First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has urged girls and young women to dream big and pursue their ambitions with discipline, determination and purpose, as the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) reached 27,345 beneficiaries in its three years of life-changing interventions in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
   
Speaking yesterday at the anniversary celebration at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Mrs Tinubu said vision and preparation remain indispensable to success, particularly for young women aspiring to leadership and national development.
   
According to her, “dreaming is what keeps any human being going. If you sit and don’t have a dream, a vision of what you want to become, it becomes very tough for you.”
   
The first lady, who is also the national chairman of the RHI, explained that the Dream Girls Project under the FCT chapter was designed to build confidence, nurture character, and inspire girls to aspire to greater heights.
   
She also underscored the importance of etiquette and protocol, noting that such values equip young people to navigate leadership and professional responsibilities effectively.

Therefore, “you have to learn a lot of things about etiquette and protocol because you don’t know when you will be called upon to do something.”
   
Meanwhile, she commended the immediate past FCT RHI Coordinator, Dr Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, for expanding its reach through innovative programmes that strengthened support for women, girls and vulnerable groups across the territory. Reflecting on the RHI journey under the theme, “Our Stories, Her Impact,” Mrs Tinubu recalled that the initiative was inaugurated on July 7, 2023, to complement President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through people-centred interventions aimed at improving livelihoods and expanding opportunities for disadvantaged Nigerians.
   
“The theme of this event aptly captures the significance of today’s programme. At the heart of every intervention, every programme and every outreach is a person whose life has been touched, a family that has found succour and support, or a community that has been empowered,” she said.
   
She noted that the first intervention was assistance to victims of the Trademoore Estate flood disaster in Lugbe, Abuja, in July 2023, adding that following its formal registration in August of the same year, the organisation had expanded its programmes across the country.
   
According to the first lady, RHI has, in the last three years, delivered grants, scholarships, educational materials, skills acquisition programmes, healthcare interventions and emergency assistance to women, youths, children, veterans, senior citizens, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups nationwide.
   
Mrs Tinubu also acknowledged the support of states’ first ladies, RHI coordinators, development partners, donors and community leaders, while thanking the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for supporting the initiative’s activities.
   
Meanwhile, in her FCT impact report, Benjamins-Laniyi disclosed that 27,345 residents across the six area councils benefited from RHI interventions implemented through five strategic pillars and over 15 flagship programmes in the past three years.
   
According to him, the interventions reached 3,307 children, provided economic empowerment to 4,427 beneficiaries, supported 4,866 persons through food security and agricultural programmes, assisted 970 persons with disabilities, strengthened protection systems for 4,423 beneficiaries and provided welfare support to 550 elderly citizens.
   
She noted that the economic empowerment programmes were designed to promote self-reliance, while the agricultural interventions enhanced household resilience and food production.
   
Also, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, described the initiative as a transformative platform that has placed women and children at the centre of national development, translating policy into measurable outcomes through collaboration with traditional institutions.
   
For the President of the Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association (DEPOWA), Mrs Mernan Oluyede, “the true measure of any intervention lies not in the numbers recorded but in the lives transformed. Behind every empowerment programme, educational support initiative, healthcare intervention and welfare package is a story of renewed dignity, restored confidence, and strengthened hope.”