27th of May @ Afe Babalola Hall, Unilag, Lagos State at 9am.

This event is for children aged 10 to 18 years old.

Admission is free for all children if you are however registration is required for children not coming from schools and non students( not older than 18).

Event will be streamed on Facebook( Smileandshine Children’s Foundation.

In Inspiration May 22, 2022 By Women of Rubies

#Ruby Girls| “The Only Way To Bridge The Gap Between The Elites And Marginalized Is To Provide Sustainable Means Of Livelihood”- Adelaja Oluwademilade

Adelaja Oluwademilade is a graduate of English from the prestigious Covenant University. She’s a Teacher, A certified Early Childhood Educator and an SDG Youth Advocate for SDG 4 (Quality Education).

Oluwademilade is a Volunteer at Street2School Initiative, an NGO aimed at providing Quality Education to out-of-school children in Lagos Nigeria. She has a strong passion for kids in marginalized communities. She believes every child should have access to education irrespective of their socio-economic background.

Overtime, Oluwademilade has also developed interest in advocacy to end period poverty in Nigeria by working with an NGO named Royal Gem Initiative. The initiative provides sexual health education and sanitary pads to girls in low-income communities so they can menstruate in a more healthy way.

Currently, Oluwademilade is a Lagos State SDG Youth Ambassador. And a member of the UNESCO SDG4 Youth Network. She loves children and youths and her greatest desire is to train up young people to become transformative leaders in the society.

She shares her Ruby Girl story with the team.

1. Tell us about your childhood, Demilade. What was growing up like for you?

Growing up was pretty interesting to me. I’m the second child of three children; so being the middle child, I didn’t have much going on with me. Growing up for me was basically; going to school, attending Sunday School, going to church and having extra lessons at home because I wasn’t so good for Maths lol.

2. As a certified Early Childhood Educator Advocate, what informed your passion to teach? And what do you think should be put in place to make early learning fun and impacting?

I would say my passion to teach is a God-given passion. I never imagined doing anything relating to education talk more of teaching, it was in my final semester in school I got the calling. Also, my mum is an educator so I think I got a part of it from her.

To make learning fun and impactful, teachers themselves must love their job because when a teacher doesn’t like teaching it will affect the students’ performance. Also, teachers should make use of learning aids like flashcards, videos, pictures etc because children learn by seeing and doing not just talking in the classroom. This will also help students remember what they were taught in class.

3. What motivated you to become a Sustainable Development Goal Advocate?

We live in a world where there is so much gap between the elites and the marginalized, and the only way to bridge this gap is to provide sustainable means of livelihood. This requires a collective effort and not just the responsibility of the government, So, I decided to take the lead and contribute my quota towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

4. ‎As a Youth Advocate for quality education, what’s your take on “School na Scam”?

Hmmmm…. I don’t think school is a scam and I’m not saying this because I’m an advocate for quality education. Everyone has different passions and goals, and sometimes these passions are not related to what is being taught in school and that is okay. However, we must understand that the fact that one does not practice what they were taught in school in their workplace or make money with it, doesn’t make education less important. Truth is, education is what makes the difference in a person so, whether you learn in school or not, you still need the education to become better at whatever you decide to do. Education has and is still opening doors of opportunity for people who desire it. School is NOT a scam.

5. ‎What are the challenges you have encountered as a youth advocate?

– Funding: So many things to be done yet few resources are available.

– Getting more young people to participate in Youth advocacy.

– Socio-economic Inequality: There is a huge gap between you the rich and the marginalized in Nigeria. Trying to bridge this gap is challenging due to the economy of Nigeria.

– Overpopulation: A lot of people, especially in rural areas keep having children they cannot cater for. The children are increasing in their numbers however there are no resources to take care of them.

6. An accessory you can’t leave home without?

Earrings

7. What’s your take on volunteering, most youths would rather stay idle than take up an unpaid job?

Volunteering gives you an avenue to be the change you desire to see in your community and the world at large. So if you have the opportunity to volunteer, please I beg you; do it wholeheartedly because, at the end of the day, it’s not about the money and assets one would acquire, but the impact one would have made and the lives one have touched.

8. ‎An unpopular random fact about you.

I cannot multi-task. I can do only one thing at a time.

