12-yr activist, Zuriel, seeks support for girl-child education campaign

Teenage Nigerian-American activist, Zuriel Odewole, is reaching out to more people interested in joining her girl-child education cause, which she started a few years ago. Oduwole, who has won several laurels for her initiative, is seeking collaboration on Twitter, Facebook and her website. In a message posted on Twitter, the 12-year-old activist says the campaign will be more impactful if more people are spreading the message that takes her around the world. Admitting that there is a limit to what she can achieve as an individual, she notes that more disadvantaged children and parents will be reached if more people key into the campaign. Oduwole hopes the campaign will encourage more parents and guardians across the world to educate the girl-child in different parts of the world. Also declaring that her goal is to ensure that all African girls get education, she says she has spoken to 23,000 children in nine countries but concluded that the figure is far smaller than what 10 teenagers of her kind can achieve. “I spoke to 23,000 children in nine countries. Ten of me can reach 230,000. Maybe, I am trying,” she tweets. Retweeting related posts concerned agencies on the subject, she says menstruation cannot serve as a barrier between female children and their potentials. She also retweets Michelle Obama's post, which says education can change the lives of many girls around the world and another by Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, noting that marginalised girls either go to school “sporadically” or have never been anywhere near the four walls of a classroom.