WOMAN...BE BOLD FOR CHANGE

The strength of a nation is not in its ideas. It is in the women and girls. Empowering women is one of the greatest opportunities a society can give the women because women always give back a multiplied output the investment bestowed unto them. Women are strong, women are bold, and women are pillars. The world stood still on the 8th of March to recognize and celebrate women all over the world. Young girls were not excluded because the world is beginning to recognize the impact of the female gender and the need to applaud their efforts and also support them for development.

We at Women Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON), that believe in the rights of women for equality, development and peace. We support gender equity and equality and belive that women are the face of social change. To celebrate the 2017 international women’s day,WOCON recognized a very prominent woman in the development sector who has invested time and energy in fighting for the rights of children. She was interviewed on the theme of the 2017 International women’s day celebration which is ‘be bold for change’ to appreciate her for her resilience and also give advice to younger women on how to be bold for Positive Change.

OlapejuOlukemiOsoba is the coordinator of Terre des Hommes (Tdh) Nigeria, an international Non Governmental Organization with the Nigeria office situated in Abeokuta Ogun State.  She is the immediate past coordinator of Child Protection Network Ogun State, a position she held for 4 years and handed over a month ago. She has worked for over  10years protecting the rights of children from all forms of abuse. PejuOsoba popularly referred to as Peejay by her friends and colleagues holds  a Masters Degree in Counseling psychology from the University of Ibadan and a Bachelor of Arts in Education English from ObafemiAwolowo University. She worked as a school head in Abeokuta before taking up an employment as social worker in Tdh but with her hard work, consistency and dedication rose up to the position of managing the affairs of the office in Nigeria. She has consulted for  several national and international organizations on issues of child abuse ranging but not limited to human trafficking, sexual abuse, physical abuse and so on. She is a member of the Benin- Nigeria Technical Committee on the bilateral agreement on counter trafficking. She was part of a team of 12 experts that developed a national guideline document for the protection of children in  formal care in Nigeria. In recent years, she has been involved in advocacy work and development of documents for children affected by mobility in the ECOWAS region

She believes women possess some  inner strength and are naturally built to conceive. “Nature confers resilience on women and that makes them hold on to their beliefs and convictions even in the face of daunting challenges”, she said.. She celebrated her fellow women and said women are wives, mothers, sisters and have many have displayed great expertise in their chosen fields. In their roles as mothers, wives and professionals in different fields there is ample opportunities for women to impact those that surround them by being courageous to speak up when it matters. Women have the power to bring change.

Peejay said personally,  she has continuously motivated in her career by the desire to be outstanding,  and having the privilege of impacting coming generations inspires her.

According to her, the society can help women achieve their dream by believing in their potential to make a change and encourage young women to aspire to the highest possible positions within the society,

Her advice to young women is that they should go for it. Chase after their dreams. “The only possible obstacle is YOU. Go after excellence and be courageous for change”, she said.

Olajumoke Rasak

Program Officer

WOCON

IWD 2017