9. ‎ If you were to contest Nigeria’s presidency, what is the major change you will present in your manifesto?

While I acknowledge that there are other areas to look into, I believe that quality education is one of the biggest challenges in Nigeria. I will strive for free basic education for all children and introduce educational reforms that will target reducing the number of out of school children in Nigeria. Also, I would look into the issue of overpopulation in the country by introducing a two-child policy. I know some people may not be in support of this but that’s the only effective way to reduce overpopulation and ensure equal allocation of resources in the country.

10. Mention 3 women who inspire you and why?

I) My mum (Mrs Abosede Adelaja): Her Strength, Her Resilience and Work Ethic.

ii) Jumoke Adenowo – I love her passion for raising godly women and her style.

iii) Jackie Aina – I love how she talks about setting boundaries and how she teaches young girls to be self-confident.

11. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

In 5 years, I will have completed my Master’s degree in Education and I hope to be doing work that contributes to transformational change in the Nigerian educational system.

12. If you were allowed to address a group of young girls just setting out in their career, what will be your advice to them?

Be open to learning. Be kind to yourself if you make mistakes. Don’t be in a hurry to “blow”. Settle down and learn the skills you need to thrive. You can do great things from a small place.

In Career Gems May 21, 2022 By Women of Rubies

Institute Of Family Engineering And Developments Celebrates International Day Of The Family

The international day of the family is a United Nations designated day to create awareness about the family. Every year on May 15, various stakeholders across the globe gather to celebrate the family and this year was another opportunity to celebrate the beauty of the African family at the African Family Life Delegate Conference which is an annual event organized by the Institute of Family Engineering and Development in conjuction with United Nations Information center and the network of family life professionals.

The conference which is in its 6th year had some of the best minds on family life across Africa in attendance virtually at this year’s conference as various panelists deliberated on;

Family: A pathway to global peace in the midst of global chaos and disruption

The director of the Institute Mrs. Dinma Nwobi welcomed the delegates to the conference by encouraging them to all become agents of peace in their various nations.

Delivering the keynote was Praise Fowowe the lead researcher at Praise Fowowe Research LLC based in Irving Texas.

Praise Fowowe delivered an emotional key note that took delegates through the origin of wars and chaos through human history and how the little things we neglected from our family systems could produce global tyrants.

He noted that at the root of every chaos and global wars is a sense of superiority powered by a sense of superiority beliefs which drives how we see what we see.

He went ahead to recommend what delegates must begin to do;

1.Promote humanity through aggressive human education

2.Embrace and promote a family system that can promote the best interest of all – Be family systems engineering compliant

3.Model diplomacy and assist children master it

4.Master the power of meaning and refuse to be a part of any venture or movement that compromise the dignity of humanity – Drop the baton

5.Become an instrument of peace & spread the energy of love

6.Families becoming clans which become villages all over again with dispute resolution systems

7.Leverage family centered politicians to push policies that can promote family peace

The conference also had distinguished panelist like Dr. Adeyemi Agbelusi who is a global alternative dispute resolution expert, ID Cabassa a music producer, Dr. Sam Egbube the honorable commissioner for budget and economic planning Lagos State Government in Nigeria and Ghaniya Olokodana a clinical psychologist.

The conference communique was issued by the team at the end of the conference with the conclusion that every family must embrace a system that can promote and produce lovers as against traumatized kids who become traumatized adult

The institute for family Engineering and Development is Nigeria’s premier family life certification institute.

In Inspiration May 9, 2022 By Women of Rubies

“Being A Woman In Tech Has Its Ups And Down”-Larmmy Ogidan-Odeseye

Larmmy Ogidan-Odeseye popularly known as Chelsea Godmother is a wife, mom, senior software analyst, business strategist and philanthropist making a difference in the mental health community and in humanity at large. She shares her inspiring journey in this interview.

Childhood Influence

Everything in my childhood prepared me for what I do now. My mom is a retired teacher/headmistress, and my dad was a mechanic. I was born in Mushin, Lagos. I lost my dad on my 10^th I remember a lot about my childhood and how I had to step up and grow up faster than I needed to. My dad has 3 wives, my mom was the youngest of them. I learnt a lot about hardwork, persistence and resilience. When I lost my dad, I remember the family swooping in and attempting to take everything he had worked for from us. He had a spare parts shopping complex in Ladipo, mushin then and the 56 shops had to be divided in to 3 parts. I spoke up at this meeting and told the family how it was supposed to be shared. They went with my suggestion. I was a little girl of 10 and the youngest in the room. That was a proud moment.

