?Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.? ? Michelle Obama

A saying has it that when you educate a girl, you educate a nation. That simply shows the importance of the girl child in the society, the more reason why October 11th every year has been set aside for the celebration of this special homo sapiens, the girl child.

In order to make 2024 International Day for the Girl Child memorable, Chioma Innocent, a philanthropist and broadcast journalist with Voice of the People (VOP)90.3 FM Lagos and her crew took the celebration to Eppe International School, located at Nathaniel Osagie Street, Irawo Ajegunle, Ikorodu Road Lagos. The theme of the impactful event was, ?Girls Vision for the future?.

In this interview, she spoke on the vision of her NGO, known as Womangle, the challenges facing the girl child in the society, the role of parents and government to the girl child and on other issues.

Excerpts:

What is your name and what is the vision of Womangle?

My name is Chioma Rita Innocent. I am a broadcast journalist with VOP90.3, Lagos. Womangle I can say is a child of necessity. It is an organization that was founded to defend, fight and speak for the womanhood. If you take a critical look at the society, especially, our African society. It was skewed to favour the menfolk. The inequality between the boy child and the girl child in the society is very glaring. So Womangle was formed to inspire the girl child to greatness. African tradition, world views and even thoughts are anti- woman and that is the main reason why the girl child is not struggling to become the best version of herself. For example, when a girl child was made to believe that her happiest day is her wedding day. Such a belief would make her to instead of working hard to develop her brain to attain great heights in the society, she would be working hard to make herself look beautiful and acceptable to the men and by concentrating on her body, rather than of her brain, the boy child already has advantage over her. That is one of the focuses of Womangle, to change the mindset of the girl child so that they would realize that they could aspire as high as the men.

What are the challenges facing the organization?

We are saddled with a lot of challenges because trying to change word views or belief systems that have been entrenched over the years would not be easy. That was why at Eppe International School, we tried to inspire, educate and motivate the girls to overcome societal barriers and achieve the desires of their heart. On the maiden edition, Womangle took the opportunity to bring attention to issues such as period shame, early marriage as well as lack of access to education. The outreach program at Eppie International School kicked off with a welcome address by the school?s principal. The program featured an array of activities like motivational talks, presentation of menstrual hygiene item and career guidance sessions. We encouraged the girls to dream big and pursue careers in various fields, especially those traditionally dominated by men. We believe that every girl has the potential to succeed and make a difference and that underscores the importance of education as a tool for self- reliance and mental freedom. Our main goal is to help the girl child to realize that she is capable of achieving greatness, regardless of the challenges she may face. As part of the outreach, Womangle also distributed sanitary pads and stationery material to the young students.

Broadcast journalists are not rich, so who is funding the NGO?

Womangle is a self- funding organization. We are using our widow?s mite to do the little that we are doing. Talking of being rich, I want to say that one does not necessarily have to be rich before he or she can help. Mother Teresa said that if you cannot feed one hundred people, just try and feed just one. That is the principle that we are adopting. But that does not mean that we are averse to donations. If we have more, we will do more because a lot of young girls out there need help. During the outreach, we emphasized the significance of the International Day of the Girl Child and urged the students to seize every opportunity to learn and grow. Even the little that we did, the students of Eppie International School were visibly excited and inspired. We could see the joy in their eyes as well as the smiles on their faces. They expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to learn from accomplished women and the new insights they gained in their potential career paths. The organization remains committed to ensuring that every girl, regardless of her background, has access to education, resources, and mentorship needed to thrive. I strongly believe that the future is bright, and it?s up to us to support and empower our girls to be the leaders of tomorrow. Furthermore, we are confident that with the right tools and encouragement, they will go on to break boundaries and reshape the world. With programs like this, Womangle will continue to make a significant difference in the lives of young girls, reinforcing the importance of gender equality and empowering the next generation of female leaders. Together, we can build a world where every girl has the opportunity to shine and thrive.

What advice do you have for young girls out there?

Noble Laureate, Malala Yousafa said thus: ?We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave ? to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.? The truth is that the girl child is the future of the world because when girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous. The world needs strong women. Women who will lift and build others, who will love and be loved. Women who live bravely, both tender and fierce. Women of indomitable will. The girl child is an embodiment of courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent and guts. These qualities are buried inside the average girl child and it needs encouragement, motivation, inspiration and empowerment to bring them out. Somebody said that to save a girl is to save generations. I will want to end by paraphrasing Hillary Clinton ?To all the little girls who are reading this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful, and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.? They should also know that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

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