Where it all began ...

It was sometime in April 2020. It was a new day for many but for a young girl forced to return home from the Nigerian Law School due to Covid 19 pandemic, it did not feel like it. She was going through another episode of chronic low self esteem that made her shut out the world, cut off everyone, and bury herself in books. But this day did not end with the usual tears and cuddling a pillow to drown out the choking sounds of her sobs because she stumbled on a book, 'Girl, Stop Apologising' by Rachel Hollis and a song 'You Say' by Lauren Diagle. Lost in the world of that book and the imagination created by the lyrics of that song, she made a decision to take a bold step that turned her pain into purpose. Less than a month later, with the support of a friend and a mentor, she opened a blog, Self Esteem Diary. Through that blog, she began sharing her personal experiences with low self esteem to create awareness about the importance of self esteem and the effects of low self esteem. She had high hopes that other young people going through low self-esteem, especially those who have no safe space to share their struggles, will see the write ups, be encouraged, and know that they are not alone in their struggle and it is possible to overcome low self esteem. While growing up, she experienced sibling comparison and body shaming a lot which tore her self esteem into shreds to the point where she was scared of looking into mirrors. She was fatter than her elder sisters and that put her on the receiving end of many cruel jokes and unsolicited advice.

Many times, "well-meaning" individuals would give blunt advice on how she needed to watch her body weight because she would look unattractive to men when she grew older. She turned to read fiction books as a solace and an escape from her reality, and she transferred that passion to her academic books. In one of her write ups, she wrote:

"If I'm not good at anything, at least, I can study hard & no one can take that away from me. It worked for my self-esteem, especially when I started collecting prizes for being the best in different subjects, until another issue came up. The same "well-meaning" individuals started advising me to tone down my academic achievements because "men don't like intelligent women. They are not submissive". I heard a lot & went through a lot of things that tore my self-esteem into shreds. By the time I got into the University, the girl who used to represent her school in debates could no longer speak in class for fear of being noticed. I believed when people saw me, all they saw was my size. I could not look into a mirror because it reminded me of their words. Years later, conversations with coursemates revealed two things.
1- While I was going through that phase, they thought I just loved keeping to myself. Many could not imagine that I had chronic low self-esteem.
2-Many young people are going through low self-esteem like I did but they have no one to share with & no help because little attention is given to self-esteem issues, despite their importance".

Some months after she began the blog, it became clear that she needed to do more by reaching out to more young people through other channels. So, she opened a Facebook group and created Instagram and Twitter pages. With financial support from a sibling, she paid for a canva class and learnt how to do basic graphic designs to begin sharing content on those social media platforms. In a short while, the Facebook Community grew to over 2,600 people spanning different countries.

That girl is now the Executive Director of Initiative for Self Esteem Education and Advocacy (ISEEA).

At the fore of all that ISEEA does is the question: "What can we do to help more more young people going through low self esteem?" This question drove her to set up a team and in February 2022, they executed their first offline project, Hangout 1.0, to take the message about the importance of self-esteem offline and into the streets.

During this time, the need to place structures became important and so, a few months later, on 20th July 2022, what began as a blog with the name Self Esteem Diary became registered as a Not for Profit Organisation with the name Initiative for Self Esteem Education and Advocacy. During the registration process, the ED heard a distressing story about a young teenage girl below 18 years, living in a rural community in Abuja, Nigeria. The young girl had an extremely abusive father who threatened to kill her and her siblings and burnt their clothes occasionally. She met a young man online who convinced her of his love and asked for hide pictures which she sent. Unfortunately, those pictures were exposed online. With her team, she swung into action, paid visits to the community to gather more information and then they planned and executed ISEEAs first community advocacy project themed Project H.E.L.P. (Help Eradicate Low Self Esteem and Other Vices in Young People). The journey to eradicating low self esteem is a long one but the ISEEA team is convinced that every child helped can make a difference and become an agent of positive change to others. You can support us by volunteering your time and expertise or your financial resources.