Inspiration behind Heartcafe

I saw Hauwa on twitter make a post about sponsoring therapy for 5 people through Dedoyin Ajayi. I knew that was my window of opportunity. I reached out to Hauwa who connected me to Dedoyin where I sponsored additional 20 people. Then I suggested us hosting a mental health space. Turns out Dedoyin was already hosting a group mental health session offline before the pandemic called Heartcafe. The online space kicked off and she brought me in as a co-founder.

The journey so far

It has been fulfilling. We host Heartcafe every Friday at 5pm and it’s amazing how much we have been able to achieve. The stories that are shared, the healing and therapy that are happening. We recently celebrated 1 year anniversary of Heartcafe and in a year, we have given free therapy sessions to 164 people and this is excluding the 100s of people that join us every week.

Advocating for issues centered around Mental Health, and what inspired this passion for such a worthy cause

I have worked with and been around people with mental illness and it just became a passion. I once worked in a pediatric behavioral health unit of a hospital as a consultant, and it just piqued my interest. There was a wave of suicide attempts one time on twitter and I knew I had to something in my capacity.

Being a senior software analyst, and how it has impacted me as a person

I work in Healthcare I.T. I’m a senior analyst for a software used in Hospitals for patient care. I build, customize and upgrade this system for different hospitals across the United States. You know growing up in Nigeria, our parents believe you should either be a doctor, lawyer or an engineer. At one point in my life, I wanted to be a doctor. I ended up studying Zoology in OAU. I know I’m never going to be a doctor. That dream has been squashed a long time ago so helping doctors, nurses and healthcare workers get their job done faster and more efficiently is getting the best of both worlds and it’s sure paying the bills.

My humanitarian work on Twitter

As someone who didn’t grow up with much, I know how it feels to not have. I know that my life has been a journey of grace and people have helped me along the way. This is how I am giving back. I also get a dopamine effect from helping people so I can’t stop.

The society and its support for women in tech

Being a woman in tech has its ups and down but I have been lucky to work with some amazing people who have given me opportunities regardless of my gender. I did notice that if I get interviewed by a woman for a contract, it’s much easier than getting interviewed by a man..lol. I didn’t let that stop me though. I think we as women can do more to let go of unfortunate situations and move on quickly rather than dwelling in it expecting self pity. As a woman, you do need to be extra tough. it’s not always fair but it is what it is.

3 women who inspire you and why

Esther in the bible: A queen. A risk taker and an influencer. Do you know what it means to go into the king’s bedroom and demand what you want at that time? I stan

Judy Faulkner: Google this woman. A mom, a mogul. I aspire to be her everyday. I wake up and ask myself “what would Judy do?”

ME!!!: I know this might sound a bit self-serving to some but I am an inspiration to myself. The things I am able to achieve day to day, my multi-tasking skills need to be studied.

Challenges I experience in my line of work?

When everyone labels you the “I.T GUY” and somehow think you’re less deserving of respect. Someone once asked me where do you work, I mentioned “so so hospital” and she said, what department? I said, I.T. and she goes “so you don’t work there. You just work in I. T” I’m like, you will not be able to do your job if everyone on my team take a day off at the same time.

Other projects and activities

I do have a lot on my plate. I’m a mom of 3. Ages 5,3 and 1 so that’s a major project. I also have a business. I sell household items so I’m a petty trader and lastly, the first batch of JeLarmmy homes are now under construction, opening fall of 2022. Real estate has always been a side passion of mine and I’m glad I’m finally able to achieve it with more to come.

Being a Woman of Rubies

As a Christian, I have read through Prov 31 over and over. The way that woman runs her household is an inspiration. Women are smart, brilliant and powerful. Do not underestimate me and what I can achieve. My gender is my strength, not a limitation.

