Empowering 250 Young Women in Nigeria

Building Confident Girls, Building a Responsible Generation: The Lean In Girls Training

“135 Girls. Three Locations. One Powerful Message: You Have a Voice. You Have Potential. You Can Lead”.

For many girls, confidence is not something they are simply born with and in our part of the world it is not something they grow with either. It is something that must be nurtured, encouraged, and given room to grow. This International Children’s Day, Women Inspiration Development Center (WIDC), in collaboration with Lean In Girls, USA, created that space for 135 girls aged 9–15 across three locations in Nigeria: Abuja IDB Camp, Lekki, Lagos, and Ile-Ife, Osun State, where WIDC is headquartered. The Lean In Girls Training was designed to help girls discover their potential, develop positive values, strengthen their confidence, and begin seeing themselves as capable leaders who can make meaningful contributions to their families and communities.

For us, this was more than a one-day training. It was an investment in the kind of women and leaders Nigeria will have tomorrow. Creating a Safe Space for Girls to Find Their Voices.

The girls participated in a safe, engaging, and interactive learning environment where they were encouraged to speak, ask questions, share their experiences, work with their peers, and express their ideas without fear of being judged. The training focused on critical areas of personal and leadership development, including:

1. Building self-confidence and self-esteem
2. Leadership and leadership identity
3. Personal growth and self-discovery
4. Character development and responsible decision-making
5. Effective communication and positive relationships
6. Understanding and living by positive values

One of the most powerful sessions focused on values. The girls were encouraged to think beyond academic achievement and consider the kind of people they want to become, how their values influence their decisions, relationships, leadership, and contributions to society. These conversations matter because girls who learn to recognize their worth, express themselves, make thoughtful decisions, and take responsibility for their choices are better positioned to navigate the pressures and challenges they will encounter as they grow.

The Girls Were Not Just Listening, they Were Participating and the training was highly participatory. Rather than simply listening to facilitators, the girls engaged in discussions, practical exercises, group activities, reflections, and peer interactions. Many confidently shared their opinions, asked questions, contributed to discussions, and demonstrated curiosity about the issues being explored.

For some girls, simply being in a room where their voices were welcomed was itself an important experience. The enthusiasm we witnessed reminded us why investing in girls must begin early. Confidence is a foundation for leadership. When a girl learns to speak up, make responsible decisions, recognize her strengths, communicate effectively, and believe that her ideas matter, she begins to see possibilities for herself that may previously have seemed out of reach.

Why This Work Matters

Across Nigeria, many girls grow up navigating social expectations, gender stereotypes, poverty, limited opportunities, and environments where their voices may not always be heard. We believe girls should not have to wait until adulthood before they are given opportunities to develop leadership skills. They deserve opportunities now.

The Lean In Girls Training gives girls the opportunity to begin developing the skills, confidence, values, and relationships they need to navigate life with greater agency. And the impact can extend far beyond the training room.

• A confident girl can influence her friends.
• A girl who understands responsible decision-making can make healthier choices.
• A girl who knows that her voice matters can speak up when something is wrong.
• A girl who develops leadership skills today can become a woman who leads change tomorrow.

From 135 Girls to a Movement

Reaching 135 girls in three locations is an important beginning, but we know that thousands more girls need these opportunities. Our vision is to take this training beyond a single International Children’s Day activity and develop it into a sustained leadership, mentorship, and personal development pathway for girls. With adequate funding, WIDC plans to:

Reach more girls in underserved communities and schools

• Expand Lean In Girls Training to additional locations
• Provide ongoing mentorship and leadership development
• Strengthen girls' confidence, communication, and decision-making skills
• Create opportunities for girls to connect with positive female role models
• Track the longer-term changes in girls' confidence, aspirations, and leadership
• Build a growing network of confident girls who can influence their peers and communities positively

Our Donors Make This Possible

Programs like this do not happen because of good intentions alone. They happen because people choose to invest in girls. Every contribution helps create opportunities for girls to learn, participate, discover themselves, and imagine a different future. To our GlobalGiving donors and supporters who have stood with Women Inspiration Development Center, we are deeply grateful. Your previous support has helped us reach girls who might otherwise have had limited access to opportunities like these. We invite you to renew that commitment. Your continued support can help us move from reaching 135 girls to reaching hundreds and eventually thousands more.

You can help us take this program into more schools and communities. You can help us provide mentorship beyond the training day. You can help a girl discover her voice before the world tells her to be silent.

Help Us Reach the Next Girl

At WIDC, we believe that when you invest in a girl's confidence, you are investing in her choices, her future, her family, and ultimately her community. Our goal is not simply to train girls for one day. Our goal is to raise a generation of girls who know their worth, use their voices, make responsible decisions, and believe they have the power to shape their own futures. We cannot do this alone. We need our old supporters to walk with us again. We need new donors to join us. And we need partners who believe, as we do, that investing in girls is investing in the future of Nigeria.

Your support today can help us reach the next girl. One girl. One voice. One confident decision at a time. Together, We Can Raise a Generation That Leads. Support Women Inspiration Development Center through GlobalGiving and help us take the Lean In Girls Training to more girls across Nigeria.