‘Caring for people is my age-long hobby’

Eniola Olajide is the founder of Eniola Olajide Foundation (EnOF) which has for many years reached out to youths and elderly Nigerians. Her empowerment program has taken her to rural areas where she has passionately supported youths to achieve their dreams. Her not for profit organisation has provided scholarships, learning aids and has supported a number of young ladies with skills to empower them for the future. In this interview, the British-born Nigerian told DAYO EMMANUEL her passion for Nigerian youths who must be equipped to measure up intellectually and otherwise with their counterparts around the world.

Since when have you been involved in humanitarian work in Nigeria?

I have been involved since I was a young lady but I did not see it as a humanitarian thing. I saw it as a hobby. It is what I like doing. I love to see smiles on people’s faces, especially children and the elderly ones and that was how it started.

Can you estimate how many of these individuals you’ve reached out to?

I can’t give a definite figure but I know they are more than 30, not minding the age, sex, religion and where they come from. I don’t discriminate. I only have empathy for people especially children. Presently some girls are undergoing training on tailoring, some have been through the training and we are trusting God to be able to make them start off after their training period. There is also a boy currently doing well on scholarship at Ibadan. He is now about 10 years old. He was an apprentice learning to be a vulcanizer at that tender age because there was no assistance, but we saw the need for him to have formal education. So many other cases. This shows that there is so much to do. There are so many needs out there but if each of us can do a little, a lot would be done at the end of the day and smiles would be on more faces.

Reaching out to people on humanitarian grounds involves a lot of logistics if one must be effective, how do you run your operations or is it just an informal gesture

 It is just a gesture on my part. Out of the little I have I don’t mind sharing. Even some I have never met but their pathetic situations throw me off my balance. Until I do something to give some relieve, I won’t be alright. Really there is no much fund to throw around but one must keep trying if the heart is there to be of help. Some of these supports come in form of food, medication, clothing, little things, just to name a few.

Are you willing to regularise your outreach and make it run formally so you could have a database of your beneficiaries and have a proper assessment of the whole thing and by so doing increasing your capacity to monitor and do more?

I wish to regularise our operations. That is why EnOF is coming on board to put things in shape so that we could develop a database to monitor the progress of the youths who are our beneficiaries. This will help us monitor their progress and able to do more with the available resources. Presently people want me to address the young girls anytime I am chanced and by the grace of God it would happen.

Are you aware of the UNO’s publication that says about 10million Nigerian children are out of school? What danger can this bring on a nation like ours?

Yes it was reported. This situation among other things will damage a lot of things. For instance, poverty will grow like epidemic once people are not empowered. Then another evil is abuse, early pregnancy and other related problems.

Early pregnancy is also a factor fueling the figure of out-of-school children in Nigeria. How do you think you can come in here to at least salvage the situation in your own little way?

We are encouraging the young girls and empowering them. We increase the awareness on the danger that is in early pregnancy. When they get pregnant without education and empowerment, they become miserable and keep producing kids they may not be able to cater for because of increasing poverty. When one is not educated, her chances of attracting economic power and bigger opportunities are cut short. So this is one of the areas we are looking into.

Can we say that’s what you’ll do soon for girls in Nigeria?

With God on my side I will try taking some of the young girls off the streets and provide enlightenment. Sometimes providing enlightenment may not be enough in itself, one must add the human touch. I mean one must provide opportunities to keep them out of vices that often bring early and unwanted pregnancy. They need all the opportunities.

For record purpose, tell us more about your organisation.

All I have in mind is to empower, to support, to encourage and to motivate young girls to value themselves. This is the summary of what our organization is all about. There are lots of problems, lots of issues, young people need all the encouragement and direction. Some of us have seen through what they are trying to see now, we are in the best position to tell them the outcome of what some of them are into now. One should avoid learning the hard way but some can’t but learn  the hard way if nobody teaches them.

Can you brief us of your personal experience because this is what these young girls would want to learn from?

This will make me to touch a bit about my background. My spirit of giving comes from my both parents. They are very generous and accommodating. And to top it up I work as a support worker working for people with learning disabilities and autistic. And making them to be able to achieve their day-to-day activities. I empower them by showing them love despite their challenges. That is my job. I have also achieved a lot by making people around me happy. Giving back into the system is my dream. That is my humanitarian calling and I ask for the grace to do it. I am accessible for these girls to learn from by the grace of God.

How do you advise Nigerian government on care for the people living with disabilities?

They need to include these persons in their planning. The people with disabilities should be involved, they have to be able to decide their own welfare. They need to be allowed to say what they want. They need to be supported to live independently.

 Do you have a particular target community you want to focus your operations on for now?

Mostly my community, my village where I grew up. People there still lack awareness and understanding. Some are vulnerable. The vulnerable can be easy target.

Lastly, where do you want to see your organisation in the next five years?

I don’t want it to be what I have achieved but what I have been able to put back into the society and what others have benefited from it will tell how far we have gone or how far we can go in the next five years. Like I mentioned there is so much work to do but little fund so we must manage the little available resources and invest in the best direction, addressing the most pressing needs. That is what we are looking at in the next five years with God on our side.