International Women’s Day 2022

Every girl, lady and woman out there matter;  irrespective of whatever!

Each and every day is an opportunity to celebrate women, but one day in particular gives us an extra chance to recognize those strong, incredible and beautiful creatures and the impact made by them across the globe, and the ongoing, tireless pursuit of worldwide gender equality. 

With this, all of us at the Girl Child Initiative wishes every woman out there a happy International Women’s Day .

We love you and hope to see you at the acme of glories!

Donations of books

 We planned to visit two schools in Lokoja, Nigeria sometime in November, 2021 but we couldn’t do that has we lacked the necessary funding due to the number of the said students. We then sent out felicity gifts to the schools library bearing the NGO’s logo and name. The book is a play co-writing by the founder of this Initiative Miss Olufunke Olabode and Mr Olushola Adekola. We hope that as they flip the pages of this book, especially the poem on the first page, they also dare to dream and believe like we do in Positive Forces. 

We would keep doing what we can for the girl child.

Our 5th Year Anniversary

 

5years just like yesterday. 5years we’ve been on a mission to help mankind. 5years and God has helped us to do what we can and when we can, adding color to the world a person at a time. This year we hope to climb mountains for the girl child, this year we hope to making many children smile, this year we hope to do more. Thank you for being with us this long. Thank you for always sharing this love with us. Thank you also for believing in us. 

Happy birthday to GCI. 

From all of us at GCI we wish you and yours a prosperous new year.

Olufunke Olabode,

Initiator @GirlChildInitiative

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE GIRL CHILD INITIATIVE

My name is Olufunke Olabode and I am 25 years old. I am the initiator of the Girl Child Initiative. I am a graduate of Adekunle Ajasin University with B.A Hons from the department of English and Literary Studies currently undergoing my Masters program at Nassarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. I am a teacher and a writer, I co-authored the book called Positive Forces with Mr Adekola Olushola. I am a poet, a voice over artist, graphic designer, a photographer and more as the case maybe. 

The Girl Child Initiative is my dream my God given assignment on earth. I started it in the year 2017 officially on January 1st, through a blog which at the time was girlchildinitiative.blog.com. We started with just writing articles on the website to inspire and teach young girls, teenagers and ladies out there that they can be better, different and stand out in their respective niches.

Going forward to 20th September of 2017, we had the first ever outreach tour which happened to be in a school called Mount Carmel Girls Secondary School, Ikare-Akoko, Ondo state, Nigeria. It was the maidan edition of the Organization where we invited guest speakers. We spoke to about 1000 girls  which happens to be the image you see on most of our advertisements and awareness fliers; the girls on brown uniforms and berets? That’s them, the ones that awakened the Lion in me. Most images used for our graphics aren’t just any random pictures we pick online, they are pictures gotten from the Girl Child Outreach mostly. These set of girls at Ikare were the first to receive physical presents from the organization. As at that time, we had about eight or seven members; the executives which consists of the financial secretary, the director, the social media manager, the treasurer, the guest speaker (Ebisidor Ann), founder of the child smile foundation and myself.

In that program, we shared about 150 copies of the book written and published by Akinyemi Olaleke. We shared pads, exercise books, snacks, drinks and other type of presents especially to those that participated in one activity or the other. Cooked food,Jollof rice precisely and drinks was also shared among the school staff on set that day. The program lasted for about three hours. During those period, I was a student with almost nothing, but I believed and held on to my dreams.

We sought for donations from people online for the program. Remarkably, we got about 10,000 naira from donations and outside sources. We had a particular foundation called the helpingchild foundation (you can check the foundation on Fb/Instagram) the CEO of that foundation is Olubukola. The foundation sent 10 packs of pads to us. But, those pads were not used for that particular program because we couldn't get them until some time in the year 2018.

That maiden program was single-handedly sponsored by myself; Olufunke Olabode, my mother, my mother friends and other people I and my members could reach out to help raise funds for the program. Of course, I couldn't have done it alone because we reached out to about thousand girl children. By the grace of God, we were able to give and impact each and every girl child something, both physically and mentally. With feeding and presentations of honorarium to our guest speaker. I really can't exactly state how we did it as God truly helped and saw us through.

In the year 2018, in September 20th and 21st, we went to the Vocational and Rehabilitation Center in Bwari, Abuja. We had about 15 members at that time that went there to give pads, jotters and gifts to the inmates of the rehabilitation center. Surprisingly, bulk members that benefitted from this rural outreach tour were actually boys because the girls at the rehab at that time were in such critical conditions that they won't be allowed to come and see the visitors. They couldn't handle it as they were so unstable. As at that time, we did not seek for any external donations. All the money spent was gotten from the initiator's purse, her mother's purse,Mrs Gbemisola Olabode and a particular founder of the Organization who prefers to be named anonymous.

