The Orphan Empowerment Society

Olugbenga Ogunbowale is the founder of The Orphan Empowerment Society (TOES), an NGO working to end orphan poverty in Africa by equipping orphans with free vocational-skills, medical care & food.

Inspired by a chance encounter with Ruth, a 10-year-old orphan with battered shoes, a hunger-stricken frame and hair full of ringworm, Olugbenga founded TOES to address the plight of orphans, most of whom live on less than $1 a day with no access to sufficient food or medical care.

Olugbenga has experience across social entrepreneurship, communication, digital skills as well as youth engagement. An alumnus of the Leadership in Business Institute of Kellogg School of Management, He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Obafemi Awolowo University.

A Mandela Washington Fellow, Olugbenga has been featured by the United Nations, Voice of America, USAID, NTA, TVC, LTV, Radio Nigeria, Tribune amongst others.

According to UNICEF, 950 more Nigerian children under five could die every day from preventable causes over the next six months as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts routine services and weakens the health system.

These potential child deaths would be in addition to the 475,200 children who already die before their fifth birthday every six months.

By donating CovKits and training caregivers on how to use them, TOES can help protect orphans and caregivers from Coronavirus. The caregivers will be better equipped to provide quality first aid treatment, giving the children a better chance of survival should there be a need to refer them to the nearest health center or clinic (which are at least 40 mins away).

To further protect orphans from COVID-19, they will be trained on Hand hygiene. This means safer, healthier & stronger children, directly contributing to the reduction of under-five child mortality in Nigeria.

According to UNICEF, 950 more Nigerian children under-five could die every day from preventable causes over the next 6months as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts routine services and threatens to weaken the health system.

In Nigeria, these potential child deaths would be in addition to the 475,200 children who already die before their fifth birthday every 6months – threatening to reverse a decade of progress in ending preventable under-five child mortality in Nigeria.

In Ibadan, COVID-19 is causing disruptions in medical supply chains and straining financial and human resources. Particularly in orphanages outside the city center where the poorest and most vulnerable orphans live (25% of whom are disabled), visits to health care centers have declined sharply due to a combination of curfews, transport disruptions, and the shutdown of local health care centers. The kids and their care givers are dangerously exposed to COVID-19 as they have no form of protective equipment: no facemasks, no hand sanitizers. Visitors are not being screened, caregivers and kids go into the community unprotected. They barely eat twice a day, which is why no child can afford to get infected as these vulnerable children could be exposed to a dangerous mix of infection & malnutrition.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we are re-purposing the first aid kit with personal protective equipment and essential medical supplies to help protect orphans and caregivers from Coronavirus, and we are calling this upgraded Covid-19 First Aid Kit, the CovKit.

Each CovKit will have Hand Sanitizer, Non-contact Infrared Thermometer, N95 Masks, Sore throat lozenge lollipops, Cotton wool, Iodine, Bandages, Antiseptic solution, Gloves, Fever reducer & pain medications, Sanitizing wipes and Penicillin ointment.

Each Covkit will be housed in a clean, durable, plastic box to keep the contents safe and aseptic.

We will donate 20 CovKits to 20 orphanages in Ibadan over 20 days. In total, we will offer training on how to use the CovKit to 40 caregivers & proper handwashing training to 400 orphans.

Caregivers will be trained to use each item in the kit by qualified medical professionals. They will also be trained on signs that a child requires immediate testing or medical attention.

The children will be trained to wash their hands regularly, with soap and warm water, for at least 20 seconds. Caregivers will be taught to reinforce good hand-washing through personal example, private compliments, public recognition and little treats.

Ibadan is a city in Southwest Nigeria that is home to 3.5 million people. COVID-19 is causing disruptions in medical supply-chains and straining financial and human resources. Particularly in 20 orphanages outside the city center where the poorest and most vulnerable orphans live. Each orphanage has at least 20 orphans’, majority of who are under the age of 5. Each orphanage has between 2 to 4 caregivers. Most of the orphanages are at least 40 mins driving distance from a health facility. These orphans live on less than $2 a day and over 50% of these orphans do not receive any type of medical assistance. As a result, about 25% have some form of disability.

We had conducted a medical outreach in each of the 20 orphanages sometime in the last one year, and we noticed how ordinary bruises become serious infections due to a lack of proper first aid care. Not one of the orphanages have a first aid box.

The children are dangerously exposed to COVID-19. By providing personal protective equipment, non-contact thermometer to screen visitors and first aid kit to provide immediate treatment to common illnesses and accidents, we can protect them.

I was inspired to take action in 2016 after I visited an orphanage in South West Nigeria & met Ruth, a 10-year-old with battered shoes, a hunger-stricken frame and hair full of ringworm. Ruth shared tooth brush, barely took her bath with soap and hoped daily to not go hungry, alongside 50 orphans at the tiny Orphanage. These kids were in desperate need of food & medical help.

