A 500-Level student of Electrical and Information Engineering of Covenant University, Miss Naomi Ekpoki Onesenema, has won the highly coveted Future Africa Leaders Awards (FALA) Star Prize for the year 2017.
According to the organisers, Believers’ Loveworld Incorporated, the social activist was meritoriously awarded FALA’s Star Prize for the year 2017 for her admirable and far-reaching feats locally and internationally, in helping at-risk youths.
Leading up to the glorious night of December 31, 2017, organisers had screened the humanitarian efforts of 31 young and high impact individuals from 16 African countries, including Nigeria.
Ten (10) of the 31 individuals, recognised for their laudable efforts from their localities and on to global platforms, was nominated and received the Future Africa Leaders Awards with the prize of $10,000 (ten thousand US dollars) each. Asides Covenant’s Naomi, the other Nigerian among the 10 awardees was Miss Juliet Amina Moses.
In his remarks, founding President of Believers’ Loveworld Incorporated, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, said that “We had time picking them because it was very competitive. Many of them are doing tremendous things throughout Africa; this gives us a lot of hope. After the awards, they’ll do more, and that’s the most important part of it”.
Determined to put an end to the increasing number of out-of-school children affected in Nigeria, Naomi started Senema Love Foundation (SLF) in 2013 at the age of 15. SLF, which is focused on education and skills acquisition, provides scholarships, school supplies, teaching aides, and voluntary teaching services to underprivileged children, particularly surviving victims of Boko Haram.
As a result of the activities of SLF, over 1700 children in her community receive education and support. She’s also involved in raising her voice for girls of school age, who suffer from Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) due to early marriage or female genital mutilation.
Naomi is a vibrant Christian and has made children and youth evangelism a top priority and a major part of her work.
As a result of the excellent spirit of God working in her, she was selected in 2017, after going through rigorous interviews, as the only intern from a list of several Africans for an internship in a leading aviation engineering organisation in Washington, the United States, which gave her the opportunity to work with leading engineers at the US Federal Aviation Authority at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
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