The story of a Nigerian woman making a difference by promoting the cuisine and culture of her home country in the Netherlands as well as two campaigns to empower young Nigerian entrepreneurs.

Nigeria as a nation faces tremendous challenges, yet the people of Nigeria are the most resilient and happy people on earth. Their unwavering faith and belief that things will be well, in the end, speaks for itself.

We possess beauty and dignity inside of us, and we won’t let anyone – even President Trump – rob us of this truth.

Personally, I know it wasn’t a mistake that I was born in a Nigerian home, and I’m very proud of my roots. The same goes for my children and everyone born into a Nigerian home. We were put here for a reason, and God doesn’t make any mistakes.

 

How I Rose Above the Challenges

Fortunately, I was born with the spirit of entrepreneurship, having started my entrepreneurial journey at a young age of 25. I built a company that employed over 56 people which helped to provide food and shelter to families struggling to support themselves.

With this successful restaurant built from the ground up and expanded into two locations with a large catering operation and commercial bakery in Nigeria, I know for a fact that my home country is not a s***hole.

 

This Isn’t the First Time Nigeria Has Been Criticized

Before I launched my cooking class, Ataro Food and Spices, a food blogger came to take photos of my food to blog about my concept. I remember him telling me that on his way, he mentioned to his friend he was coming to take photos of Nigerian food for his blog, to which his friend responded:

“Do Nigerians have food? I thought they were hungry, and we send aid to them.”

These statements alone made me want to empower as many Nigerian people as possible.

We don’t need to mince words with these people or try to convince them we are not hungry or don’t live in huts and “s***holes.” Instead, we can show them our true colors by raising confident and highly educated kids, supporting female entrepreneurs to become visible and help feed those who are not capable of feeding themselves, just like in other countries.

Just a few weeks ago, my children ran to me to tell me that President Trump says all Nigerians live in huts. They were confused and came running to me for answers. They wanted to know why he said we lived in huts when in fact our house in Nigeria was much bigger and more beautiful than the one in the Netherlands.

“Why would he make something up like that?” they asked, and my response was to tell them that some people in this world have no idea what they’re talking about and will project their own biases on other people. It’s our job to pay them no mind and to instead focus on empowering others around us.

This is why I have decided to launch a campaign to keep dignity alive in young Nigerian women.

 

Our Mission

It’s simple really: To restore dignity to African women and children everywhere, and prevent slavery in West Africa.

We plan to accomplish this through our ‘Keep Dignity Alive’ campaign.

I believe that we all have talents and gifts that can become valuable to others and help us gain financial independence. I think that women can leverage their gifts and talents and grow even more productive if they are shown how.

I know that the lack of financial and economic abilities can rob young women of their confidence and dignity. The Beauty in Every Life team and I want to show women and young girls in Africa how to work for themselves, and become economically empowered, so they can be confident enough to say ‘no’ to false immigration promises.

 

Support Our Initiative

If you would like to help us promote dignity in the lives of young Nigerian women, support my GoFundMe campaign to empower young African women through social entrepreneurship and personal leadership development training while creating awareness against the dangers of human trafficking.

Help us show Mr. Trump that we do not live in “s***holes.” Let’s show him that though we may face many challenges as a nation, there is dignity and beauty hidden inside of us.

 

Support our #KeepDignityAlive campaign by ordering a copy of my Vibrant West African Cuisine cookbook by clicking on the link below:

https://www.vibrantwestafricancuisine.com/vibrantcookbook

You can support our Beauty in Every Life Initiative by clicking on this link: https://www.beautyineverylife/makeanimpact