All Quotes

"We started with Anglican Girls Seminary School and Christ Church School on Broad Street. We did that for a few years and then the pandemic hit. We had to re-strategize when we realised that the Northeast had the greatest humanitarian crisis. People couldn’t get food into the villages because the roads were bad and the networks were affected by terrorist activities that has gone on for about 12 years."

"So, we partnered with a few international organizations, and donors and we were able to significantly increase our giving, which was 100,000 meals per year, to no less than 28 million meals over the last three years. At the moment, we are distributing about 16 million meals every year. My personal goal is to get to about a billion meals."

"I set up the Mary Dinah Foundation 5 years ago and that has been amazingly satisfying. I have started very successful companies in the past that generated significant income but creating a channel whereby I could make a change and impact the lives of others is bigger than anything I have ever experienced before. It still is my greatest high point in life."

"Through the foundation, we connected over 10,000 youths to gainful employment and trained more than 3,000 students in Lagos on employability skills. What we have achieved is incredible and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to support my community."

"The Tokyo flower market is spectacular with floral varieties in every imaginable color. It was magic."

"My beginning question is always, what will complement the environment yet be unexpected? From here, creative ideas come easy. Inspiration is everywhere.”"

"One of my first clients was the late, Jerry Perenchio. He had a special appreciation for flowers and through referrals, I was introduced to circles of other high-profile clients, helping me to become one of the best florists."

"My process begins with the imagination, then to sketches and renderings. After designs are complete, I’ll often test the idea, especially if it’s a new concept I’ve never tried before. The mechanics behind design can make or break an installation, especially given the tight timelines we’re often under. After testing is completed, each component of the project is broken down in order to know what we need to make it happen. And piece by piece, it comes together."

"I’m casual in the way I like to entertain at home while I love creating an inviting atmosphere for friends to be in; flowers, candles, music and good food. It’s fun and when imperfections come up, I don’t stress – there’s so much else to focus on and enjoy."

"Design themes for workshops are based on inspirations that come from art, architecture, colors, interior design and places that are translate into floral design. For example, the class titled Renaissance in Bloom is inspired by still life and floral paintings during the Renaissance period. The Peony No 5 class is a Chanel perfume-inspired peony arrangement class and The Parker is Mid-Century Modern meets Palm Spring design that parlays into flowers. Whatever the genre, all designs have a fresh, modern take."

"This manuscript presents a type-theoretic foundation for mathematics in which each type is associated with an equality relation in correspondence with the standard notions of isomorphism in mathematics. The main result is an abstraction theorem stating that isomorphic objects are inter-substitutable in well-typed contexts."

"We describe a state-of-the-art system for finding objects in cluttered images. Our system is based on deformable models that represent objects using local part templates and geometric constraints on the locations of parts. We reduce object detection to classification with latent variables. The latent variables introduce invariances"

"We run initiatives like the HER Safe Space Clubs, where girls learn about their rights, safety, and reproductive health right there in school."

"We also launched the He for Her campaign, which teaches boys how to be allies and stand up for the girls around them."

"It’s about building an ecosystem of support, ensuring girls are not just in school, but that they are seen, safe, and heard."

"Beyond the Classroom has become a way of saying, “I see you. You matter. You’re not alone."

"I know what’s possible when just one person believes in you."

"I want to be that person for as many girls as I can."

"It’s one of the projects I’m most proud of."

"The truth is, if we’re serious about changing the way girls are treated, then we have to bring boys into the conversation."

"It’s been girls doing all the heavy lifting, trying to survive, speak up, protect themselves, and fix systems that weren’t built with them in mind."

"It’s not fair, and it’s not sustainable."

"That’s why we created ‘He for Her’, to show boys that they have a role to play. And not just by posting online or saying the right things, but in how they behave every single day."

"How they talk to girls, how they show up as friends, classmates, brothers, and future husbands or leaders."

"Things like listening, respecting boundaries, speaking up when something’s wrong."

"These things are basic, but they matter so much. And let me be honest, this campaign is so personal to me."

"I know this work isn’t finished, it’s always evolving."

"What I love about these projects is how they work together."

"Each one focuses on a different part of the puzzle. For example, with the ‘Books Over Boys’ campaign and booklet, girls learn about the value of education and how unplanned pregnancy can disrupt their dreams."

"The ‘Go Girl’ board game teaches girls about their rights and leadership in a fun, exciting way."

"There’s the ‘He for Her’ campaign brings boys into the conversation, showing them how to be allies."

"I literally saw how education was transforming my life and I knew that there was no way I would sit back and not help other children, especially girls."

"I started removing the barriers that would prevent children from enrolling, staying, excelling and graduating from school."

"You would find me providing sanitary pads for girls to enable them stay in school or providing free books to children in and out of school to inspire them to either get enrolled or complete their education."

"My current project is the Community Empowerment Against Violence and Abuse."

"in the last one year, I have worked tirelessly to ensure we educate children in remote communities about COVID-19 and I am excited to see these new books reach the hands of many more children."

"It is focused on educating the children at one of the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Abuja on abuse, molestation, rape and all sorts of abuse they could encounter at home or at school."

"We have worked with these displaced children for over three years and right after the lockdown when schools were resumed, we visited their camp and noticed a few girls were pregnant."

"Some confided in us that they were abused during the lockdown. The majority didn’t even know they were abused. The painful part for me is that these girls didn’t resume school last September."

"I started to think about what they would do differently if they knew more about abuse and how to keep themselves safe or call for help if they are ever molested. Thinking about them and how much we can help them helped me design this project to not only educate them but their parents and teachers as well."

"The project was simply on paper before we got this funding."

"I recall jumping up and dancing when I got the email. My heart went to the children. I was excited that 200 children would be armed with the information necessary to keep themselves safe from abuse and molestation and able to report should anything ever happen to them."

"I am excited and grateful."

"They’re not just guests."

"They are living proof that your past doesn’t have to be your prison. And every time I hear their stories, I see pieces of myself in them."

"Beyond Her Odds is my story too."

"bEvery hardship, every loss, every struggle prepared me to stand here today and tell girls, not just that they can make it, but that they will."

"Parents have a responsibility to keep their children safe and even though they can’t be with them everywhere, the least they can do is equip them from home with the necessary life skills they need to survive, be confident and stay safe."

"Ultimately, I want to see policies come alive in ways that improve the daily lives of girls, making their rights more than just words on paper but real protections and opportunities."

"Find what you love the most and do it. Because once you find purpose, only you can stop you."