Change rarely begins with grand speeches or towering structures—it often starts in small circles, where ordinary people discover their extraordinary power to act. This is the spirit of Training for Transformation (TFT), a grassroots movement redefining what development means in Nigeria and beyond. Rooted in dialogue, reflection, and collective action, TFT equips citizens with the skills and courage to challenge inequality, re-imagine possibilities, and build communities from within, report Associate Editor Adekunle Yusuf and Olabisi Azeez
The room is quiet, yet alive with energy. A circle of participants—farmers, teachers, youth leaders, and community organisers—lean in as one voice speaks, not above the others, but as part of a conversation. Ideas ripple around the room like waves, each building on the last, until the circle becomes a chorus of shared vision. This is not a lecture hall, and these are not passive students. This is Training for Transformation (TFT) in motion—a journey where ordinary people discover the extraordinary power they carry to change their communities.
At its core, TFT is rooted in the radical pedagogy that insists real change is not handed down from above but grown from within. Inspired by Paulo Freire’s philosophy of “education as liberation,” the programme equips individuals with tools to analyse their realities, challenge systems of inequality, and design collective solutions. It is not about giving answers but nurturing the courage to ask bold questions and act together. Across the globe, from rural villages in Africa to grassroots networks in Asia and Latin America, TFT has quietly become a revolution in community development. Its approach is neither charity nor handouts; rather, it cultivates voices long silenced and turns them into instruments of transformation. Participants are not taught what to think, but how to see, reflect, and re-imagine the world around them.
At an interactive session in Lagos, Talent Ntombi Nyathi, Leadership Team mentor and 3rd Generation Director of TFT, praised Nigerian members for their unwavering commitment to grassroots initiatives. She described their work as a beacon of hope, enabling compatriots to gain practical skills and lead more purposeful lives in a society where opportunities are often scarce. Nyathi pledged continued support to ensure more Nigerians access life-changing training opportunities that empower them to tackle pressing challenges within their communities.
“We are building people’s capacity to grow. They are now producing and refining goods such as plantain flour for export instead of selling raw commodities. Change starts small and grows. Transformation is not a project but a process. TFT works with the deprived and those on the periphery of society,” she explained. Her words capture the essence of TFT’s philosophy: development is not measured only in GDP or government budgets, but in the dignity and agency of people who take ownership of their futures.
Participants are equipped with the tools and skills to spark transformation in critical spheres of life—leadership, family, education, the economy, the environment, and governance. According to Nyathi, her tenure has seen TFT expand impressively, growing from 21 to 63 countries, with Nigeria among the most recent to join the fold. She explained that the programme, once reserved exclusively for women, was later restructured to welcome men, provided they could show at least three years of verifiable experience in driving social change. The first attempt at male inclusion, however, ended in disappointment as many withdrew midway. Yet, Nyathi recalled how a Nigerian participant, nominated through the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), distinguished himself so remarkably that he restored confidence in the decision to extend the programme to men.
Eseoghene Ajuyah, a facilitator with the Training for Transformation (TFT) initiative, has described the programme as one designed to equip Nigerians with the capacity to effect meaningful change within their communities. She explained that TFT approaches development from a people-centred perspective, stressing that true progress goes beyond physical infrastructure. “Development is really not just about structures, but about people,” she emphasised. Ajuyah noted that the TFT model seeks to raise a core group of individuals who possess the awareness, skills, and commitment needed to drive transformation. The training curriculum is deliberately broad, beginning with self-awareness and personal purpose, then moving into family and community issues, before addressing wider concerns such as the environment and resource management.
According to her, participants are encouraged to see themselves as agents of change, equipped to engage with pressing issues including leadership, governance, insecurity, gender relations, and climate change. Discussions and exercises are structured to stimulate critical reflection and practical action, ensuring that learning translates into real impact. Ajuyah revealed that the initiative has already conducted multiple training sessions across Nigeria, with nearly 100 people trained in the past week alone. She linked the decision to decentralise and intensify local training sessions to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which underscored the importance of building internal capacity and responding to context-specific challenges.
By anchoring its work in local realities, Ajuyah affirmed, TFT hopes to create lasting change in Nigerian communities. “The goal is to empower people to take ownership of their development process, and to build societies that reflect their values, needs, and aspirations,” she said. For her, the measure of success lies not in numbers or structures, but in the ability of ordinary citizens to take bold, informed action to transform their lives and communities.
Mrs. Olutosin Oladosu, Nigeria Team Lead and Facilitator for Training for Transformation (TFT), has continued to demonstrate how personal conviction and structured empowerment can change lives. Through her organisation, the Star of Hope Transformation Centre, she has touched countless women and girls across the country. Her journey began after attending a TFT training in Cape Town, South Africa. Equipped with new skills and inspired by the programme’s people-centred philosophy, she returned home and built a dedicated team of facilitators to replicate the model in Nigeria. From those beginnings, her organisation has grown exponentially, giving rise to one of its most ambitious projects—Sister’s City in Owo, Ondo State.
