WED, NOVEMBER 28 2018-theG&BJournal- In 2013 at the age of 10, Zuriel Oduwole put her beliefs that every Girl in Africa should have an opportunity of a great education, ahead of her own needs as a young growing girl herself. Along the way, she began to bother African leaders, tasking them to create simple, non complex, and childlike policies that ensures girls are sustained in a viable manner, through a practical school system. President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania was the first to invite her to his country in 2015, to see the work he was doing in area of primary and secondary education.
Three years later, her initiative morphed into a very young foundation that opened the doors for her to start developing partnerships to realize her quest. The Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up [DUSUSU] Foundation was incorporated in Nigeria early in 2016 with the ‘pro bono’ support of the commercial legal practice called Aluko Oyebode & Co, and she hit the ground running, with seasonal volunteers deployed alongside herself for her first projects.
The SERAS Awards as Africa’s only CSR platform, recognized her efforts, and DUSUSU Foundation was nominated in 2 categories for 2017 alongside LaFarge Cement and Coke. Building on the foundation of her work, for 2018, she expanded her Film Making class initiative in Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria via strategic partnerships and support initiatives. Her Foundation has just been nominated 24 hours ago, in two very competitive categories, alongside Shell Oil, 9 Mobile, UNION Bank, Access Bank and Coke.
With Zero budget and a consistent grind and belief, she continually shows what faith, a dream, and a strong will to make a difference can do, in a crowded field of corporate behemoths and global brands, being a 16 year old.
The Award ceremony is next month on December 1st, at the Muscon center in Lagos – NIGERIA.
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