•Yejide Alo Pix: Sun News Publishing

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Young, promising Yejide Christianah Alo from Ekiti State is a woman of vision. At 27, one would have thought the lady, who bagged a second class upper division (2-1) in Urban & Regional Planning, from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in 2005 would be more interested in pursuing a career in her chosen field.

But no, the third child in a family of four children is passionately running an empowerment programme for youths, a dream that she feels must not die. Young Minds Empowerment Initiative (YMEI), a non-governmental organization is her brainchild and by October 26, 2007, Yejide would storm the Chiquita Hall, Akowonjo area of Lagos State with a programme entitled: Awaken the Giant WithinYou.

As an urban and regional planner, her engagement should be that of planning of large cities and towns but here she is, helping young people plan their lives; to expose them to themselves by discovering their strengths and weaknesses; motivate them towards continual self-development and improvement through effective time management; skill identification, goal setting, decision making and values clarification. Also, she is out to empower the youths to take charge of their sexuality and live more effective and fulfilling lives, and to instill in them basic principles of success and standard ethics in clothing, communication, character and culture.

According to her, the course she read wasn’t her choice course. "It wasn’t something that I really wanted to do in life. My mind had always been with the youths and how I can help them. That has been my passion for long. You see, it is only human beings that don’t live 10 per cent of their potentialities. In a tree, there are a lot of things to get from it; furniture, medicine, exercise books, among others. So, human beings too have a lot of potentialities."

For her mission, she said: "If the youths could discover themselves, channel their career paths right now and understand how they function as unique individuals, they won’t make certain mistakes like being pressured by parents to read courses they don’t want or pressured by peers to do something that they don’t want to do."

Young Minds Empowerment Initiative (YMEI) was actually conceived on May 14, 2004, but kicked off in April 2006, at Sapele, Delta State, where she served as corper. While there, the UNICEF/ NYSC Peer Education Project on Adolescent Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Awareness, in which she was a volunteer, made her realize it was entirely safer to establish healthy patterns of behaviours than changing wrong and risky behaviours already entrenched.

Yejide was touched by the fact that deficient and purposeless youths were still roaming the streets, suggesting that something was lacking and there was need for a change. She was also touched by the knowledge that more than half of those living with HIV/AIDS were young people between the ages of 15-24. She was grieved that these young ones became victims because they didn’t have the fore knowledge of life building skills necessary to preserve them.
It was then she realised that she was born to pioneer this change. She then developed a training manual on self-series for the young people.

In addition, the statements by Benjamin Disraeli and Bishop T. D. Jakes that: "The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own" and "The greatest change in the world has been caused by man and a microphone through effective communication where the gun and sword have failed to cause wars to cease" respectively motivate and keep her focussed on this vision.

Therefore, with a vision to raise purpose-driven and well groomed young individuals, who would fulfill destiny, YMEI would go a long way in filling the necessary gaps and empowering the young ones to take full responsibility of their own development.

Quite determined and ready to realize this dream, Yejide organizes seminars with relevant topics in both private and public secondary schools and some designated centres, especially in Lagos and Sapele, where many youths have been positively affected. And come next month, she would hold such seminar in Lagos. About 500 student-representatives from different schools in Alimosho Zone 11 LGA are expected at her seminar this month and Fan Milk, De United Foods, Coca-Cola and Cadbury would be sponsors.

Running and financing this programme has been quite challenging, she said. "I still wish that I could get funds to sustain it. I believe it is a dream that will not die. Even if I get a job with my certificate, I will still carry my dream along. I can’t abandon or leave it behind . It is a mandate from God, so, He would make provision for the vision,” Yejide assured.
Yejide, who lost her dad few years ago, is very grateful to her mum and other siblings who have contributed immensely to see her dream come true.