Omidan Health and Empowerment Initiative has graduated 46 adolescent girls under its flagship Girls Thrive Project, a six-week empowerment programme designed to close knowledge gaps in adolescent health and equip girls with practical skills for self-reliance. The project was supported by Philantify, whose funding made the community-based intervention possible.
The participants, aged 15 to 19, were drawn from across the Gbazango community and trained in menstrual health and hygiene, mental health awareness, confidence building, and vocational skills including pastries, bead making, and reusable pad production.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Aderonke Olisa, Executive Director of Omidan Health and Empowerment Initiative, emphasized the long-term vision behind the project.
“This project was created to ensure that girls are not limited by their environment. It is okay for a girl to dream. When you invest in a girl with knowledge and skills, she returns to her community empowered and ready to uplift others.”
Olisa noted that many participants had never previously received structured education on menstrual hygiene or mental health. “Some of these girls were struggling silently without understanding what they were experiencing. Providing safe, accurate information changes that trajectory,” she added.
A major highlight of the event was the official opening of the Gbazango Girls Thrive Hub, located within the Primary Health Care Centre in the community. The hub will serve as a dedicated safe space where adolescent girls can continue accessing health information, counselling, skills and mentorship.
Stakeholders like Raquel Kasham Daniels at the event underscored that investing in girls’ health and empowerment has a multiplier effect on families, communities, and national development.
For the 46 graduates, the ceremony marked not just the end of a programme, but the beginning of new possibilities. With support from Philantify, the Girls Thrive Project reflects a growing commitment to community-based solutions that empower young girls with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to lead healthier and more economically secure lives.
The organisation called on government at all levels to strengthen partnerships with grassroots organisations working in adolescent health and development, noting that sustained investment in young girls is critical to Nigeria’s social and economic future. Empowering girls today, stakeholders emphasised, is a direct investment in the nation’s tomorrow.
