Raquel Daniel is passionate about children and she makes efforts catching them young to achieve a better life. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she opens up on the things that inspire her, becoming an orphan as a teenager, taking care of three younger siblings, getting internally-displaced children get back to school, writing books for teenagers and life as founder of the Beyond the Classroom Foundation.
TAKE us through your journey into volunteering?
I started volunteering when I had no idea what it was called. Growing up, my late mum emphasized the importance of service to my siblings and me, so volunteering came to me naturally. She would say ‘if you serve with all your heart, you can open any door’. Service became one of my strongest values from a very young age.
My journey into volunteering started with my mum. She lived a life of purpose and of service. She always helped anyone who came to her for help. She had a club for children where she taught them about God. She encouraged me to serve the refreshments and clean up after everyone left. That made me see everything I do as a service.
As a teenager, I became very active in my school. I would quickly volunteer to help when there was a need. I can say for a fact that it helped me become really confident growing up. After secondary school, I got my first job while volunteering at my mum’s friend’s store. From then onwards, I continued volunteering actively everywhere I went. In my first year in university, I joined AIESEC: an international platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential. Being an AIESECer showed me the rewards of volunteering and further reinforced my mum’s point about service opening doors. I got my first job offer from a firm in the UK in my final year without applying. I have volunteered for a lot of nonprofits since then.
You recently launched an online platform for volunteering. Tell us about it? Why did you decide to launch this platform?
Yes, I recently co-founded Nzuriaiki.com, an online platform that showcases volunteer opportunities in Nigeria and connects organizations with volunteers. I decided to launch Nzuriaiki.com because volunteering helped me gain skills when I had no skills to get a good job. I was orphaned as a teenager and was left to cater to my three younger brothers. Needing a job but having no work experience, I decided to volunteer for free to build up my capacity, which is something my mum always emphasized anyway. Through volunteering, I developed professional, technical and soft skills such as leadership and critical thinking but most importantly it boosted my self-confidence. Prior to getting into university, I used those skills to apply for jobs which I got easily. The skills I learned during my time volunteering gave me the opportunity to find flexible part-time jobs allowing me to earn and continue to take care of my siblings while paying my way through school.
I decided to launch this platform because organizations want certain skills and work experience which a lot of graduates don’t have. Seeing that volunteering worked for me, I believe it is a solution that can tackle the problem of unemployment in Nigeria. This is because by serving and giving your time, this can turn up to learning or earning opportunity.
Tell us about some of your volunteering activities and causes? For a very long time, I didn’t use the word “founder” as my title for the Beyond the Classroom Foundation. I see myself privileged to lead this non-profit in the last ten years first as a volunteer than the initiator. We are focused on two causes: education and sexual and reproductive health education for girls. We enrolled 107 children at the Karon Majigi Internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Abuja back to school in September 2019 and renovated a primary school in Lagos through a partnership with one of Nigeria’s leading banks in February 2020. Because we work with children and girls, when COVID-19 struck, we immediately provided learning materials to 200 children at the Karon Majigi IDP camp, extending it to other children outside the 107 we enrolled in school. During the lockdown, we also raised funds and provided food items to over 800 families with children and sanitary pads for about 700 girls through the pads in a pandemic project.
While distributing free food items to families during the lockdown, I noticed a need and quickly designed ‘There is a New Virus in Town’, a coronavirus awareness book for children. So far, we have printed and distributed 2,000 copies of the book to children in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.
These are some of the volunteering activities I’ve been involved in within the last year.
What should spur people to get engaged in volunteering?
The benefit of volunteering is enormous. After over a decade working in the non-profit space in Nigeria, I have seen firsthand how volunteer work broadens and deepens experiences of volunteers, providing them skill development in a way that is often not possible or available to them elsewhere. With the unemployment rate in Nigeria at 55.7%, young people are desperately looking for jobs. I believe knowing the benefit of volunteering can spur young people into volunteering.
This year has witnessed a pandemic and protests; do you think more people got engaged with volunteering for these causes more than ever?