Sister’s City sits on a 1,000-plot facility and is fully dedicated to uplifting vulnerable and indigent women and girls. It offers free vocational training in diverse fields such as fashion design, catering, hairdressing, and cloth weaving. Beyond vocational skills, the centre also runs a farm and factory where food is processed and distributed, further creating avenues for empowerment and self-reliance. Remarkably, every activity within Sister’s City is offered at no cost to beneficiaries. This is made possible by the generosity of sponsors who believe in Mrs. Oladosu’s vision and are committed to advancing social change through her work. For her, the values and principles of TFT remain the bedrock of this success. “The principles I learnt through TFT shaped my thinking and continue to inspire me to pursue meaningful impact,” she said. Her story not only reflects the transformative power of TFT but also highlights how one individual’s commitment can ripple outward to touch entire communities. At the recent TFT gathering, she was joined by other Nigerian facilitators, including Pastor Mrs. Elizabeth Sowho and Pastor Mrs. Rachel Bamise, who also shared experiences of change inspired by the initiative.
Unlike conventional training programmes, TFT rejects the top-down model of experts prescribing solutions. Instead, it fosters dialogue, reflection, and collective problem-solving. In workshops, participants sit in circles—not rows—symbolising equality and shared learning. Through storytelling, role play, and group analysis, they uncover the root causes of poverty, gender inequality, and exclusion, then design responses that reflect their lived realities. The impact of this method is profound. In communities across Nigeria, TFT alumni have established cooperatives, women’s groups, and youth-led enterprises that generate livelihoods and strengthen social bonds. Farmers have learned to add value to their produce, women have found their voices in local governance, and young people have channelled frustration into creative activism. One participant described TFT as a mirror that showed him the strengths within his own community: “Before, we thought development would come only from government or outsiders. Now we know we can build solutions with our own hands.”
Read Also: BATN Foundation commissions solar-borehole across rural communities
What sets TFT apart is its insistence that transformation is not an event but a lifelong process. It begins with individual awareness, extends into collective action, and eventually reshapes structures of society. The training encourages participants to move from “I” to “we,” understanding that liberation is most powerful when shared. For instance, women who once felt confined to domestic roles are now leading income-generating projects, while young men disillusioned by unemployment are turning to cooperative farming and community service. These are not isolated success stories but part of a growing tapestry of grassroots change.
The philosophy of Training for Transformation resonates far beyond Nigeria. In countries like South Africa, Kenya, and the Philippines, TFT has equipped thousands of people with the tools to confront social injustices and reclaim their agency. Yet its true power lies in how it adapts to local contexts, weaving together cultural traditions, indigenous knowledge, and modern strategies for development. As Nyathi noted in Lagos, “Transformation must honour where people are coming from. Our research and training must be culturally acceptable. We cannot be ashamed of traditional wisdom—it is part of who we are and the foundation for where we want to go.” This balance between tradition and innovation allows TFT to build bridges between the past and the future, the local and the global. It ensures that solutions are not imposed but emerge organically from within communities.
For many, the journey through Training for Transformation (TFT) is nothing short of life-changing. In a quiet Ugandan village, a woman once convinced that her destiny began and ended within the walls of her home now leads a thriving cooperative that secures food for dozens of families. In South Africa, a group of young people who had resigned themselves to joblessness now run a social enterprise shaped by the problem-solving tools they gained through TFT. These stories echo across continents: wherever TFT takes root, it leaves behind empowered communities, resilient leaders, and an unshakable conviction that transformation is not only possible but already unfolding.
At its core, TFT is about restoring faith in humanity’s innate capacity to design a just and equitable world. It is a reminder that even in the midst of poverty, marginalisation and fractured systems, the seeds of change lie within every individual. All that is required is the right space, the right tools and the courage to act. In a world enthralled by mega-projects and top-down interventions, TFT offers a refreshing counter-narrative. It teaches that the most enduring revolutions are often the quietest ones. They take shape in conversations beneath mango trees, in small circles of trust where people truly listen to one another, and in the daily decisions of ordinary citizens who dare to act differently.
The Lagos gathering was more than a training session—it was a reaffirmation of TFT’s belief that Nigeria’s future rests in the hands of its people. By equipping them with the skills to analyse, question, and take initiative, TFT is nurturing a generation that will not wait passively for change but will actively create it. Ultimately, Training for Transformation is far more than a programme; it is a way of life. It whispers to communities that they are not powerless. It asserts that transformation is not bestowed as charity but claimed as a birth right. And time and again, it proves that when people come together in solidarity, the seeds of grassroots change can grow into forests of renewal—reshaping nations from the ground up.