Moving further in the year 2019, we had already gotten the pads from helping hands foundation. We actually got them in 2018 but didn't use them until 2019. We shared those pads on the street of Keffi, Nassarawa state in May, 2019 where we tagged the Rural Outreach Tour known as ROT as Rural Outreach walk. We invited the Federal Road Safety Corps, we went to the Emir's palace and tour the town to present these gifts (pads and jotters) to young ladies of keffi. We reached out to more than a hundred persons that day. We also shared snacks and drinks for the volunteers that came for the program about eight ladies.We had some donations from some of my friends at that particular time for that particular program.

Fast forward to the year 2020, the covid-19 prevalent period, we couldn't go out to do a physical rural outreach tour but we did an online program where we invited again the first girl child initiative speaker; Mrs. Ebisidor Azu to be an online speaker. We also invited the present general secretary; Sharon Okon to be a speaker and myself too with pictures and details on the website. We shared recharged cards, we gave out pads and jotters to some of the members, no matter how far they were, we sent it out to them and ensured they got it. And aside from this particular online program, the initiator selected some particular young girls whom she is mentally, physically and financially mentoring on her own (names not disclosed ) in different states (Calabar, Keffi, Akungba, Abuja etc) here in Nigeria and also one girl in the United Kingdom. These are young girls under my mentorship that call me at the slightest provocation and that have things going on with them. I give out care, funds and all of that to them when necessary which is not from the organization's purse but mine.

To get full details and pictures of each of the aforementioned programs held by the organization, you can click on the link showing.

 

https://www.girlchildinitiative.com/?m=1

This year, 2021, we have been meaning to have a program for September this year. As the initiator of the foundation, I couldn't raise the estimated amount needed for the year program. Since we must fulfill the purpose of this organization, to help young girls out there, we began to seek for donations and started a fund raising sometimes in October for the program proposed to come up 2nd and 3rd of November. But unfortunately, not a single donation came in for the said program.

Regrettably, I hereby announce that the program has been postponed till further notice. I would appreciate, though, if we can make donations or link me to someone that can make donations because the number of children we're reaching out too is over a thousand. And as a single entity working in Nigeria, I cannot singlehandedly finance such a program. So, I am soliciting for help, donations, sponsorship and any other help I can get. It will definitely go a long way in helping to fulfill the organization’s purpose and achieving my dreams of reaching out to as many girl children out there as possible for the sake of humanity.

I hope with this has been enlightening to you and you probably understand what the Girl Child Initiative is all about and you're motivated to stretch out helping hands.

We would sure keep you abreast of the donations coming in and update you on our program.

Thanks for always.

God bless GCI,

God bless Nigeria.

Olufunke Olabode

Initiator, GCI.

Our Fourth Year Anniversary

 Four years already! 

Forever to go! We are still in the business of touching lives of young girls and doing our best to make them smile. 

Here's a short story/testimony of one of us, it delights our heart to see the growth and strength of this young lady: 

*A part of my Experience* 

Growing up in a family where there is violence or abuse can make a person think that is the right way or the only way for family members to treat each other. Somebody who has only known an abusive relationship might mistakenly think that hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, or angry name-calling are perfectly normal ways to treat someone when you're mad.

Seeing my father especially treat us in abusive ways, treat and torture my mother in a very bad and grotesque manner was very traumatizing for us most especially on my part. 

I didn't have any form of esteem because my father constantly reminded us (four girls) that we were nothing and that we would end up getting pregnant outside wedlock and so many verbal abuses. 

It may sound strange, but people sometimes have trouble recognizing that they are being abused. Recognizing abuse may be especially difficult for someone who has lived with it for many years. A person might think that it's just the way things are and that there's nothing that can be done. People who are abused might mistakenly think that it's their fault for not doing what their parents tell them, breaking rules, or not living up to someone's expectations.

What about physical abuse? 

Physical abuse is often the most easily recognized form of abuse. Physical abuse can be any kind of hitting, shaking, burning, pinching, biting, choking, throwing, beating, and other actions that cause physical injury, leave marks, or cause pain.

We were constantly beaten at the slightest provocations. My father beats us with rods, cutlass, fan belts, hot iron and so many pain inflicting objects other than canes which made us more rebellious than disciplined.

Today, I appreciate God and so many other people that have helped me so far in this journey. I'm a work in progress, I'm better than yesterday and growing daily to becoming the best version of myself.

We hope to do more this year and the many more years to come. 

We appreciate your support, love and donations towards the Girl Child Initiative. We do not take you for granted. 

Happy New Year World!

Love, 

Olufunke Olabode

The Initiator @TheGirlChildInitiative

The Girl Child Initiative Rural Outreach Tour 2020

 GCI ROT 2020

The annual Rural Outreach Tour (ROT) of The Girl Child Initiative took a new dimension this year due to the impact and spread of the global pandemic Covid-19.  Not limited by this, the Initiative hosted an online outreach for Female Teenagers with the theme: THE SECRET.

 The program kick started on the 18th September, 2020 and lasted a duration of 3 days, with the grand finale scheduled for the 20th September, 2020.

DAY ONE: 

The first day of the program enjoyed a good turnout of female teenagers who were ready to equip theirselves with the basic tools to impact their worlds. Miss Mary Aisedion, anchored the day's program and started with some engaging activities for the teenagers who in turn, responded to some posers being asked.