I researched online and found that there were 17.5 million orphans in Nigeria alone, many of whom do not have access to clean water, sufficient food, or basic sanitation, living on less than $1 a day.  I learnt that 95% of Orphans do not receive any type of medical or material assistance with 20% developing a serious disability. I learnt Nigeria has the 8th highest infant-mortality rate in the world.

Moved by the plight of Ruth and her friends, I teamed up with 5 friends. In 3 years, that team has grown to over 1,000 active volunteers across 19 African countries, directly impacting 23,000+ orphans with free vocational skills, medical care & food. I envision a future where orphans from Africa are skilled, healthy, educated, socially included and accepted in the society.

I was born in the city of Ibadan. Asides schooling and occasional travel, I have lived the best part of my life in this city. Growing up was tough for me. The economy was particularly bad, my Dad was out of a job and my mum ran a little provision store. Our feeding formula was 1-0-1 which meant that breakfast and dinner was mostly guaranteed but lunch was left for us to ‘figure out’. I was easily underweight, wore faded shirts in primary school and unsurprisingly had few friends but my parents ensured that I had good public education. I went through high school and graduated from university. I finally could put food on the table and do something with my life but that was not the story of several kids I knew while growing up. Hunger, desperation and lack of parental supervision had pushed them into either crime, prostitution or untimely death. So, when I met Ruth in 2016, I fully understood how lucky I was and the tragic impact of allowing children like Ruth, living in barely habitable orphanages continue to wallow in poverty, living day to day hungry and barely healthy or outright sick.

I have experience across social entrepreneurship, communication, digital skills as well as youth engagement. An alumnus of the Leadership in Business Institute of Kellogg School of Management, I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Obafemi Awolowo University.

Under my leadership, TOES has grown from 6 volunteers to over 1,000 active volunteers in just 3 years, empowering over 23,000 orphans across 19 African countries. TOES has helped orphans go from living on $1 a day to making $30 a week within 2 months, enabling them access better health, education & social acceptance on their own terms, without waiting for aid.

A Mandela Washington Fellow & ambassador, Tony Elumelu Fellow & influencer, Royal Common wealth society fellow, YALI West Africa fellow, YALI star of business, NYSC Merit Award winner, YALI network influencer & one of the top 15 social entrepreneurs in the world (CISCO Youth Leadership Award 2019), I have been honored by multiple institutions & governments.

I have spoken at numerous events addressing high level audience including governors, business tycoons, lawmakers and stakeholders across 3 continents. I have been featured by the UN Youth envoy, Voice of America, USAID, NTA, TVC, LTV, Radio Nigeria, Tribune amongst others.

TOES was initially named December to Remember. We would spend the first 11months mobilizing funds, then organize a massive outreach in December. We grew quickly from 6-states and 300-orphans in Nigeria to 19-countries and 20,000-orphans reached. Suddenly, certain coordinators started hijacking groups and forming their own NGO’s, taking along with them our volunteers. This was particularly disturbing as most of these damaging activities happened close to outreach time. We had already mobilized resources from partners who were assured they would be well used. All of a sudden, certain coordinators break away, block all forms of communication and launch a new NGO, mostly abandoning our plan and leaving our partners disappointed. After reflecting with my executive team, I realized we had focused on growth at all cost without prioritizing proper recruitment, proper onboarding and organizational structure. To fix these issues, I worked with my executive team to conduct ongoing leadership trainings, performance evaluations and thorough recruitment. I created a proper organizational structure with layers of reporting and we decided to focus on 7, instead of 19 countries. We then switched from conducting outreaches once in a year to having outreaches all year round. In 2years, we haven’t had a single hijack.

In 2014, as part of Nigeria’s one-year mandatory National-Youth-Service-Corps for fresh University graduates, I was posted to Omala, a remote community in Kogi. There was no power supply, no good roads and I had to buy water. Of about 30 corp members posted to Omala, nearly half absconded due to the harsh conditions. I was posted to a high school to teach mathematics.

On my first day in class, my students needed a calculator to multiply 5-by-5. I visited the school library, saw refuse, broken shelves, outdated books on the floor, graffiti & firewood. Students came late and got sent home for school fees of just $5! I was shocked students could learn under such terrible conditions.

Instead of absconding, I strategized. First, I started taking extra maths classes after school. Next, I emptied my savings to donate books, posters and fix broken furniture in the library.

I organized debates/quizzes which promoted reading-culture, organized skill-acquisition for 400+ students so they could start small-businesses. I distributed 110 scientific charts which helped student’s better understand principles like titration in chemistry. I raised funds & initiated a scholarship scheme for 13students who couldn’t afford fees/books.

70% of my students are currently in university.