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| Angela Ochu-Baiye, CEO of Jela's Development Initiatives Addressing Guests During the J Blood Match |
Jela’s Development Initiatives (JDI) launched the J Blood Match App, an artificial intelligence application that connects voluntary blood donors to recipients using their blood type and location, on February 9, 2023.
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| Photo by Nick Owuor (astro.nic.visuals) on Unsplash |
by Adetayo Adetokun
African feminists are individuals and organizations working towards the advancement of women's rights and equality in Africa. They work to challenge traditional gender roles and societal attitudes that perpetuate the notion of women's inferiority and promote laws and policies that protect and empower women. African feminists also advocate for access to education, healthcare, and other essential services for women, and women's participation in political and economic decision-making processes.
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| Photo by RF._.studio on Pexels |
by Adetayo Adetokun
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebrated on February 11 each year, is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the critical role women and girls play in scientific fields and promote their full and equal access to, and participation in, science. While there has been some progress in recent years, the representation of women and girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) remains disproportionately low. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Science Report 2021, one in three researchers in science globally is a woman. In sub-Saharan Africa, between a mere 18 to 31 percent of science researchers are women, compared to 49 percent in Southeast Europe and the Caribbean; 44 percent in Central Asia and Latin America; and 37 percent in the Middle Eastern States.
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| Photo by Dick Scholten on Pexels |
by Grace Anaja
Child marriage is a plague that affects millions of girls all around the world. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) describes child marriage as 'any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or another child.' In countries like Niger, Nigeria, and Central African Republic, 36% of girls are married before age 18, and 10% are married before age 15. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also states that marriage must be entered by individuals who are fully consenting and at full age.
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| Book Chat with Isa Umar Tela |
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| Cynthia Umeh, our Audio and Video Editor, at the Walk4Education event in Abuja, Nigeria |
by Cynthia Umeh
Another fun-filled event!
Shades of Us Storytelling Initiative for African People ('Shades of Us') was invited for Walk4Education, a fitness and advocacy walk organized by FlexiSAF Foundation to commemorate World Human Rights Day on December 10, 2022, at the International Conference Center. Nothing was better than exercising while advocating for the rights of out-of-school children and wrapping up the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence campaign, which began on November 25, 2022.
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| Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels |
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| Group photo after the second-panel session at the Future of Health Conference in Abuja. Image Credit: Nigeria Health Watch |
by Adetayo Adetokun
The Future of Health Conference is an annual conference hosted by Nigeria Health Watch. The conference aims to provide a visible platform for critical stakeholders in healthcare, finance, politics, and other allied sectors to discuss the factors that influence Nigeria’s health policies; how political, social, and economic factors shape individual and population health outcomes; health service development within the economic and political context; and how to create a national health service that meets the needs of all Nigerians.
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| General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director, World Health Organization |
by Adetayo Adetokun
We attended the World Health Summit from October 16 - 18, 2022, and had insightful takeaways, especially from the sessions curated for African healthcare and food systems.
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| Photo by Charlotte May on Pexels |
by Grace Anaja
Rape for grades is a well-known phenomenon. It involves dangling academic grades in exchange for sexual favors. Even if one party – in this case, the students – consents to trade sexual favors for improved grades, the power dynamics between the school’s employee and the student means that one cannot consent without the niggling fear that their refusal may mean failure. Thus, it is considered rape.
We attended the RedCard2Sextortion Campaign launch and panel discussion organized by Devatop Centre for Africa Development and supported by the United States Embassy in Nigeria on December 9, 2022, at the Raw Materials and Research and Development Council, Abuja. The discussions aimed to highlight and address sexual violence to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
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| Photo by Eye for Ebony on Unsplash |
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| Photo by Vojtech Okenka |
Job Title: Volunteer Graphics Designer – Shades of Us
Location: Abuja (Hybrid – 75% Remote)
Employment Type: Short Term
Duration: Six Months
Openings: 1
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| Photo by Thirdman on Pexel. |
By Eneojo Innocent
Men and boys can be great allies in the race to stop
gender-based violence. Ending the menace that is gender-based violence is a
global priority and requires a collective effort.
Here are 10 ways men and boys can fight gender-based
violence.
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| Photo by RODNAE Productions |
Location: Abuja (Hybrid - 75% Remote)
Employment Type: Short Term
Duration: 2 Weeks
Openings: 1
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| Photo by Askar Abayev |
For all the Shades of Us,
Tones of black,
Hues of white,
And all that holds in between,
Moving strong in harmony.
Undefeated!
We are Elephants!
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| Panel session at the National Female Filmmakers' Congress. |
“Women belong in all spaces.”
We attended the first Google for Africa event in 2021 and were impressed by how much Google was investing in Africa to improve educational, technology, entrepreneurial and developmental indices across the continent. We learned of the plan to invest $1Billion over a period of five years to support a range of initiatives from improved connectivity to investment in startups to help boost Africa’s digital transformation.
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| Young advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals. |
As an organization, we can be serious but…we also love to have a good time.
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| Photo by Jep Gambardella |
On May 13, 2022, we got our certificate of incorporation as a non-profit organization from the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission. Since then, we have been looking to expand our operations and impact lives across Africa and with people of African descent. As a direct result, we are hiring volunteers to help us chart the course of our organization's direction and growth.
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| Photo by Tope A. Asokere from Pexels |
By Ojonugwa Yahaya.
When you continually tell even the most beautiful creature... hmm, maybe even more beautiful than Agbani Darego 🤔... that she is ugly, in no time she may start believing it and even start looking ugly... that is how dynamic nature and human psychology work.
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| Photo by RF._.studio from Pexels |
by Vanessa Oyiwodu Audu
illiteracy
/ɪˈlɪt(ə)rəsi/
noun
1. the inability to read or write.
2. lack of knowledge in a particular subject; ignorance.
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| Photo by Dayvison de Oliveira Silva from Pexels |
by Emono Bwacha
A citizen of a country is basically someone who has legal ties to that country. One of the most common definitions of citizenship is that it is “the sum total of rights and duties ensuing for a given person by reason of his legal affiliation to a certain State”[1] The concept of citizenship legally ties an individual to a particular region or country. As a direct result, the individual has obligations to said region or country and in return, the region or country grants the individual rights to enjoy as a citizen.
