Adebola Adefioye and Adekelu Ogunleye were recently recognized as Women of Distinction by YWCA Sudbury along with six other women, for their achievements, accomplishments, leadership, and the impact they’ve had on girls and women.
In 2020, Adekelu emigrated to Canada during the pandemic as a single mother.
She runs Kelu Cooks, a business venture that majors on delicious African and intercontinental dishes. The astute entrepreneur also runs an alteration business, known as ‘international obioma’. Her passion for cleaning, creating order and staying organized inspired her to start Kelz Cleaning Services.
Her passion for humanity made her enrol for a diploma in developmental service work program from Cambrian College in Sudbury Ontario, Canada. The stylish mother of two is currently studying Indigenous Social Work at Laurentian University, Canada.
YWCA Sudbury is recognizing Kelu as a woman of distinction for her achievements.
Speaking on the recognition, the entrepreneur had this to say to Cbc ;
“I was able to study developmental service work, and I’ve worked with a school board where I supported kids who have intellectual disabilities, I’ve been able to create job opportunities for a lot of international and domestic students,” she said.
She will receive the award for entrepreneurship at the gala on January 28th, 2023.
Activist Adebola Adefioye will receive the social justice award, for founding the Afro Women and Youth Foundation, which provides mentorship and leadership for Black women and youth.
Adebola very passionate about building authentic relationships with racialized, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) children, families and communities and collaborating with them to reduce inequities, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and improve mental-health and wellness.
She holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Child Development from Seneca College, Master’s in Child and Youth Care, from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and a Certificate in Advancing Women’s Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding for Community Development from Coady Institute, Canada.
She is also a final semester student in a Graduate Certificate program in Mental Health Intervention (MHI).
In 2016, Adebola’s daughter was bullied because of her skin colour, this inspired the activist to start her foundation.
Speaking to CBC on how that situation impacted her daughter, Adebola had this to say; “By the time she got to Grade 5, she won the award for the most confident child in class because she had learned self-advocacy, she had learned how to be a leader, she had learned to say no to people.”
We are proud of these amazons, and celebrate them for adding value to humanity.
The Women of Rubies team will be on ground to cover the award gala in Sudbury.
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