Today, we’d like to introduce you to Ejiroghene Mary Ukiri.
Hi Ejiroghene, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Whenever I am faced with the difficult task of answering this question, I am always unsure of where exactly to start from.
I started to think of all the possible answers I could provide and all the different experiences I could include. To get the ball rolling, I will start by introducing myself. My name is Ejiroghene Mary Ukiri, and I am a first-generation Nigerian American with an immense passion for helping others achieve their dreams and life goals.
That being said, the question becomes, “How exactly are you doing that, Mary?”. I cannot fully answer that question without providing some basic information about who I am and where I am from because my passion directly stems from the very diverse experiences that I have been fortunate to acquire from my pre-teenage years until now.
I was born in New York City and moved to Nigeria at the tender age of five. I lived in Abuja, Nigeria, for a total of eight years before moving back to the United States at the age of twelve. As one might expect, over the course of those years, I was able to form a deep connection and understanding of where I am from and the true importance of having a grasp of not only the excitement but also the tribulations that come with being Nigerian, and in a semi-larger sense, being African.
After successfully transitioning into my new life as an American teenager, I soon started to understand what it meant to be an African American woman in America. This experience is something that I proceeded to learn and struggle with as I took on my teenage years and navigated my way through high school. To share my experiences and ideas with my peers and people who might share my struggles, I wrote and published my very first article in the Lake Highlands Advocate Magazine at the age of seventeen.
The article was titled “Words from an LHHS student: How are we feeling,” and was able to capture a great amount of attention from members of my school and society. It was at this point in my life that I came to terms with my talent in writing, and so I started to not only believe that I have a voice but also that my voice resonated with a lot of people far and near me. As a result of this article, I was offered a blogger position by the owner of a website called “The College Pod.”
After a while of working under the College Pod, I strengthened my writing abilities and gained a lot more confidence in using my voice and words to help others. In the year 2021, I took a vacation to Nigeria in order to visit my parents and loved ones. During my stay, I witnessed not only the extreme excesses and shortcomings of the Nigerian government but also the massive negative effect it was having on the livelihood of Nigerians. This deeply inspired me to use my voice to speak on behalf of people who might not have the means to do so.
As a result, I wrote my first article outside of the United States, titled “We Are Bound to Never Forget.” This article proved to be my best work as it got multi-published in the nation’s most popular platforms such as ‘The Premium Times,’ ‘Vanguard’ and ‘Head Topics.’ In an expected attempt to follow the steps of leading platforms in the nation, smaller online platforms like ‘The Daily Asset,’ ‘Latest Nigerian News,’ ‘Newstral,’ and many others also published the article, thereby making it available to a great number of Nigerian readers around the nation.
This outcome made me understand the importance of what I need to do as a writer and a change-maker. After my return to the United States, I was certain that I wanted to do everything I possibly could to use my voice to help those who could not do so for themselves. As a result, I founded a non-profit organization/ scholarship fund named the “Ejiro M Ukiri International Scholarship Fund.” The mission of the organization is to inspire graduating Senior Secondary School students (equivalent to high school students) to embark on their journey towards acquiring a University/ College education in Nigeria.
We intend to do this by aiding their dreams and aspirations financially so as to relieve a substantial part of the burden that the cost of further education might be. Our purpose is to support the young and talented minds that inhabit the winners and applicants of our scholarship in order to provide them with a true and meaningful chance for success in the near future.
My aim is to provide a third-party scholarship for financially challenged students in order to not only motivate them but to give them a fair chance at education and achieving their dreams.
I am currently working on raising funds to reach this goal by organizing fundraising events, meeting the leaderships of other African-oriented clubs and organizations to discuss, and publicly speaking at churches and social events in order to raise money and awareness for a cause that will go a long way and have an enormous impact in the life of many Nigerians.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The popular saying goes, “…the greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” My journey with the foundation has come to be a true embodiment of this saying. The truth is, there is a great need for what we do. It is common knowledge that there are a large number of students (in this case, Nigerian students) who are in need of financial support to pursue further education.
There are countless creative and brilliant minds who are just waiting for the opportunity to be recognized and supported. The goal of the Ejiro M Ukiri Foundation is to give these students a chance at success that is right within their reach. Of course, achieving this goal cannot be a smooth road. However, I do not define these experiences as struggles/obstacles but rather as a learning experience. I say this because an obstacle can be defined as “a thing that blocks one’s way or prevents or hinders progress.”
It is safe to say that my progress as the founder of this organization has not been hindered because the vision that it was built on surpasses any difficult experience that has come about since its establishment. I would say that a challenging task for me, however, was building people’s confidence in what I wanted to achieve through the scholarships. Because we had not sponsored any students, I started to come off to some people as a fraud during the foundation’s earlier days.
They had no assurance that when they donated, the money would actually go towards the education of Nigerian students, which I said it would go towards. Even though this proved to be a challenge for me, I decided not to focus on it and instead focused on ways to foster the nonprofit so that, with time, people would see that it is a legitimate cause with the most honest intentions.
I felt that the more effort and resilience I showed towards raising money and publicizing the need for more financial support in the lives of Nigerian students, the more people would naturally be inclined towards helping, believing, and spreading the word.
This theory ended up being immensely correct because not long after the founding of my non-profit, we received a lot of support from people we did not even know. This made it possible for the money we needed to sponsor our first group of students to be raised in our first year of starting.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?
The mission of the Ejiro M Ukiri International Scholarship fund is to inspire graduating Senior Secondary School students to embark on their journey towards acquiring a University/College education in Nigeria.
We intend to do this by aiding their dreams and aspirations financially to relieve a substantial part of the burden that the cost of further education might be. Our purpose is to support the young and talented minds that inhabit the winners and applicants of our scholarship in order to provide them with a true and meaningful chance for success in the near future. The vision of the Ejiro M Ukiri International Scholarship fund is to finance the further education of graduating Nigerian Senior Secondary School students Nationwide.
We aim to give as much financial aid as we can to every student around the nation, regardless of their state of origin and background. Our story so far has been rooted in community. In the last two years, we have created a platform for students here to give back to students who are far away. What we are most excited about this year is the expansion that is coming. We are looking at growth. We are seeing the possibility of increasing our impact by giving back to even more communities.
Poverty is one of the major causes of illiteracy. Therefore, as a team, we have decided to launch a project that will give back to the impoverished communities in Nigeria, starting in the capital city of Abuja. We are looking into raising even more funds in order to lay a greater mark on others by means of food, hygiene packages, encouragement, and one-on-one encounters. To achieve this new goal, we look to God, our donors (old and new), and the power of community!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from growing up.
One of my fondest childhood memories revolves around Christmas in Abuja, Nigeria. It was a truly magical experience as my extended family flew in from different states to celebrate the holidays together.
Every day felt like a lively party filled with laughter and love.
We spent our days enjoying delicious Nigerian cuisine, dancing to traditional music, and exchanging presents. The atmosphere was electrifying with the joy of being surrounded by loved ones. Each moment was filled with warmth and togetherness, making it a Christmas I’ll always treasure.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ejirointernationalscholarshipfund.com/
- Instagram: @ejiromukirifoundation
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ejiroghene-mary-ukiri-b747bb1a6
