In a remarkable gesture of compassion and leadership, gender advocate and Executive Director of the Girls Applause Initiative (GAI), Fadekemi Soetan, has brought new hope to dozens of teenage girls who once lived on the margins of society like hawking, begging, or trapped in unpaid apprenticeships across Ibadan.
The event, held at the Cultural Centre, Mokola, Ibadan, marked the official launch of the “Back-to-School Empowerment Programme” – an intervention designed to identify, rehabilitate, and re-enroll out-of-school girls into quality private secondary schools across Oyo State.
Through a well-coordinated registration and accreditation process, each girl was profiled to assess her educational background and assigned to one of the Initiative’s partner schools offering full or partial scholarships. The atmosphere was charged with emotion as parents, educators, and community leaders watched girls who had once been excluded from learning receive uniforms, books, and admission letters that symbolized a new beginning.
One of the beneficiaries, 13-year-old Mariam, had spent two years selling sachet water along Dugbe Road after dropping out of school due to financial hardship. Today, through the Girls Applause Initiative, Mariam has resumed her studies at a private secondary school in Bodija. Her story mirrors that of many other girls who are now being given a second chance at education.
Speaking at the event, Fadekemi Soetan explained that the initiative was inspired by her encounters with vulnerable teenage girls during her advocacy visits across Oyo State. “Every child deserves the dignity of education,” she said. “These girls are not statistics, they are dreams waiting to be realized. Our goal is to take them off the streets and back into classrooms where their potentials can flourish.”
The programme also integrates mentorship, psychosocial support, and skills development, ensuring that beneficiaries are not only educated but also empowered for life beyond school. Soetan emphasized that the Initiative is collaborating with private institutions, faith-based organizations, and local education authorities to make the reintegration sustainable.
Community leaders present hailed the empowerment as a model for addressing gender-based educational inequality. Chief Adebola Olayemi, who represented the Ibadan North Local Government, described Soetan’s work as “a timely rescue mission for our daughters,” urging other organizations to replicate the effort across the South-West.
Since its founding, the Girls Applause Initiative has been at the forefront of girl-child education reform, running school retention programs, menstrual hygiene campaigns, and leadership workshops for adolescent girls. This latest phase, however, marks a decisive shift from advocacy to direct community impact, targeting those most at risk of being permanently left behind.
As the event concluded, dozens of newly enrolled girls, clad in their new uniforms, beamed with pride as volunteers cheered. For many of them, it was the first tangible symbol of belonging and a hopeful step toward a brighter future.
Fadekemi Soetan affirmed that the Girls Applause Initiative will extend its outreach to other parts of Oyo and Ogun States in the coming year. “We are not stopping here,” she declared. “Education is the right of every girl, and we will continue to break barriers until every girl’s dream finds a classroom.”