Mandela Washington Fellowship 2018 Database

"Lawrenta Igoh is a Counter Human Trafficking and Child Protection Advocate working passionately with the government of Nigeria to combating human trafficking, free and rehabilitate victims of the crime and bring traffickers to justice." She is also the Founder of the Auxano Foundation for Empowerment and Development (AFED) where she is constantly inspiring volunteers to get involved in innovating social good for the impoverished, mobilizing community action, empowering the marginalized  and helping victims recover healing, acquire abilities and learn strategies through Enablement and Education. She resides in Abuja, Nigeria and can be reached via: Website: http://www.auxano-fdn.org Email: auxanoigoh@gmail.com Tel: 2347035008119

"Hi, my name is Chidozie. I am a researcher. I disseminate improved agricultural technologies to rural women farmers to help address the problem of access to agricultural extension services in rural communities."  Dr. Chidozie Anyiro is a lecturer, researcher and policy maker currently working in a Nigerian University. His research interest focuses more on gender and poverty, especially on strategies of improving the livelihood of rural women farmers.  Research has shown that women constitute a formidable and significant live wire of peasant farming in Nigeria, providing between 70% and 80% of food produced and consumed. However, they are least likely to benefit from agricultural extension services, agricultural credit schemes, and technologies that would improve their productivity due to cultural, social, biological, and religious barriers. Given that majority of women populace in Nigeria either depend entirely on farming and farming activities for survival and generation ...

"Hi, I am Olajide, a civic tech entrepreneur, I run InfusionTech and we develop solutions to make processes between governments and citizens effective through digital technology" Olajide Abiose is a civic technology entrepreneur and driving change in his country’s governance is his life objective. He founded InfusionTech, an organisation that seeks to make processes and interactions between government and citizens effective through digital technology. He holds a degree in Food Technology but has chosen this work because of the damage poor governance does to lives in Nigeria. His tech interest lies in product design. With InfusionTech, Olajide has successfully launched a product that is currently in trials with a state government in Nigeria. This product, an open data revenue mobilisation system that improves government service delivery will impact over a million citizens within the next one year. Olajide advocates for sustainable development and currently serves as an Ex...

Hi, I am Lucky, an Optometrist, I lead a Non-Profit called Vision Care Givers International, we provide sustainable access to quality and affordable eye care services and health education in Communities. Dr Lucky Aziken is a solution-driven visionary leader and social entrepreneur.  He envisions a world where no one is needlessly blind and everyone is living healthy and maximizing Potentials.  He is the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Vision Care Givers International (VCGi) , a frontline Non-donor driven, Non-profit with an audacious dream to take quality, efficient and sustainable eye health to all Nations. VCGi  focuses on creating access to quality eye care through community-based eye care programmes, and the establishment of sustainable vision care centres across communities.  Through their Mobile Out Clinic Unit and Vision Care Homes, they have comprehensively examined 5348 patients in 18 LGA within a two year period (April 2018 figures) Dr Luc...

"Hi, I am Okikiola the friendly neighborhood doctor. I am passionate about Primary Health Care. I take health care to under-served rural communities and I watch their faces light up" Okikiola Oladele has about five years experience in community engagement via volunteering work in issues pertaining to Maternal and child health, Adolescent sexual and reproductive health. He currently volunteers at The Corinth's Foundation where he heads the medical team on rural medical outreaches. He is a team member and contributor on Kusema Africa, one of the divisions of the White Code Centre ( www.whitecodecentre.org ), a youth driven and youth-centric platform which is registered in South Africa and works across Africa on issues of human rights, social justice, youth empowerment, good governance and the Africa project to raise the global image of Africa and generate discussions about African issues. Okikiola is motivated by his desire to see an improved healthcare del...

"Hi, my name is Virtue. I invented the “Crib A’glow” unit that saves jaundiced babies all over Africa. I also create a strong awareness of neonatal jaundice among mothers to reduce the high rate of infant mortality." Virtue has over 7 years experience as a Graphic Artist and and 3 years’ experience working in the health sector. She is the founder of Tiny Hearts Technology, a medical manufacturing company strategically focused on building and making solar phototherapy units (device used to treat jaundice in newborn babies) accessible to babies in low resource areas. She sensitizes women within childbearing ages about neonatal jaundice at the same time distributing maternity essentials to them. Virtue has saved over 100 jaundiced babies in the space of 19months through hospitals and healthcenters. She has sensitised at least 700 women about jaundice in various communities. Her educational background which is in the Arts has aided her to brand diverse companies successfu...

