MyStory, #TheIevawcStory. The thing is this- first of all i went to school, and because of the way my country is known wit high rate of unemployment esp for fresh graduates, and in a course like mine, i began to have a plan B should incase i don't get a job after school, how would i keep myself busy? Especially since i am a woman, i know d dangers of being idle especially in a city like Abuja. And seeing that i had no capital, apart from my parents who are paying my school fees, there is no uncle or aunty anywhere who can give me some loan. And so i decided, why not just use your time helping people? What sort of people i wondered, it has to be something am passionate about. Then i discovered what i wanted to do, i figured out since i can't switch from being a science student to being a law student in order to become a lawyer to fight for human rights, i could just do this as me through community service, and so an idea was conceived, yes!!! Violence against women and children, rape, wife-battering, child sexual abuse etc, while i have not been a victim of any of such vices, i realized i have a strong passion to bring succor to the bitter hearts of the victims. Then i started to work on my idea, important to note, i was using a part of my pocket money as a student, d search for volunteers also began, i had to share my vision wit others, they have to see wat i see and if they too have d same passion then we can work together, i got so many people, over a hundred, though some wit different motives, typical of humans, and we started to work in and around our community, gwagwalada community at that time, University of Abuja and its environs, we were rendering pure selfless service, sacrificing part of our pocket money as students. Seeing d positive response we got from the people around and the success we were achieving, the happy faces of d lives we were affecting, we felt d little money we contribute is not always enough, and so we started to solicit for more funds from friends, families, eventually we turned to the Nigerian Government and other relevant stakeholders, also from private bodies and donors alike, but, d Nigerian Govt said we must be a registered body in order for our work to be recognized, (don't forget we are only doing something we are passionate about to improve our own corner in d society, contributing our quota towards nation building), well it was a good idea, a way forward, and so We raised funds again, by ourselves, got duly registered with d (Corporate Affairs Commission) CAC in Nigeria, We became an NGO!!!, wow!!! it was good, and we started working officially, then we asked for funds again from the Government, again we got a negative response, this time around the question was always, ''whose children are they? Who are their board members?, etc. Well, we were ''nobodies'' so our proposals always ended in d dustbin, not giving up, we decided to apply for funds from the international bodies to enable us do much more than we were doing, impacting lives positively, and lo, we got accepted by the international community, we got invited for events outside the country, we started to travel, all expenses paid, to improve our skills and expertise and to get partnerships, then it became a problem, d Nigerian Govt and some nigerians began to question why there are alot of NGOs, and they started to say NGOs are just out to make money. Now the image of NGOs in Nigeria is somewhat tainted. What is wrong in getting a reward for touching lives. Afterall in non profit NGOs we don't make money, we only get rewards, so what is wrong if so many foreign organizations decide to reward those who are working. Long and short of everything is this- I think I created a job for myself, yet my government who did not Provide a job for me, neither an enabling environment to do what i created for myself, and because i am successfully succeeding in it, wants to cripple my passion by imposing on me what and how i should go about my passion and infact that it must be according to their standards, among the many listed rules is that- All NGOs must have a national office and branches in d 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria. For goodness sake, why????????????, If i just choose 2 spend my energy on just a particular community, or some particular persons what is that to my govt? Now if we get branches in these zones who are the people to work there, and who will pay them? Will the government? I have had d opportunity to operate in other countries and i saw how everything is so easy but not here! They just must make things difficult for the ordinary Nigerian. Some weird people in this country will not allow good things to happen to its suffering citizens. I was to travel to a certain country one time, i had all d visa requirements but guess what? A Nigerian was at the visa counter and he made it so difficult I almost missed it, he first said I need to have a million naira in my account before I can be granted visa, I did not have it, where on earth will I get a million naira from, I don’t earn any salary, well, I found a way to make up for that, the organization inviting me had over 23 million Euros in their account and they sent me their statement which was acceptable, so I came back, submitted that but he kept delaying until a day to my travel, I insisted I want to see someone at the embassy who is from the country I am visiting, I am travelling the next day, and everything has been paid for, flight, hotels, everything, every document they need I have provided, so what is it? and luckily for me, one was passing by, she overheard us, I complained and in less than 3 hours my visa was out, after 3 weeks of delay by a fellow nigerian!!! So you see? We are our own enemies. Yes, NGOs make money from foreign funds, and so what? The people or organizations giving the money believe in the dreams and vision and they giveright? For them it doesn't matter whose child you are or how connected u are. All that matters is that you are working, and touching lives positively in or around your community!!! This year it will be 10 years since IEVAWC have been in existence, and I can tell you that without any funding from anywhere from my country or outside the country but we have achieved a lot, since the past ten years, no year has passed without us doing two or more projects and for us, this is fulfilling, one day, just one day, we believe, our work and the lives we have affected will speak for us. So funding or no funding, we are not relenting, we will not give up. Its all about Passion!!! And you are welcome to support us if you feel the need and share in our dreams and vision. We will be very grateful. I say a big thank you to all my team members, you are all great and i celebrate you. Together we have achieved alot, putting smiles on peoples faces.
