Celebrating International Day of the Girl with Global Good News
For our October edition of Rise Up Together’s Global Good News series, we are celebrating International Day of the Girl – a day to honor the power, leadership, and potential of girls everywhere.
We’ve always believed in the power of girls – their vision, their leadership, and their ability to transform communities and create lasting change. Since 2018, Rise Up Together has invested over $1 million in catalytic funding to advance girl-centered advocacy and systemic change across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the United States. Today, we’re celebrating the incredible impact of that work through the story of one remarkable leader.
We’re thrilled to honor the work of Rise Up Leader Olanike Timipa-Uge, whose advocacy is transforming education and opportunity for thousands of adolescent mothers in Nasarawa State, Nigeria.
Olanike’s passion for girls’ education began early in her career. At just 21 years old, while working as a clinical nurse in a rural hospital, she saw young girls carrying babies on their backs when they should have been in school. “Teenage pregnancy wasn’t new to me,” she recalled, “but this time, it hit differently. I couldn’t look away.” Two experiences in particular shaped her mission: the preventable pregnancy of a close friend and the death of a 17-year-old girl after an unsafe abortion. “I remember standing there, heartbroken, asking myself how many more girls had to die because of silence, stigma, or lack of knowledge,” she said.
Determined to act, Olanike founded the Teenage Education and Empowerment Network (Teenage Network) in 2018. Over the past seven years, her organization has reached more than 100,000 girls across seven Nigerian states, providing education, health information, and leadership training.
Her journey with Rise Up Together’s Leadership and Advocacy Accelerator marked a turning point. “Participating in the Accelerator didn’t just sharpen my skills – it reshaped how I saw myself as a leader and advocate for girls,” Olanike reflected. Through our training, she gained the confidence, strategic tools, and clarity to lead major advocacy initiatives.
With training and funding from Rise Up Together, Olanike advocated for the Nasarawa State government to adopt a School Re-Entry Guideline for Girls, enabling 40,000 adolescent mothers to return to school. “The School Re-Entry Guideline is more than a policy – it’s a promise to build a state where no girl is left behind,” she explained.
In a recent conversation with Rise Up Together, Olanike emphasized the ripple effect of education: it improves health, increases economic opportunities, reduces vulnerability to gender-based violence, and nurtures future leaders. “Every girl who rises becomes a beacon of hope for many others,” she added.
On this year’s International Day of the Girl, we celebrate Olanike and the thousands of girls she advocates for. Her message is clear: “Education is not a privilege; it is your human right. Don’t stop speaking up. Don’t stop asking questions. Don’t stop demanding safe, free, and quality education for every girl. Until every girl everywhere can learn, lead, and live her dreams, we stand together, in unwavering solidarity.”
At Rise Up Together, we hold the firm belief that when girls are empowered, resourced, and trusted, they don’t just rise – they lift others up with them. Happy International Day of the Girl from everyone at Rise Up Together!