"Hi, I am Oye, an agricultural scientist at the National biotechnology development agency, Abuja. I use agro-biotechnology to tackle the problem of food insecurity in rural communities in Nigeria." Oye is a scientific officer 1 at the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Consultancy and Extension division.  My passion has been to harmonize the policies being made my policy makers in the agricultural sector with the desires of the relevant stakeholders (farmers, populace etc). I noticed a serious gap between what farmers on the ground required and the national policies being dished out. Am a graduate of Agricultural Economics from University of Ilorin (Bsc. And Msc), and currently a PHd student at UNIABUJA. I am the corporate farmer and the farmer’s voice. I believe biotechnology can immensely help to tackle food insecurity in Nigeria and therefore we carry out regular collaborative campaigns with ADP and farmers to introduce high performing crops, and animal...

"Hi I am Chisom, a medical doctor who founded a non-profit organization called Children Solace, which focuses on promoting access to quality healthcare and education for under-privileged children enabling them to reach their full potentials." Chisom is a community advocate with over  four years experience in Child health and education. She is the founder of Children Solace, a non-profit volunteer organization that aims at building a community where access to healthcare and education is guaranteed for the under-privileged children; expanding their opportunities to reach their full potentials. We adopt out-of –school children back into school and provide health and sex education through our monthly focus group discussions with parents and teenagers. Chisom also volunteers as a medical doctor in a rural hospital where she facilitates a prenatal clinic focused on pregnant teenagers. Chisom is very passionate about making the dreams of children from lessprivileged homes a reali...

"Hi I'm Halima, a cassava famer who goes beyond farming to processing cassava to avoid waste and create employment for local youths" Halima processes cassava into flakes (garri), fufu flour and high quality cassava flour. This tends to prevent the huge waste of cassava tubers by processing it and creating employment. She works with Grain Nigeria an online media that promotes innovative  agricultural technologies to redirect youths to a career in agribusiness, partners with Bliz catering services to train secondary school children in Ogun state on catering services and volunteers with a primary health center in Bwari, Abuja on free testing for sexually transmitted diseases and counselling. She lives in Abuja, Nigeria and can be contacted on +2348035281531 or Email: halimailegogie@ymail.com. Facebook: Halima Ilegogie Instagram:@halimailegogie

"Oladeji Kehinde is a fashion designer and consultant who created slitz couture a fashion school that seeks to empower and provide employment for local youth." She has over 4 years experience in the fashion sector where she has focused on pattern drafting and garment construction, retail and training for unisex clothing. She is currently the managing director for her clothing line and fashion school, Slitz Couture and Slitz Fashion Academy where she produces ready-to-wear modest clothing for both men and women and trains in professional dressmaking skills respectively. She holds a Bachelor of arts in Russian language from the University of Ibadan. She is passionate about modest fashion and teaching fashion enthusiasts the skills they need to excel in the fashion world. After the Mandela Washington Fellowship she looks forward to expanding her fashion school where she can actively empower youths who are fashion inclined.

"Umar Farouk Abdulrasheed is a manufacturer of clean cook stoves that are energy efficient and environment- friendly."  He is the founder of Methano-Green Energy: an Organization that specializes in the construction of Clean Energy Efficient Cookstoves, Institutional stoves and Biogas production. The organisation uses the  technology of clean cooking to empower youth, reduce indoor air pollution and health issues arising from it; curtail the problem of deforestation, thus combating global warming; alleviating poverty by drastically reducing the cost and quantity of fuel wood required to cook; positively impart the education and security of rural kids who spend considerable time gathering fuel wood from the bush. He's a partner of the Global and Nigeria Alliance for Clean Cooking. Umar Farouk is a Botanist by qualification, he possess professional skills in Blacksmith and Locksmith, he's also a farmer, with experience in farming: Beans, Tomato, and Cassava. He sure ...