Advice for women who want to pitch their tent in the tech sector

DO IT! Find a niche and perfect it. Be indispensable when you do. You do not have to know how to code or write software programming languages to get into tech. There are so many fields that do not require that. Scrum master, product owner, Project management etc.

Being happily married with amazing kids; and creating work life balance

The major thing that keeps me going is that Yomi, my husband, is a great support system for me. This man is my backbone. He knows how much I take on at a time and he is always willing to step in and handle things when I’m crashing under the weight. I’m also a good multi-tasker. I treat my family and work as a scrum project. Each person or item is a sprint. It keeps me organized. Believe it or not, I start my day with 45 minutes of exercise and meditation to also get my body and mind right and ready for the day. I’m a morning person. I’m usually up at 4 so I take care of myself before everybody else wakes up.

Important tech nuggets with us

Like I said earlier, you don’t have to know how to code or write programming languages to get into tech. Also, if you want to get into I.T because everyone else is doing it, you will get bored. My advice is find a field or specialty that appeals to you, go for that and be a master in it.

In Career Gems May 6, 2022 By Women of Rubies

Oprah Winfrey Named Pen/Faulkner’s 2022 Literary Champion

Oprah Winfrey is set to receive an honorary PEN/Faulkner award, ABC News reports.

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey founded her book club in 1996 with the goal of creating community and necessary conversations while supporting authors across the globe. Over the course of three decades, Winfrey has boosted the sales of countless authors, receiving an honorary National Book Award in 1999 for her work.

Now Winfrey is receiving the prestigious Literary Champion award from the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. The lifetime achievement prize is being granted to Winfrey for her contributions to literacy and her commitment to inspiring young readers and writers.

“Oprah Winfrey is a literary force field. She has been like a lighthouse, standing sentry and shining a beacon of light onto literature and into the lives of writers and readers,” said Mary Haft, PEN/Faulkner Board Vice President.

In Career Gems May 6, 2022 By Women of Rubies

Two-Time Cancer Survivor Marries For The First Time At 73

A two-time cancer survivor married for the first time at the age of 73, People reports.

Audrey Parker Green had always envisioned herself getting married and having children one day, four to be exact. But for the majority of her life, it just didn’t work out like that, and she was accepting of it. She never wanted to marry young, and she was really just enjoying her journey when one day in 1996, she got a random call from a former high school acquaintance, Allen Green.

Allen was divorced and thinking about the past when he remembered Audrey who he thought was a nice person, deciding to take a shot in the dark to ask her out.

“I said, ‘Let me take this chance,’… She gave me such a rough time,” Allen recalled.

Audrey wasn’t interested and the two would go some time before they saw each other again, reuniting a year and a half later in November 1997 at a Scottville High School alumni event.

“When I saw him, I said, ‘Oh my God. Here he comes. If he didn’t speak to me, it would only be [us] and God that knew he had ever tried to call me. That’s when he approached me and said, ‘Ms. Parker, I’m not letting you get away from me this easy this time,’” Audrey explained.

The two would eventually form a friendship over the phone that blossomed into a beautiful relationship, spanning 20 years. Allen often jokes that he “romanced her on the phone.” Despite their love, the relationship was fraught with challenges. In November 2002, Audrey was diagnosed with colon cancer and had to move in with one of her sisters.

“I told him that if he couldn’t handle it, he could leave, and I wouldn’t hold it against him. He said that, no, he was going to be here with me,” she recalled.

Allen kept his promise and stuck by her side, something Audrey says she’ll never forget.

“He was there with me when I was going through some tough times. When one person is sick, and another person is healthy, that’s hard on both parties,” explained Audrey.

Time went on and just when they thought they were out of the woods, in October 2008, Audrey was diagnosed with breast cancer, having to undergo a double mastectomy. Again, Allen was right there to hold her hand through it all.

“We were always there for each other…What I love about him is that, number one, I’m comfortable. I’m me. We laugh. We have fun together,” Audrey said.

Allen echoed those sentiments, saying, “We really enjoy each other. We love each other, and we try to do the best for each other.”

Last year when the couple were discussing how Audrey wanted to spend her 73rd birthday, she simply told Allen to “wow [her].” And on March 27, 2021, while celebrating Audrey’s birthday, Allen got on one knee and proposed, asking her “Are you wowed now?”

Source: Beacuseofthem

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