The games section ended 8p.m with Miss Deborah coming on top closely followed by Miss Oluwadamilola. Immediately after the games section, the Anchor proceeded and introduced the guest Speaker and first Speaker for the program, in person of Mrs. Ebisidor Ann Siaisiai Azu, the founder and Executive Director of The Siaisiai Ebisidor Foundation, who delivered a note on the Topic: THE SHE-WORTH.

The section lasted an hour and the Speaker emphasized amongst other things the Keys to unlocking "The She-Worth" which includes: 1. Finding you, 2. Focus, 3. Association, 4. Purpose Minded, 5. Discipline, and 6. Carriage.

The Speaker ended her note on keeping intimacy with God, because therein lies all the answers to our worries.

Miss Mary took over and rounded up the day's program with a note of thanks and prayers whilst also informing the Teenagers to be available for day Two.

DAY TWO: September 19, 2020.

The second day of the program also enjoyed another unprecedented success as there were more participation from the participants during the program.

 Mr. Damilola Olufemi, anchored the day's activities. He started by highlighting the activities to the Teenagers which centered around the following:

• Current affairs questions

•  Presentation of Speaker's profile

• Continuation of ROT theme for the year (THE SECRET) 

• Speaker's address/talk

• Question and Answer.

At exactly 7p.m, the Current affairs questions kicked off as the moderator asked the girls various questions and they were all active as they gave timely responses to the questions. The segment got an eventual winner in the person of Miss Oluwadamilola, who performed tremendously in her answers to most of the questions.

Mr Damilola, immediately after the end of the first segment, introduced the Speaker for the day in the person of Miss. Sharon Okon, a Teacher, Music Artist, and a Mass communication student at the National Open University, Abuja. 

The Speaker took charge of the segment and spoke extensively on the Topic: "VALIDATION ADDICTION". She duly engaged the Girls with a clear definition and explanation of the topic whilst also dishing them various lines of knowledgeable words to equip them in their respective domains.

In the Speaker's words, "We can’t rely on others to make us feel good. When we do, we allow others to dictate our worth. And we don’t trust our own thoughts, feelings, and judgments; we assume others know more than we do and their opinions matter more. We become needy and ask for validation in ways that even turn others off." This quote was key in helping the Girls understand the topic better and she ended the topic by giving the Girls tips on how to constantly and consciously develop their self-validation.

The day's program ended at exactly 9:30p.m with The Initiator, Miss Olufunke Olabode giving a heart warming note of thanks whilst also informing the Girls to be prepared for the finale the next day.

DAY THREE: 20th September, 2020.

This day marks the finale of this year's Rural Outreach Tour of The Girl Child Initiative. The theme has been "THE SECRET".

The finale of the program was duly anchored by no other person than the Host and also the Initiator of The Girl Child Initiative, herself in person of Miss Olufunke Olabode. The program started at exactly 7p.m and the Initiator spoke extensively on this year theme, 'The Secret'.

In her words, "Your mind is the Secret". This was the basis she took the theme from and she rightly dissected it to the Girls. The Initiator also gave them the keys to unlocking their minds and using it effectively to get the best possible results in every aspect of their lives. She ended the  year's theme on this "You must learn to use  your mind to its optimal level if you want to live life on a new level and don't forget; the mind the secret, the secret is the mind!".

She admonished the girls to push themselves behind measure and do things that would make them sat and out,if there's need to ask for help,the NGO is always available to help out.

She also encouraged them to train their minds to accept what only they choose and not what the world or society chooses for them.

She reminded the girls that that mentorship program for 1year is for 10 special girls among them and hope's they are looking forward to it.

She gave another round of heart warming note of thanks to all the participants and also her team members for making this year's ROT a reality despite the Covid-19 limitations. She prayed and drew the curtain on what has been a successful impaction of lives. 

Although GCI ROT 2020,didn't come without it's own challenges such as the second speaker being unavailable die minute due to unforseen circumstances the program still happened greatly. Not forgetting to mention that 3 special girls received gifts from the NGO for participating in games.

Special thanks to the graphics designer for the program posters @rstar pluzone, my awesome team members @Mary Aisedion,@Akinyemi Samuel,@Sharon Okon,@Adeagbo Ayomide who is an amazing social media director responsible for some of the graphics designs used during the program,@Olufemi Damilola, and@Toluwani Omotoyinbo

Special thanks to my amazing speakers,who despite their busy schedules were able to impact these young girls, @Ebisidor Ann Azu of the Siaisiai Ebisidor Foundation and @Sharon Okon my amiable General Secretary.

Lastly, special thanks to GCI's outstanding supporters that went extra miles to make this program happen,y'all are the real MVPs.

Glory to God for a successful program, We hope to keep doing more for girl children and for humanity.

God bless GCI,

God bless Nigeria,

I am my humble self,the host of GCI ROT 2020 and the Initiator at the Girl Child Initiative.

Many thanks.

2020 hasn't been the best of years has the popular novel Covid-19 changed the order of things,we social activists of this NGO decided to celebrate the children online this time around...

Enjoy!