Your support is helping students in Nigeria get the education they need through our partner organization in Nigeria, S.M.I.L.E.   One of the students who has recently benefitted from S.M.I.L.E is Ifeoluwa who tells us in his own words how the support he has received has influenced his life.

My name is Ifeoluwa and I am so glad for how S.M.I.L.E has influenced my life. I am the last child of my family and used to be very shy because I was teased a lot for being taller than my age mates so I was never proud of myself and this made it difficult for me to mingle with my age mates.

I attended a private school until my parents could no longer afford the school fees and I had to drop out of school and start doing menial jobs as a bricklayer and an errand boy to earn stipends to take care of myself. When I was finally able to go back to school (I had to enroll in public school). I was ashamed of myself because I was not just the tallest boy in the school but was also older than most of my mates. But things turned around for me when I was selected by my school to be on S.M.I.L.E's six (6) months Leadership training program. All I learned helped me overcome my shyness and I began to mentor my mates and was elected as the Secretary of the league of Class Captain. I later became the president and senior prefect. I received the shock of my life when I was named the school commissioner.

Today I am no longer the very shy and timid dropout. I have become confident in myself, I interact with other people and speak at events where we have Bankers, Accountant & entrepreneurs etc. I also have an online platform with a friend through which we reach out to other teenagers monthly. Through the Scholarship program, I am now in the higher institution studying Entrepreneurship and Business Management.

I strongly recommend S.M.I.L.E to every aspiring leader. I believe with the help of partners, the future of the Nigerian Youth is in safe hands.

Your support helped Ifeoluwa go from a shy, uneducated young man to the current leader and mentor that he is today.  You have truly made a lasting difference in not only Ifeoluwa’s life but also in the lives that he is now impacting.  We greatly appreciate your support and look forward to your support in helping more youth and young adults become leaders.