Nigeria’s Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi has scooped the overall prize of the 2019 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year, in recognition of her efforts to end sexual violence.
A ceremony was held on Wednesday at the Commonwealth’s headquarters in London, where Osowobi and three other exceptional young people from India, the Solomon Islands and Saint Lucia also won prizes.
The Nigerian and the other winners shared a £12,000 grant for their innovative projects, according to a statement by Snober Abbasi, Assistant Communications Officer for the Commonwealth Secretariat.
She also emerged The Commonwealth Youth Awards regional winner for Africa and Europe, with her project focus on Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality
A survivor of sexual violence herself, Osowobi set up the ‘Stand to End Rape’ initiative.
She set up the service to offer support to women, men and young people who have experienced any form of gender-based abuse in Nigeria.
STER trains healthcare workers on how to deal with survivors and provides them with free health kits such as HIV tests.
Speaking at the awards, she said, “I dream of a future where this work is not required. I dream of the day when sexual violence is completely eradicated from this world.”
Osowobi’s work has reached over 200,000 people providing pro-bono medical, legal, mental health, educational and empowerment services.
Nigeria’s Osowobi emerges Commonwealth Youth Person of the Year 2019