Anon-governmental organisation, the Funmike Empowerment Foundation, has said it is happy with the progress recorded with the transformation of Atinuke Shittu, who grew up under the weight of financial limitations but found solace in the programme of the foundation.

Narrating the story, Founder and Executive Director of the Foundation, Oluwafunmike Esther Salami, said it was a great turnaround that reflected the hard work of the foundation.

Salami said:

“Shittu Are Atinuke, known as Tinuke, grew up in a family that valued education but struggled under the weight of financial limitations. The youngest of her mother’s children and the fourth of her late father’s eight, she possessed an extraordinary intellect, a curiosity that seemed boundless, and a determination that belied her age.

By the time she completed secondary school in 2018, she had everything a bright young Nigerian student needed to succeed; grades, discipline, and dreams, but she lacked one crucial element: the financial resources to continue her education.

While her classmates applied for universities, bought books, and prepared for the life they imagined, Tinuke remained at home, waiting, her ambitions quietly bottled up by circumstance.

“To survive and con- tribute to her household, she took a low-paying job, earning between ten and twenty thousand naira a month, barely enough to cover transport, food, and basic living costs. Her income was sufficient to survive but never enough to save for school fees.

“Everything changed in 2022, the year the Funmike Empowerment Foundation discovered her story. The Foundation did not see a girl trapped by circumstance; it saw a scholar waiting to be awakened.

During the first conversations, Tinuke shared the frustration and pain of years spent waiting while others advanced. The Foundation recognized her brilliance and, more importantly, her potential.

What many might have seen as despair, the Foundation saw as an opportunity to intervene, empower, and transform a life