With a distinguished military career spanning over a decade and professional certifications in safety, health, and communication, Ambassador Mabel Abel-Onaiwu is etching her legacy in the annals of time, empowering young girls, women, and communities across Africa to realise their full potential. Alongside her flourishing military career, she has established the not-for-profit organisation, She Safety and Health Initiative, which has reached over 20,000 women since its inception. Driven by a vision with a continental scope, Abel-Onaiwu is not resting on her oars. For her, the future is about building stronger communities for women, not just in Nigeria, but across the African continent. Esther Oluku brings the excerpts.
As a trained military officer actively involved in the social services sector, can you take us back to your early years? What was it like growing up as a young girl?
Growing up as a young girl, I was raised with strong values around discipline, service, and responsibility. I learned early that resilience and purpose are essential tools for navigating life. Like many girls, I also witnessed the limitations placed on young women—especially in areas of safety, health, and access to opportunity. These early experiences shaped my confidence, leadership instincts, and deep sense of empathy. They planted the seed for my lifelong commitment to ensuring that girls grow up safe, healthy, and empowered to reach their full potential.
What prompted your move into social services space?
My move into social services was driven by a clear gap I observed while serving and working across communities—particularly the lack of structured safety, health, and emergency response education for women and girls. I realized that empowerment without safety and health is incomplete. This led to the founding of SHE Safety and Health Initiative.
What have been some of your notable engagements in this space?
Through She Safety and Health Initiative, we have delivered school safety programs, first aid and emergency preparedness training, community health outreaches, advocacy campaigns, and large-scale engagements in partnership with government institutions, the Nigerian Navy, ministries of education and health, and international safety organizations. To date, our work has directly and indirectly impacted over 20,000 beneficiaries, primarily women, girls, and vulnerable populations.
How crucial do you believe safety and health are to the overall development of the girl child?
Safety and health are foundational to the development of the girl child. A girl who is unsafe or unhealthy cannot fully access education, leadership, or economic opportunities. Unfortunately, many girls grow up without basic knowledge of personal safety, health rights, or emergency response.
Through SHE Safety and Health Initiative, we bridge this gap by integrating safety education, first aid, reproductive health awareness, leadership development, and advocacy into schools and communities. Our approach is preventive, practical, and culturally responsive—ensuring girls are not just informed, but equipped to protect themselves and others. Our guiding message remains: HER HEALTH. HER SAFETY. HER VOICE.
As an organisation with a continental dream, are there plans to scale the project further?
This impact has been achieved through school programs, community outreaches, health screenings, advocacy campaigns, and emergency preparedness training.
Yes, we have clear plans to scale further—both nationally and across Africa. Our focus is on institutional partnerships, digital learning platforms, training of trainers, and regional collaborations that will allow us to replicate our models sustainably in other countries.
As an organisation working across countries, how do you curate solutions to meet the needs of your various audiences?
We adopt a community-centered and data-informed approach. Before implementing any project, we engage local stakeholders, educators, community leaders, women groups, and young people, to understand cultural, social, and safety realities.
Our solutions are then adapted to local contexts while maintaining global best practices in safety and health. This flexibility allows us to remain relevant, effective, and respectful of diverse audiences across regions.
Social services require significant resources. How have you accessed funding, partnerships, and human capital support from both private and public institutions?
We have accessed resources through a mix of strategic partnerships, institutional collaborations, grants, corporate sponsorships, and volunteer engagement. We work closely with public institutions, private sector partners, international safety bodies, and development organizations that share our vision.
Human capital remains one of our strongest assets. We have built a growing network of trained volunteers, professionals, and ambassadors who are passionate about women and girl-child safety and development.
Beyond outreaches and trainings, how do you ensure the projects’ sustainability?
Sustainability is central to our strategy. We focus on capacity building, policy advocacy, community ownership, and long-term partnerships. Programs such as SHE Academy, our school safety framework, and the training of local facilitators ensure that knowledge and impact remain long after each intervention.
We also prioritize monitoring, evaluation, and documentation to continuously improve our programs and demonstrate impact to partners and funders.
How do you balance your roles as a mother, military officer, and head of a social service organisation?
Balance comes from clarity of purpose, discipline, and a strong support system. The military has taught me structure, accountability, and time management, while motherhood has taught me empathy and patience.
I see these roles not as competing, but as complementary. Each strengthens the other and fuels my commitment to building safer communities for present and future generations.
Would you say you and your team are meeting your set organisational goals?
Yes, we are steadily meeting and refining our organisational goals. While the work is ongoing and the needs are vast, the progress we have made—in reach, partnerships, visibility, and impact—reinforces our belief that we are on the right path. We remain committed to continuous learning, innovation, and excellence.
What are your long-term plans for She Safety and Health Initiative and what should the Nigerian public be expecting in the near future?
Our long-term vision is to position SHE Safety and Health Initiative as a leading African organisation in women and girl-child safety, health, and emergency preparedness.
In the near future, the Nigerian public can expect expanded school safety programs, large-scale women’s health initiatives, leadership and emergency response training, policy advocacy campaigns, and stronger private-sector collaborations. We are also working toward regional expansion and digital learning solutions to reach even more girls.
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