The Story of An Icon

Have you heard the name, Adepeju Jaiyeoba (nee Mabadeje)? May be not.

Well, I will tell you a few things about her. Adepeju is a Nigerian trained lawyer and founder of Brown Button Foundation, an NGO established to help curb the high mortality rates in Nigeria, promote women’s sexual and reproductive rights and helping them to make informed choices.

Over time, Adepeju has headed and contributed to different spheres of life. She was the NYSC Legal Aid group committee head on women and children’s right between 2008 and 2009.  In 2009, she was a volunteer guest writer for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Trinidad and Tobago. Also, she was selected to participate in a capacity building and young women mentoring program with the Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) organization where her leadership skills were further sharpened in 2010.

In 2011, Adepeju founded Brown Button Foundation and sold Mother’s Delivery Kits, which are cost-effective and life-saving kits, for safer childbirth, developed by her medical team. She sold over 6,000 kits in the first six months, saving at least 6,000 women and babies in rural communities.

In 2014, she was selected to take part in the prestigious 2014 Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders and was honoured by the United States President, Barack Obama acknowledged her by stating that"I believe in you. I believe in everyone of you, who are doing extraordinary things. Like Adepeju Jaiyeoba. In Nigeria, she saw a close friend die during childbirth. She now helps train birth attendants and delivers kits with sterile supplies, helping to save the lives of countless mothers and their babies".



I have had the opportunity to meet Adepeju. We met through the internet in 2012, when I just rounded off my master’s degree programme from the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom and was able to write two articles on her website.

However, I finally met her face-to-face in 2014, when she came to the University of Lagos to meet me to volunteer on one of her projects. I was amazed at how knowledgeable she is on the issue of maternal and child healthcare. That is how far focus, determination to see change and persistence can make one go in life.
This month, Adepeju and four other young entrepreneurs from around the world were honoured by the United States President, Barack Obama Adepeju at a Global Entrepreneurship event in Washington DC. I am not sure whether she is back in Nigeria. But I am sure she will be glad that she is an inspiration for the average Nigerian youth.


*This section is for inspirational stories of achievement in different spheres of life. Thank you






Comments

  1. Sridhar Chandrasekaran27 May 2015 at 21:34

    You have such an interesting blog. Thanks for sharing. Reading blogs is my hobby and I randomly found your blog. I enjoyed reading your posts. All the best for your future blogging journey. Please keep in touch with me in Twitter, @ipersuade.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown27 May 2015 at 23:17

      Thank you very much, Sridhar. I appreciate your comment and will keep in touch

      Delete
  2. Grace Esedeke31 May 2015 at 07:46

    This is really inspirational. I pray that God will raise more young like minded entrepreneurs like her.
    Thank you for sharing with us at Christian Bloggers Connect

    ReplyDelete

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