"Hi, I am Chibuzor Agomuoh, a Youth counsellor working to curb youth delinquency and youth violence using excellently tailored youth intervention programmes. " SunRise, now known as The SunRise Youth Intervention Organisation, was founded by me in 2011 in response to the several incidences of youth violence in Calabar.   SunRise has given thousands of young persons access to information on proper lifestyle choices and skills for productive living through some of its projects such as:   The SunRise School Tour :   In the last four years, the organisation has had over 42 school outreaches in Cross River State, Nigeria. The 3-day seminar in each school educates young persons on Academic Excellence, Sexual & Reproductive Health, Safety Consciousness and Active Citizenship. Over 35,000 young persons have been reached, 8,344 educational materials have been given away as gift items, and 58 young persons have participated in our one-year scholarship programme....

"My name is Emmanuel Agunze. I am a Youth Activist passionate about sustainable livelihood in Urban-Slum communities in Africa." As a pilot project, I started THE MAKOKO DREAM, ( makokodream.creatorlink.net ) with the goal of placing out-of-school children from the Makoko slum, in schools and ensuring that the youths are empowered with hands-on skill set so as to reduce the unemployment rate in such communities. I am popularly known as Father Makoko or The Makoko king, basically for my role in creating and designing the First 'School Bus' on water in Africa, which is a customised canoe for taking the children of Makoko Dream School, a tuition-free primary school, to and from school free of charge. ( bit.do/agunze1 ) I am a life-long student of the Nelson Mandela principles of Servant-Leadership and was a Finalist at the Prestigious Nelson Mandela Graca-Machel Innovation Awards 2017 for my role as a Brave Philanthropist and Youth Activist in developing countrie...

"Efosa Asemota is a HR Professional who is looking to ensure best HR practice in Nigeria." He currently works at the Human Capital Management Division of the Federal Inland Revenue Service where he ensures all internal staff are being properly catered for to ensure better output. He is a Certified SAP professional who has worked with Multichoice Nigeria before joining the FIRS. At multichoice he was responsible for content editing and also head drifta/walker activation for the Northern Region He is also passionate about humanitarian service which can be seen in his full involvement in the #bringbackourgirls campaign from April 14 2014 till date.This campaign came up as a result of the kidnap of school children in chibok Nigeria.He is also involved in the distribution of Relief materials to Internally displaced persons in Nigeria. Efosa lives in Abuja, Nigeria and can be reached on: +2348937107927, ekani_a@yahoo.com Instagram: dahlton_a Twitter: dahlton07

"Olowo Omotoke Titilope is a special needs therapist who works with children with disabilities especially children on the Autism spectrum disorder." She has a bachelor degree in Education from Obafemi Awolowo University and a National Certificate in Education from Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education. Omotoke runs The Autism Awareness place an NGO that focuses on advocacy for an inclusive educational system through awareness, teacher's training and therapeutic interventions. She has been in the Educational system for about 10 years having started teaching at Eva Adelaja Girls secondary school. Omotoke is a Global youth Ambassador for TheirWorld UK, 2017 outstanding Global Youth Ambassador for TheirWorld UK, 2017 Nigeria Cohort 3 YALI RLC, 2017 Ashoka Changemaker Xchange fellow, Robert scurts Alunmi Germany, 2018 Third place Opportunity desk Impact challenge winner, 2018 Canvassity Fellow and finally,  she just made 2018 Mandale Washington Fellow in US. She li...

"My name is Ugochi. I create unique safety education products for African children to address the safety education gap in schools." Ugochi Obidiegwu is a Cabin Crew, Safety Officer and Auditor in a Nigerian airline. Due to accidents arising from human error, she  started a Health and Safety business to intentionally groom safety conscious children. Using her "The Safety Chic" persona on social media, she has been able to train educators and business professionals on improved safety consciousness to reduce accidents arising from human error. The Train Them Young Initiative (#2TYI), the CSR of her company has taught over 1500 students across Nigeria safety skills through direct training and her child safety story book series - The Adventures of Muna. She convenes the annual School Safety Summit where stakeholders proffer solutions to safety challenges affecting school children. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts fro...

