Omidan Olayinka Launches SheLegacy Foundation To Empower Kwara Girls, Says ‘Their Voices Matter’

A popular female broadcaster in Kwara State, Omidan Olayinka Ajani Ajibade has officially launched ‘The SheLegacy Innovative Foundation’ a new non-governmental organization (NGO) that is dedicated to empowering young girls and fostering the next generation of female community leaders.

Talking to Team@orientactualmags.com after the official launch of the new NGO in Ilorin last week, Omidan Olayinka said the Foundation is targeting girls between the ages of 10 and 17 while adding that the core objective of The SheLegacy Innovative Foundation’ is to equip young women with the knowledge, confidence, skills, and the strong sense of service necessary to make a tangible impact in society.

‘Our goal is to help girls understand that their voice matters, their futures matter, and that they have the capacity to become leaders and change-makers in the community’ Omidan submitted while noting that the current state of society and trends on social media heavily inspired her focus on matters that have to do with girls.

Apparently as a result of her established background in radio broadcasting where she has long advocated for children and families, there was an immediate surge of local interest and despite capping the initial registration at 100 participants due to funds and space constraints, high demand later forced the NGO to accept 105 girls, while reluctantly turning away nearly 100 others.

The official launch of The SheLegacy Innovative Foundation received a promising wave of average to strong initial support from individual donors and local parents while corporate backing is still developing, Omidan Olayinka however expressed gratitude for the encouragement the NGO has received so far.

Looking ahead to next year, The SheLegacy Innovative Foundation plans to secure more resources and larger venues to scale its impact.

‘By next year, we are hoping to accommodate about 500 girls’ she said.

Although, the initiative is strictly focused on girls in Kwara State at least for now, the ultimate vision for the NGO is to according to her expand its reach and empower young girls across other states in the country.

With ‘My Voice Matters’ as slogan for the NGO, The SheLegacy Innovative Foundation aims to tackle the culture of silence surrounding young women and equip them to become the architects of a ‘smarter generation’.

Omidan Olayinka Ajani Ajibade added that the drive to launch the initiative stemmed directly from observing how modern society and digital spaces have eroded the confidence of young girls.

‘Most of our girls are not having the kind of self-esteem that they ought to have, and society is not encouraging them as it should. By starting small with our girls, they will grow into smart adults, and we will be building a smarter womanhood’ she said.

Beyond building confidence, she said there is also the urgent need to address systemic molestation and abuse noting that fear often make young survivors abandon the mission to seek justice or help.

‘A lot of girls are scared to speak up for themselves; they are scared to ask questions and to be part of things that will benefit their futures. We are encouraging them to speak up no matter the situation they find themselves’ she said.

Omidan Olayinka also made a startling and shocking disclosure that victims do look outside their homes for comfort as many young girls find it easier to confide in strangers than their own families due to deep communication gap in modern households.

‘Parents have responsibilities to allow their girls to speak up. Naturally, boys know how to speak up for themselves, but most girls are being trained to be quiet even when they are not comfortable with a situation. We are advocating for them to set boundaries and learn that ‘no is no’ she said.

While the NGO’s primary focus remains on matters that have to do with girls, Omidan Olayinka acknowledged that true societal balance requires addressing boys’ vulnerabilities too.

Responding to concerns regarding the rising cases of young boys being abused by older women, Omidan Olayinka acknowledged this but however said there is stark statistical differences.

‘Estimates suggest that while male victims account for roughly 20% of abuse cases compared to the overwhelming majority affecting girls, the issue still demands targeted intervention’ she submitted.

To bridge this gap, Omidan Olayinka said there is a need for a dedicated partner NGOs that will focus entirely on the young men.

‘Yes, but you know sometimes we are to look at the percentage of boys that are being molested and they are very little compared to the girls. In terms of percentage maybe 20% out of 100% but we cannot even ignore that as well and that is why I am also advocating for an NGO that can be about boys because when we are saying girls should try and keep their virginity they cannot keep it when the boys are not keeping their own, so, for girls to remain virgins, boys must remain virgins too.

Maybe in the future I will have an NGO like ‘HE legacy foundation’ but for now we are still on ‘SHE’ Omidan Olayinka added-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079,  08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you