Curator and Communications Consultant Aida Oluwagbemiga on Sunday celebrates the 2025 Mental Health Awareness Month with the third edition of The Aida Whimsical Reading Party, describing it as a celebration of healing, literature, and youth empowerment.

The Top 5 submissions for this year’s reading party were: Salome Dolyamba Yelwa -First Place, Fatimah Usman Borkono – Second Place, Halima Sadiya Saad – Third Place, Victor Sule – Fourth Place and Samira Musa – Fifth Place.

First curated in May 2022, the reading party was originally founded in collaboration with the Mental Health for Youth Initiative and The Breakfast Co (formerly The Milkshop), founded by Aisha Abubakar Iya.

According to Aida, what began as an intimate reading circle has now blossomed into a powerful platform for youth expression, healing, and a literary community.

“I wanted to make this year’s reading party better than ever, from the quality of submissions to the intentionality of our rewards and collaborations, this year felt like a true celebration of growth.

“This year’s edition saw over 40 submissions, a significant rise from the inaugural year’s 23 entries, and introduced a competitive writing segment with a publication opportunity from Yonki Abuja, founded by Zainabu Ilham Malabu.

“In a positive turn, all top 5 entries will now be published digitally by Yonki Abuja, expanding the impact of these young writers’ voices.

“The first-place winner, Salome Dolyamba Yelwa, an alumna of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) from Gombe State, moved the audience with her powerful essay titled “There are too many idiots in this world. And having said it, I have the burden of proving it.”

“Inspired by Frantz Fanon, her piece explored colorism, identity, and self-acceptance from the perspective of a dark-skinned woman confronting long-held societal prejudices.

“Select standout participants were gifted luxury wellness products from Body and Saal, while other readers and writers received bookmarks as tokens of appreciation. All attendees were given stickers featuring the Leonard Cohen quote: “There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in. A meaningful reminder that imperfections can also be entry points for healing.”

Oluwagbemiga disclosed that the only financial sponsor for the year’s event was Zance Co, a UK-based startup founded by Ifeanyichukwu Ukwu, whose generous support made the expanded edition possible, adding that additional partners included Cozy Health, a mental health organization in Abuja.

“For me, there is no linear path to healing, but literature, art, and even the power of a simple conversation can be transformative. This is about showing Nigerian youths and youths across Africa that reading and writing can be a form of therapy, and an alternative to silence or self-harm.”

Looking ahead, Oluwagbemiga said she hopes to expand The Aida Whimsical Reading Party into a bi-annual event, reaching more young people and contributing more meaningfully to the ongoing conversation around mental health, creativity, reading, writing and healing.

The event witnessed the presence of Sallie Madaki Amafor, founder and CEO of Body and Saal, who served as this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month Ambassador who shared her personal wellness journey and brought the event to life with her authenticity and dedication to healing through self-care.

The event concluded with a vibrant musical performance by Aybee, who lifted the mood with a well curated playlist of covers.