"I am Jennifer, I founded a non-profit called GIST that equips young girls from disadvantaged communities with skills to solve problems in their communities." Jennifer initiated the 'GIST fill that gap program'. A project that caters for girls who have left secondary school but have no means of furthering their education. She takes them through series of trainings from leadership to hands-on skills after which they would have been equipped to solve problems in their communities. She is also a creative writer. She enjoys writing and telling of successful people through movies to inspire others. She also loves to engage in public speaking and personal development trainings. Based in Kano, Nigeria. She can be reached on +2348066508160, agunloyejay@yahoo.com, Instagram , Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .

"Hi, my name is Obinna Orjingene, a medical doctor who works for UNICEF as a maternal, new-born, child health & Nutrition Consultant on the European Union funded MNCHN project." Dr Obinna does Primary Health Care System strengthening and health programming for Child survival & development. His work improves maternal & child health outcomes & builds community resilience. Before now he did emergency primary health care interventions for UNICEF in areas affected by Non-State Arm Conflict and also worked as an Emergency Room Doctor for Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors without borders- France), where he worked on paediatric emergencies, obstetrics care & nutrition interventions (Ambulatory therapeutic Feeding Centre & In-patient therapeutic Feeding Centre) for internally displaced persons. He is passionate about maternal & child health related issues and loves travelling & exploring new maternal child health grounds. He resides in Niger...

"Hi, my name is Saeed Jumah. I am a dentist. I run The Smile Shop, a network of dental clinics providing affordable dental services while improving dental health awareness in local communities in order to reduce the burden of dental disease and high cost of accessing quality dental care in Nigeria." 😊  My clinics provide quality and standard general dental services, as well as orthodontics and teeth whitening. My dental health awareness initiatives include a School dental program through which we visit schools to educated children (3-12 years) on proper oral hygiene, provide free dental checkups and distribute free dental educational materials (I have written 3 books and distributed over 7,000 copies till date). I also embark on quarterly rural dental outreaches to enlighten under-served populations, distribute modern oral hygiene accessories (toothbrushes and toothpastes) and provide free dental treatment. Lastly, I have a weekly radio dental program on Cool FM Kano prov...

"Shawn is a political scientist and a politician. He specialises in the formulation of viable and sustainable public policies, amends laws for the good governance of the country,  coins bills and motions and also works on the National Budget annually."  He primarily formulates sustainable and viable motions and policies that directly affect the lives of people in the rural community. For example, he formulated the motion raised on the floor of the House (Green chamber) by an Honorable on the ‘need to control the erosion menace threatening Eke street and environs in Upper Sakponba road in Benin city and in a week FERMA swung into action and corrected the menace.    He has worked in the Edo state house of assembly and is presently the Senior Special Assistant to an Honorable Member in the House of representative, National Assembly, Abuja. Shawn has a passion for providing accessible, clean and portable water supply to people living in rural community and also to dr...

"Hi my name is Anita and I am a dermatologist who works in local communities to raise awareness about the harmful effects of skin lightening agents and to change the perception of black skin." Dr Anita Benson is a Dermatology Senior Resident and Public Health Specialist who has worked in both the public and private sector. She has affected the lives of hundreds of people in local communities by educating them on the adverse effects of skin lightening and offering treatment for various skin diseases while changing the perception they have towards darker skin. Research shows that about 77% of Nigerians are using skin lightening agents and less than a tenth of them are aware of the adverse effects of skin lightening. She started the 1000beautiful_black_women campaign on Instagram to celebrate and empower melanin and change the popular perception that lighter skin is more beautiful but most importantly, to raise awareness via social media about the adverse effects of skin ligh...

"Hi my name is Adebisi and I am an inventor. I created an app to monitor women's menstrual cycles and guide them on their safe periods. This has helped to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies among both single and married women." (Elevator speech) Adebisi Ayeni created an app called Fixit that caters for adolescents and older women who are sexually active. It was developed in 2016 on the Google platform and is geared towards reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies worldwide. My app has been used on a wide variety of platforms and is currently being used by 2000 young women worldwide. It has contributed to family planning and has helped women take control of their sexuality. I am a medical social worker who is also interested in gender issues and farming. I live in Lagos, Nigeria and you can reach me on +2347085291114 or okkaskitchen@gmail.com. My twitter handle is @fixitbisi.