A Little Action, A Lifetime of Change – Ebere’s ISA Story

When the world shut down in 2020 and cities went quiet under lockdown, I returned to my childhood home in Abakaliki, Nigeria — frustrated, uncertain, and, once again, heartbroken over the stories I kept hearing.

They weren’t new stories. I’d been sharing them , complaining about them, really, since I was a teenager myself. Stories of bright girls in our rural communities being pulled out of school. Girls forced into early marriage. Girls whose dreams stopped simply because their families couldn’t afford to register them for their final school exams.

This time, my cousin looked at me and said, “You’ve talked about this for years. Maybe it’s time to actually do something.”

That hit me hard. I didn’t have money. I had no experience in project management. I didn’t even have a team. But I had my voice. And I had seen enough. I started a small school sensitization program : talking to girls, sharing hope, encouraging them to stay in school.

But hope alone wasn’t enough.

💡 From Awareness to Action

That’s how SAF — Sustainable Action for Females — was born. I rallied volunteers, built trust with small businesses, and together we hosted our first Tech Bootcamp for 45 girls from three rural communities. From there, we expanded into fashion design, baking, and other hands-on skills trainings.

Then came the turning point: ISA Germany.

Becoming an ISA Fellow changed everything. It helped me refine our curriculum, measure our impact, and plan for long-term sustainability. It was during my ISA fellowship that I designed one of our most important assets — the SAF Business Start-up Centre.

🏢 Why the Start-up Centre Matters

Here’s the truth: training a girl to bake, code, or sew is only the first step.

Without access to tools, space, or capital, those skills often go unused and worse, undervalued. That’s where our Start-up Centre changes the game.

This is more than a classroom. It’s a fully equipped, safe, professional working space where girls who complete their SAF training can immediately begin producing for real customers. Whether it’s baked goods, fashion items, or digital services, they have:

• Free access to equipment
• A supportive working environment
• Opportunities to fulfil real orders and generate income
• And a chance to build savings for their own future businesses

To keep the space sustainable, each girl contributes a small amount toward utilities or materials from her earnings — teaching responsibility, ownership, and financial planning.

Even more powerful? These young women become mentors to new girls joining SAF, creating a cycle of peer leadership and economic empowerment.

🌱 Where We Are Today

Since 2020, SAF has:

• Mentored over 5,000 girls
• Funded the education of 20 girls through university scholarships
• Trained over 100 young women in practical, income-generating skills
• Launched a Start-up Centre that turns training into true transformation

And still, the need is greater than ever.

🏗️ The Next Chapter: A Bigger Dream

Because of the growing demand and the incredible impact we’ve seen, the local government has now donated land for us to build a larger SAF Training & Business Hub.

This new centre will:

• Reduce rental costs
• Accommodate more girls at once
• House a wider range of equipment
• Expand our training and production programs

We’ve designed the space. We’ve broken ground.

Now, we’re asking for your help to build it — together.

💛 What Happens When You Give

• €20 covers the cost of a girl’s final school exams — often the only thing keeping her from university.
• €100 funds her entrepreneurship training plus workspace access at the Start-up Centre.

And because we believe in connection, you’ll receive:

✅ A personal video call with the girl you’ve supported

✅ Semester updates tracking her growth and business progress

✅ The joy of knowing you helped rewrite a future