powerment FB page cassava in abundance ,” she said . “ I constructed a large scale cassava processing factory which enabled the women process large quantities of cassava for sale in bulk sizes . It gave the women a source of livelihood and enabled them afford the school fees of their children .”
Her work received a recognition from the state government who mentioned that it will be replicated across the state of Kwara . It was a complete community make-over which had ripple effect on the entire community of about 2,500 . Oguegbu organized for nearby markets to purchase the processed cassava , locally known as ‘ garri ’ from the women to sell in retail and make good financial returns . “ The extreme success of the program made me realize how much economic impact can be achieved if a community is empowered using their own inherent resources and hence Some led of our to u30changemakers the beginning of ' Glow initiative Initiative are featured .” here ! and create sustainable jobs for teeming women and youth population in Nigeria , she is working in partnership with InstaSolar Energy LLC headquartered in USA to set up community centers to promote clean water , energy and education . Her organization recently conducted needs assessment research in various communities and selected 5 most economically disadvantaged villages to establish solar centers and train residents . When up and running , the project is projected to serve + 5,000 people with access to clean water , clean energy and environmental literacy .
Oguegbu ’ s dedication and passion has improved the wellbeing of hundreds of people across Nigerian communities and fetched her over 10 local and international awards and recognitions – including President Barack Obama ’ s Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders ; Nigerian Energy Champion ; and receiving a prestigious speaker invitation to speak at the University of Delaware Energy Conference in 2016 .
Similar to many other laudable organizations / initiatives globally , one of the major challenges has been directly related to unavailability of capital to conveniently fund projects . “ We have a number of people who are willing to learn a certain skill but due to the fact that we do not have funds to cover their training they have not been able to ,” Oguegbu said . “ Also we ’ ve had the problem of indifference behavior by people . A lot of people are indifference to the subject of renewable energy and climate change . This makes our task a bit difficult and to solve it , we wrote 4 books to specifically address each strata of the soci-
Glory with the Niregian Farming Communities Photo from : Glow Initiative for Economic Empowerment FB page
To sustain the impact accomplished and replicate across various Nigerian communities , Oguegbu founded Glow Initiative for Economic Empowerment , a non-profit organization initiated to boost the economic development of communities by harnessing and enhancing their in-born resources and economic potentials to create jobs and provide a means of livelihood , ultimately reducing poverty and supporting economic growth .
In a bid to reduce poverty 28