AIT’s Kakaaki Social Presenter Ruth Rena Obozeghie has organised a leadership and wellness conference for 40 female students occupying leadership positions in Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria.
The maiden edition was held in Abuja,tagged “The Rena ShootUp Conference” with the theme, “Her Leadership; Her Wellness”.
The development Journalist and leadership enthusiast explained that the aim is to bridge the gap that is created by the absence of such programmes which she said incapacitates adolescents with poor choices that make them unable to contribute positively to society.
According to her, Rena ShootUp Conference is an annual event from today, to as the name, build the leadership and wellness capacities of students in leadership positions in Senior Secondary Schools across Nigeria.
She further explained that the lack of leadership development among adolescents in any part of the world has significant implications on their ability to contribute positively to society because their personal growth is affected. This limits their influence in addressing issues like inequality and poor governance.
She further observed that low self-esteem becomes the order of the day for these young ones; leaving a good number of them vulnerable to poor choices.Do we also talk about their welfare? Obozeghie queried.
She continued that “at the Rena ShootUp Conference, we’ve identified that the lack of sufficient guidance and development programmes create this gap, where young people struggle to navigate the offers of life and we need a bridge. We want the dots connected.
“So, we are out to develop leadership prowess, foster personal growth, responsibility, well-being, of students, in leadership positions in Senior Secondary Schools across Nigeria”.
An Education and Social Impact Advocate, Udochukwu Okereke who was the health and hygiene trainer at the conference emphasised the need and sustainability of such summits as participants were Senior Secondary Schools prefects who are expected to train their fellow students on feminine hygiene and managing emotions as they’ve been taught at the Rena ShootUp conference.
“Just like the convener mentioned, there is need to have such programs like this, because a lot of girls do not have the opportunity to listen to those who are just slightly older than them who can tell them how to go about their teenage years.
“The teenage years are filled with a lot of confusion, and your emotions are just coming up. You’re being overwhelmed. So conferences like The Rena ShootUp Conference are here to help you know how to navigate through those situations. And the part on the menstrual hygiene is important for them to know how to take care of themselves.
“Most of the people that are here are school leaders, that means they are perfect. So the expectation is that they are in the right position to help the younger students, the juniors in just one to SS two, to know how to go about the menstrual hygiene, and to ensure they help to destigmatise menstruation, because there are a lot of myths which are not true at all. So having such conferences like this help them to know how to navigate through their teenagers years,” she said.
A student of Peter Harvard International School, Abuja,Okorie Adaeze said “I have learned to be independent. I have learned, no matter how people think, as a female child, you should always make sure you keep yourself in a high esteem.
“I should always consider other people and in hygiene, I learnt how to keep myself clean and how to help other people, especially during menstruation.
‘We were thought on how to teach other people on how to keep the self dream restoration, period and how to consider them in the decisions that you make.”
For another participant, Sharon Orji from Abuja, “we came here to be inspired as women leaders. We came here to be inspired as young leaders. The conference was to basically tell us how young girls should lead in the society, and how we should not be oppressed.
“I really have learnt that we are not too small to lead. I want to say a very big thank you for inviting me, myself and my school. It’s a very beautiful opportunity and I’m really glad I attended.”
The girls were presented with menstrual products and certificates of participation.