NAOMI EKPOKI ALIYU FROM - NIGE

Naomi Ekpoki Aliyu is an inspiring and innovative 20-year-old with a passion for helping disadvantaged and at-risk youth in Northern Nigeria. She has raised a team of several young volunteers who work with her in schools, and on various other community projects. Through academic boot camps, as well as art and craft workshops organized in several high schools, she helped many improve their performance, enabling them to pass their exams with flying colors. Naomi pioneered a foundation, which aids financially challenged orphans and other at-risk youth. By organizing campaigns to raise funds for scholarships and school amenities, she kept over 1,700 high school students from falling to crime or delinquency. She campaigned against various forms of child abuse, rescuing victims of child trafficking and working with several agencies on the enforcement of protective laws against early marriages and female genital mutilation. Sensitive to the peculiar needs of young people living in areas of unrest due to Boko Haram insurgency, Naomi provided trauma services and special counseling to aid their recovery. Indeed, Naomi is an exceptional young leader who has emerged on the global stage as a Future Africa Leader, a force for change who is impacting the lives of young people.