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Ghanaian teenage scholar donates her scholarship money to help ‘the most in need of it’

Verda Tetteh said she decided to use the scholarship money to help anyone who attends community college, like her mother whose community college education has been so helpful to her.

A Ghanaian-American high school graduate in the United States has donated her general exceptional performance reward worth $40,000 to a more needy student.

While accepting the scholarship reward for her exceptional performance, Verda Tetteh told her teachers and fellow students that her mother went to a sub-standard community college because she could not afford to pay for a school with her preferred standard of education.

And so, she decided to offer her scholarship back to the school administration, who would then offer it to a more needy student who will be going to community college.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP6bcpgB9vQ/

Knowing my mum went to community college and how much that was helpful, I would be so very grateful if administration would consider giving the General Excellence Scholarship to someone who is going to community college.

Verdah Tetteh
  • Having such a heart that seeks to help others progress while we make personal progress is definitely one of the things that make up the kind of socially-conscious impact makers that every teen going for gold should be.
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Ola Olaoluwa

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Board of Trustees

Dr. Waheed Awonuga

Member, Board of Trustees

Waheed Oyetola Awonuga is a trained Medical Doctor with five years of ongoing practice experience, specialising in Family Medicine. He is also an entrepreneur with a knack for developing ideas that are not only bankable but profitable.

Waheed attended Santa Maria Private School in Mushin and Government College Ikorodu. He holds a Diploma in Data Processing from Olabisi Onabanjo University and completed his medical education at the University of Sierra Leone, graduating with MBChB (Medicine and Surgery). He passed the West African College of Physicians Primaries Examination at UCH, Ibadan.

Waheed is an alumnus of the Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI), Africa Cohort 2. He owns Infinity Creative Media, a media consultancy firm in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Infinity Print House, a general print firm also based in Sierra Leone.

Waheed is an avid reader and writer who enjoys travelling and spending time with his family.

Management Team​

Hon. Tobi Olatunji

Executive Director

Hon. Tobi Olatunji serves as Executive Director of Teens Going for Gold Network, providing strategic leadership across TGFGN’s programmes and institutional partnerships.

He oversees programme delivery across all five active states and drives the organisation’s evolution into an institutional peace education body, ensuring that TGFGN’s work remains responsive to the complex social realities facing Nigerian youth today.

Management Team​

Ola Olaoluwa

Co-Founder

Olawumi Olaoluwa is a graduate from the Economics department of the University of Benin, Nigeria. He is also the Creative Director of JOSEL kolektionz, a clothing line.

Vocationally, he is a writer, content developer, actor, and leadership enthusiast. One of the pioneer volunteers of Teens Going for Gold Network, Olawumi has over five years of experience in teen mentoring and coaching. He currently serves as Director of Human Resources.

In his own words: “The opportunity Teens Going for Gold Network presents me with to impact teenagers with qualitative and sustainable education is the main attraction the organisation holds for me.”

Board of Trustees

Dr. Mala Mustapha

Member, Board of Trustees

Dr. Mala Mustapha is an academic and development professional with deep expertise in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and institutional governance.

His scholarly and practitioner experience spans multiple Nigerian states and regional contexts, providing TGFGN with critical insight into the structural dimensions of peace and security in Northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region.

Board of Trustees

Idayat Hassan

Chair, Board of Trustees

Idayat Hassan is a leading expert in security, governance, and democracy in West Africa. She serves as the Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), one of the region’s foremost policy research and advocacy organisations.

Her work spans election monitoring, conflict prevention, and democratic institution building across Nigeria and the broader West African sub-region. She brings decades of governance expertise to TGFGN’s Board of Trustees.

Management Team​

Godsgift Chayil Obi

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Godsgift Chayil Obi serves as Deputy Director of Teens Going for Gold Network, supporting organisational management, programme coordination, and operational delivery.

In this role, she works closely with the Executive Director and management team to ensure that TGFGN’s programmes achieve their intended impact across all active states, maintaining the quality and consistency of delivery that has defined the organisation’s 12-year track record.

Board of Trustees

Dele Olomide​

Member, Board of Trustees

‘Dele Olomide currently leads the Human Resources and Admin function of Clarke Energy Nigeria, the largest authorised distributor and service partner for Jenbacher gas engines and a leading brand in the power and utility sector in Nigeria. His interests are Leadership Development, People Development (Coaching and Mentoring), Organisational Development and Change, Strategy and Growth.

‘Dele is an HR professional with approximately 10 years of generalist experience spanning Manufacturing, IT, Gaming and Energy. He is also an Associate Pastor with El-Shaddai Covenant Church, Lagos. Before now, he has worked with two multinationals, three start-ups, and a Secondary School.

He graduated from the University of Ilorin where he studied Mathematics/Statistics and holds an MBA in Marketing Management. He is an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management.

Board of Trustees

Adedolapo Osuntuyi

Member, Board of Trustees

Adedolapo Osuntuyi is a children and education advocate. She is the founder of Dolly Children Foundation, a nonprofit organisation that equips the African Child to adopt twenty-first-century skills through education, capacity building and advocacy programmes.

Inspired by her upbringing, she has a passion for empowering and creating equal opportunities for children from low-income backgrounds. Dolapo has developed organisational strategy and management processes in the Foundation that have impacted over 22,000 children in 25 communities in four states.

Dolapo has over a decade of experience in child protection, early childhood and community development programmes. A graduate of Botany from Lagos State University, she also holds a master’s degree in Child Health and Social Care from the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom.

In 2015, she received an Africa-America Institute Scholarship to study Social Sector Management at the Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria.

Board of Trustees

Adebanke Ilori Oyeniyi

Secretary, Board of Trustees

Adebanke Ilori Oyeniyi is a lawyer and development professional. Her professional experience spans across politics, inclusive governance, and legislative reforms. She serves as the Executive Director of Raising New Voices Initiative and as the Managing Editor of Lawyard, a platform for interactions around the practice of law in Nigeria.

In 2019, Adebanke led New Voices to conduct the national #BreakTheHold campaign providing resources to competent young people under 35 contesting to be members of the Federal House of Representatives. As a woman in politics, she was appointed as the National Publicity Secretary of Kowa Party — making her the youngest female to occupy the position in Nigeria.

As an advocate for social equality, she has championed the right of prison inmates to education in line with the UN Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and has worked for the implementation of laws to promote the rights of children and prevention of violence against persons.

As a Pan African, she has facilitated extensive deliberations at the African Union on the importance of youth integration in the actualisation of Agenda 2063.

Adebanke holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, a Certificate in Public Management from Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts, and is pursuing her Master’s in International Development and Policy at the University of Chicago. She is a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow.