Charlene Charmwakat Makai is the founder of Empower Her for Sustainable Development Initiative in Africa (Empower Her 4 Africa), a nonprofit organisation dedicated to lifting women out of poverty. She said the NGO achieves its vision by providing education, skills training, and mentorship to vulnerable girls and women across Africa. In this interview, Charlene, whose work has contributed to fostering peace through conflict mediation in volatile regions of Nigeria, leading transformative initiatives that promote women’s empowerment and girls’ education, said this decade has seen increased investment in education, economic participation, and leadership opportunities for women. Daniel Obi brings the excerpts…
How would you describe this decade, which has been dedicated to empowering women?
This decade has been a transformative period for women’s empowerment, marked by global commitments, policy shifts, and grassroots movements advocating for gender equality. With the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5) reinforcing the need for gender equity, we have seen increased investment in education, economic participation, and leadership opportunities for women. However, while progress is evident, structural barriers such as gender-based violence, economic exclusion, cultural norms that prioritise boys’ education over girls’, and policy gaps still exist. This era is about bridging the remaining gaps through sustained advocacy, investment, and collaboration.
In 2017, Empower Her 4 Africa aligned with this objective. Could you explain your operational model, particularly the category of women you target?
Empower Her 4 Africa operates through a community-driven, capacity-building model focused on marginalised and underserved women, particularly those in post-conflict regions, rural areas, and urban slums. Our key interventions include:
Educational empowerment: Scholarships, mentorship, and digital skills training for young girls.
Economic empowerment: Vocational training, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship support.
Health & well-being: Addressing reproductive health rights, maternal health, and mental well-being.
We primarily target women and girls who face systemic barriers to opportunities, ensuring they have the tools to break the cycle of poverty and become leaders in their communities.
How does your organisation define women’s empowerment?
For us, women’s empowerment is the process of enabling women and girls to make informed choices, access equal opportunities, and exercise their rights in all spheres of life—economic, political, social, and educational. It involves dismantling societal and institutional barriers that hinder women’s advancement while fostering an environment where they can thrive as decision-makers, innovators, and leaders.
Kindly highlight your milestones since 2017, particularly success stories that illustrate your impact.
Since 2017, Empower Her 4 Africa has made significant strides:
Education & scholarships: More than 1,000 girls have been supported with tuition, school supplies, and mentorship programs, reducing dropout rates.
Entrepreneurship training: Over 500 women have been trained in income-generating skills, leading to financial independence and small business startups.
Menstrual support: We have established sanitary banks in five schools to improve menstrual hygiene, enhance education for girls by reducing school absenteeism due to a lack of menstrual products, and improve public health by preventing infections.
Health & well-being: Through our maternal health and reproductive rights awareness programmes, we have impacted over 3,000 women by providing essential resources and education.
“It involves dismantling societal and institutional barriers that hinder women’s advancement while fostering an environment where they can thrive as decision-makers, innovators, and leaders.”
How many women have benefitted from your programs since 2017?
Since our inception, Empower Her 4 Africa has directly impacted over 5,000 women and girls through various empowerment programs.
What is the biggest challenge Empower Her 4 Africa faces in championing this cause, and what kind of support do you need to overcome these challenges?
Our biggest challenges include:
Funding constraints: Sustaining programs requires consistent financial support.
Cultural and societal resistance: Deep-rooted patriarchal norms often hinder women’s progress.
Limited access to technology: Many women in rural areas lack digital literacy and internet access.
To overcome these challenges, we need:
Stronger partnerships with governments, the private sector, and international organisations to scale impact.
More financial and in-kind support for scholarships, skill-building programs, and advocacy efforts.
Community engagement programmes to challenge harmful cultural norms and promote gender-inclusive policies.
Do you think sidelining men and boys in most empowerment programs is inclusive enough in line with the SDG goals?
No, sustainable gender equality cannot be achieved by focusing solely on women. Engaging men and boys as allies is crucial in dismantling gender biases and fostering a more inclusive society. Empower Her 4 Africa incorporates gender-sensitive programming that includes educating men on the benefits of women’s empowerment, challenging harmful masculinity norms, and promoting shared responsibility in household and economic roles.
We also support orphaned boys in extreme poverty cases. For instance, we currently sponsor a young boy named Joshua, whose parents are deceased. Recognising his enthusiasm for education, we enrolled him in Senior Secondary School 1 (SS1) and have been covering his tuition fees. Our goal is to ensure that boys like Joshua are not left behind in our mission for equitable opportunities.
What are your goals for the next 5–10 years?
Over the next decade, Empower Her 4 Africa aims to:
Expand our reach to empower at least 50,000 women and girls across Africa.
Strengthen economic empowerment programs by launching a microfinance initiative for women entrepreneurs.
Enhance digital literacy and STEM education for young girls to bridge the gender gap in technology.
Scale leadership and advocacy training to equip more women for policymaking roles.
Foster more public-private partnerships to drive systemic change in gender equality policies.
Ultimately, our goal is to create self-sustaining, empowered communities where women and girls are key drivers of economic and social transformation.
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