A group, Zainab Agbolade-Oladejo Initiative, has organised an empowerment programme for pupils of some secondary schools in Ila-Orangun town of Osun State and warned them against premarital sex.
The female students were also trained on their reproductive health, and urged to be positive agents of change in their schools, homes and the society at large.
Tagged: “Homecoming Impact Project for Teens (HIP4Teens),” the convener of the programme, Zainab Agbolade-Oladejo said the programme is to inspire change among teenage girls for a better tomorrow.
A health practitioner, Adenike Atoki, explained the different stages of puberty from the growth stage to the latent stage and also the characteristics of growth to the participants.
She urged them to have healthy acceptance of the growth stage, warning them against peer pressure, teenage pregnancy and unhealthy menstrual care.
“Do not put yourself under pressure, the body differs. Accept your body the way It is. You don’t have to have sex for your body to grow,” Atoki told the students, urging them to focus on their education.
Zainab decided to take the impactful project to her hometown, a community where she was shamefully cast because she challenged norms.
Her story earned her a global opportunity at the Mandela Rhodes where she is currently an academic scholar. She was determined to share the glory with her community and take it upon herself to inspire the younger generations of her community to never stop dreaming.
Emerging as a beacon of resilience and a symbol of hope, she returned to the same Ila-Orangun community to empower teenagers, educate and train them not to fall victims to societal abuse and gender based violence and most importantly, not to allow anyone to dim their light and prevent them from reaching out for the stars.