Due to the pandemic, there has been an increase in online volunteering and lower turnout for physical volunteering activities across the world. What we’ve seen is that some nonprofit organizations currently have no ongoing projects, while others are working on the frontlines. These organizations working on the frontline have recorded a higher increase in the number of volunteer turnout. Even though the pandemic affected physical volunteering, it caused a rise in online volunteering. I allowed more people to give their time to organizations they believe in without leaving their homes.
You have written a couple of books and most recently, ‘Flow’. What informed this decision?
I wrote my first book, ‘Flow’, out of the desire to reach more girls with the message of menstruation. When I learned about menstruation in school, the focus was only on the biology of the menstrual cycle. The lessons left out useful information about our bodies’ anatomy and the use of sanitary products. I remember educating my friends in secondary school and many were utterly surprised by how I knew what I was teaching them. When I told them my father had taught me, they all couldn’t believe it.
I wrote this book to help girls understand and learn about the changes in their bodies in a funny, easy and relatable way. The book includes details girls need to know about puberty, preparing for their first period, managing period cramps and types of sanitary products to use. In the book, I spoke about how my late father taught me all I needed to know about menstruation, shared my personal experiences, practical advice and information on managing menstruation. I believe this book will impact girls positively because, beyond sharing about menstruation and hygiene, I shared personal experiences and spoke about my late father. ‘Flow’, the menstruation book for girls, was designed to address the real concerns every young girl goes through during puberty. A lot of girls grow up without any knowledge of puberty and menstruation, and I desire that the book guides and helps any girl who reads it navigate through the world of puberty with ease.
As a mum, wife, speaker and inspiration to a lot of young people, how do you manage these portfolios and still be at your best?
(Laughing) I always baulk at this question because it has been difficult, but I think I’m finding my way. After I had my daughter, it was hard to focus on a lot of things, and sometimes, I barely made it to the end of the day with my sanity still intact. As a working mum with a demanding schedule, it sometimes feels utterly impossible to be everything to everyone, all the time. I was constantly pulled in all directions and the weight of the fact that every time I choose to focus my attention in one area of my life, I am by default not choosing someone or something else keeps me up at night. I got to a place where I finally told myself: ‘Girl, you can do it all by yourself’. Yes, I still have a lot on my plate, and I try to manage them pretty well now with the help of scheduling apps, calendar reminders, my assistant, family and my amazing husband. This is not to say I am not failing at other things, but the things I deem as important always come first and that I take very seriously.
What is your advice to women seeking ways to balance home front and career, while being at their best?
In between working and raising a family, you’re going to face some struggles depending on your circumstances. But it is your tenacity to believe in yourself and your resilience that will help you stand firm even if you don’t balance it all.
I’d advise, find a support system! My family has been my greatest source of strength and support. So, look around you and see where you can find support either physically or emotionally.
Also, you don’t have to say yes to every single invitation or extracurricular activity. Determine how much your schedule can handle and choose the activities that you can handle without burning out. Don’t feel bad when you have to say no. Remember that it is possible to have both a successful career and a fulfilling family life. It may not look exactly like how you pictured it, but just give it your best and take it one day at a time.
You have worked with teenage girls for over 10 years. Any advice for young girls.
Believe in yourself! Be bold and take chances! Be authentic! Invest in yourself, including making time to network, find mentors, and eventually, become a mentor to others. Don’t sell yourself short. Go after opportunities, even if you’re not sure you can do them. This is a great way to grow.
What next should we expect from you?
I am working on two new books to be released in 2021. Not to give too much away, but to fuel your curiosity, one will be a comic for boys.
December 5th is International Volunteer Day. I want to use this opportunity to encourage any young person or anyone unemployed interested in developing a new skill or gaining practical experience in a certain field to consider volunteering with a nonprofit organization.
If you have a phone or computer, you can consider online volunteering. This might take the form of managing their social media accounts, engaging in research, designing a website, or translating documents to other languages.
If you have limited time, no transportation, or a physical disability that inhibits you from getting around freely, online volunteering is the perfect fit for you. Employers prefer hiring fresh graduates with volunteer experience. It shows commitment and a sense of responsibility. If you’re an undergraduate, now is the time to start volunteering. Don’t just sit at home doing nothing. You can visit Nzuriaiki to find organizations that need your support.
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