iLEAD Fellowship

Faith shares how the iLEAD Programme transformed her.

A transformation is a visible change in form or appearance. A simple action like listening to a podcast, taking a decision or even taking a rest can cause a transformation in one's life. If you are known to be an avid procrastinator, and suddenly, you can now start and finish tasks assigned to you in time, certainly a transformation has occurred.

Faith is a 15-year-old secondary school student also enrolled in the iLEAD Programme in Abuja. She is the first child of two children of her parents. Being the first child bestows a myriad of leadership responsibilities, especially as it relates to mentoring her younger sibling through life. Similarly, being the first child, she is expected to execute some domestic responsibilities and support her parents in taking care of the house.

For some reason, Faith finds herself procrastinating. She starts a task and leaves it unfinished. Also, Faith does not support her parents in carrying out chores at home. This behaviour has unconsciously formed a warped perspective of who she is in her parents. They see her as someone who is relatively unserious and unable to make headway with things in life.

"I don't finish things. I do and stop" - Faith.

The iLEAD programme students' manual modules empower and bring out their leadership qualities for themselves and their communities. During the lockdown, Faith decided to spend more time reading and studying the iLEAD manual given to her as part of the resources provided to students in the Programme. According to her, this is when her transformation started. 

Her first attraction in the manual was a case study of how to make reusable sanitary pads. She was fascinated by how she could use simple every day "hygienic" materials to create a valuable product such as a sanitary pad. She mobilized the necessary materials and started making them, but her mother thought nothing will come out of it because she never finished a task.

Knowing her habit of starting and not finishing tasks, her mother says - "You can't do this. You will never be able to finish this. You are not the kind of person that will do this". Determined Faith was focused and ready to demonstrate her transformation. To her mother's amazement, Faith did not stop until she created her first reusable sanitary pad.

Filled with excitement, her mother exclaimed, "What have they done to my daughter?" This is great. I need to speak with your teacher."

Through the Art and Act of Leadership module, Faith also learned to stand up to her responsibilities. She now provides the necessary support at home, and her parents and siblings are very excited at the transformation that has taken place in her life.

"My parents now see a different Faith. They believe in me more than before, and we are all happy together as a family. Thank you, LEAP Africa!"

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