Now in its eighth year, the annual DUSUSU Foundation Award, which was co-founded by Santa Clarita siblings, recognizes the measurable work of First Ladies and Gender Ministers from the African continent and Caribbean. The foundation held its first presentation for the 2021 recipients recently in the Abuja, Nigeria.
DUSUSU stands for Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up, and was co-founded about nine years ago by sisters Zuriel and Azaliah Oduwole in hopes of finding ways to get more girls across Africa and the Caribbean into schools.
Presenting both the award itself and the citation document binder, Zuriel, 19, and Azaliah, 17, highlighted the work the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs & Social Development was doing, especially in the areas of girl’s education in their resettlement programs of displaced persons.
It is the first time in the Awards history that a recipient has been so recognized from the country of Nigeria, in either the First Lady or the Gender Minister categories.
Receiving the award before a large and colorful gathering of friends, associates and two other cabinet Ministers from the Education and Trade ministries at the Sheraton Abuja hotel, Minister Sadiya Umar thanked the selection committee for recognizing her gender specific initiatives in the realm of her work as minister in the ministry. She added that her directors, project managers and associate leadership, are the true driving force, behind her success.
Minister Sadiya joins other ministers from Mauritius, Ghana, Rwanda, Jamaica, and Sierra Leone, who have received this Award, with some like Ghana receiving it twice.
On Monday, the sisters presented their eighth edition of the First Lady DUSUSU Award category to H.E. Mrs. Monica Geingo’s at a colorful and elegant event at the state house in Windhoek, Namibia.
Geingo’s said she was honored to receive the award on behalf of her tireless staff, who make her work in the area of gender development look very easy. Other past first lady awardees include the first ladies of Tanzania, Kenya, Senegal, Mozambique, Cabo Verde and Sierra Leone.
Some like Ghana have received the award twice, in recognition of the country’s robust initiatives aimed at ending girl marriage in the West African nation.
TIME Magazine Women of The Year marked International Women's Day 2023 on Wednesday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, gathering a powerhouse of global icons to celebrate their work, their steps and their impact around the world as women.
As far as she can remember, 18-year-old Azaliah Oduwole, from Santa Clarita, has always helped in every way she could and at every opportunity since she was little.
In its 2015 regional annual report, UNESCO, a specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes international collaboration in education, science, and culture, listed Mozambique as one of the countries in Africa with the highest incidence of girl marriage.
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The 47th Annual St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church Lenten Fish Fry opened for the season on Friday, March 7, and sold out within hours. It will continue every Friday through April 11.
Placerita Canyon Nature Center Associates and Field Mycologist Bat Vardeh, founder of Women Forage SoCal, will present a Mushroom Foray and Talk, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 16 at Placerita Canyon Nature Center, 19152 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, CA 91321.
The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Santa Clarita Valley invites the community to indulge in a delicious way to support the fight against cancer with its spring-themed See’s Candies fundraiser.
The Santa Clarita Valley Man and Woman of the Year Committee has released the names of the 12 nominees and the nomination organizations for 2025 Santa Clarita Man of the Year.
Beginning Monday, March 17, at 6 a.m., Jet will be hosting “Jet into Work,” on 88.5-FM, The SoCal Sound which will lend a fun and upbeat start to listeners’ mornings.
Safely dispose of household hazardous waste and electronic waste for free 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. Saturday, April 5 at the College of the Canyons Valencia Campus, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
The Music Center has announced 113 of Southern California’s most talented high school students have advanced in The Music Center’s 37th Annual Spotlight program, which includes three students from the Santa Clarita Valley.
The track and field teams at The Master's University began their 2025 outdoor campaign at the Occidental Spring Break Classic on Saturday, March 8. Multiple qualifiers were added and a school record fell in the men's 4x100m relay.
Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo has announced the introduction of the Roads to Resilience Act, AB 1132, a piece of legislation designed to prioritize the needs of communities disproportionately impacted by climate disasters.
Opera America, a nonprofit that supports opera in the United States, recently announced the 2025 recipients of two of its prestigious distinctions: the 2025 Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize and the Discovery Grants from its Opera Grants for Women Composers program.
The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health has launched a new campaign to increase awareness of the Department’s Alternative Crisis Response Program and to foster trust in the program’s Field Intervention Teams which serve as the county’s first responders for mental health crisis support.
The Los Angeles County Library is hosting a series of virtual programs from March 13 through June 13, with the next occurring on Thursday, March 13 at 5 p.m.
The 47th Annual St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church Lenten Fish Fry opened for the season on Friday, March 7, and sold out within hours. It will continue every Friday through April 11.
California State Department of Education State Superintendent Tony Thurmond is sponsoring legislation, Senate Bill 502, to help local educational agencies across California address the housing affordability crisis by providing critical funding to support the development of housing for educators and school employees.
The Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation unanimously passed Sen. Suzette Valladares’ (R-Santa Clarita) Senate Bill 23 – the “Home for Heroes Act” – from committee on a 5-0, bipartisan vote of approval.
The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency will hold a special board meeting on Tuesday, March 18 starting at 5 p.m. followed by the regular board meeting at 6 p.m.
As another atmospheric river bears down on Los Angeles County, the Departments of Public Health and Beaches and Harbors are reminding potential beachgoers to avoid ocean water and wildfire debris.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has been notified of the first case of measles diagnosed in 2025 in a Los Angeles County resident that recently traveled through Los Angeles International Airport.
The hilarious and heartfelt production, "A Couple of Blaguards", is coming to The MAIN from Friday, March 14, to Sunday, March 23, just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day.
1928 - St. Francis Dam collapses at 11:57:30 PM, killing an estimated 411 people from Saugus to the sea. America's deadliest civil engineering failure of the 20th Century [stories & photos]
The Master's University's Katherine Dyer finished second in the 100-free and Dylan Crane grabbed seventh on the final night of the 2025 NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships in Elkhart, Ind., March 5-8.
Our community is rich with history, blending the spirit of the Old West with the history of our great nation, especially in our parks. When Santa Clarita incorporated in 1987, we only had eight parks. Today, we are home to more than three dozen, and this year, we are excited to welcome not just two new parks.
The Master's University men's volleyball team picked up its second consecutive conference win on the road with a 25-20, 25-17, 25-19 win over Benedictine Mesa Saturday afternoon, March 8 in Mesa, Ariz.
College of the Canyons men's golf returned to the winner's circle at the Western State Conference event at Rio Bravo Country Club on Monday, March 10, with the Cougars taking a four-stroke victory ahead of runner-up Ventura College.
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