The actor and director is on an official four-day trip to Nigeria to support the creative arts and for his ongoing leadership scholarship for girls.
British-Nigerian actor David Oyelowo is in the West African nation, following a seven-year absence, and joined by his wife, Jessica for a two-day, girls-only creative arts summit.
The GEANCO Foundation-organized event, held between January 31 and February 1 at Brightland Academy in Enugu, Eastern Nigeria, brings together approximately 100 girls from around the country for workshops focused on screenwriting, acting, drawing, music, photography, digital art, and dance.
Oyelowo, who was born in the United Kingdom to Nigerian parents, expresses his excitement about being back in the country and his commitment to empowering girls, since 2016, through education via his leadership scholarship program, in partnership with GEANCO.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been back, but the pandemic was a big reason for that,” Oyelowo, who visited Eastern Nigeria for the first time, tells FORBES AFRICA.
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“I’m so glad to be back and see the progress we’ve made – from three girls [in 2016] to 44 girls now.”
During their visit, the Oyelowos also visited one of GEANCO’s family health clinics and the Giannis Antetokounmpo-funded community center.
“It’s about access for a community to stand autonomously and grow,” Oyelowo says.
Afam Onyema, CEO of GEANCO, emphasizes the importance of sustainability and scalability.
“We’re not just cutting checks to schools; we’re building a presence in the girls’ lives, providing access to education, healthcare, and creative opportunities,” Onyema says.
Oyelowo touching on the summit experience, says: “Seeing them come out of their shells is the most rewarding part. What you find with some of our girls is that they’re very quiet. They make themselves smaller than they should, especially around men, because they are taking in data that they should make themselves small, that they’re not important. And we’re trying to instill in them that that is the opposite of the truth”.
“And as they begin to believe that, the beautiful surprise is seeing them find their voice, find their joy in experiencing photography, and dance, and AI, and digital art, and acting, and script writing, and all of the things that we are affording them the opportunity to do here.”
He continues that “it’s not about whether you’re going to become an actress or a writer or a photographer or a painter. It’s about giving you life skills that are going to give you choices on the basis of access”.
Oyelowo also elaborates on his continued dedication to the program.
“To have a scholarship named after me, to have the passion I have for girls’ education generally… I’m dedicated to this.”
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