We are excited to receive a success story from Michael Chizurum Anabaraonye from Nigeria! Chizurum has been selected to participate in The Moth Global Story Telling Workshop which is set to take place in Kenya. Previously, he was selected to participate in the Building Bridge Project between Africa and Europe to end FGM in Uganda. Later, he was selected to participate at the Global Peter Drucker Forum in Vienna Austria.
Read his story and be inspired to apply to global opportunities!
Last year, a friend introduced me to OD because he knew I write a lot. I love participating in essay competitions. I visited the site a couple of times before I saw a competition that I met its requirements. It was organized by UNFPA and winners would be sponsored to Uganda to participate in the building bridge project between Africa and Europe coming up in July. They needed only 15 young people from Africa and Europe. I didn’t expect to win, but I hoped to. I submitted my entry and waited patiently for the results to be announced. And finally the results came out. I checked my mail, and saw “congratulations! You have been selected….” I was overjoyed. The whole experience, traveling to Uganda, the workshop, the participants, everything was exciting and inspiring for me, and it motivated me to continue visiting OD and participating in as many challenges as possible.
Then I saw Peter Drucker Challenge on OD website. I wrote my essay. And again, I won. I was sponsored to Austria to attend the Global Peter Drucker Forum in November. I created a shortcut for OD on my desktop computer and on my mobile. I visit the site every day before jumping out of my bird. Just last month, I saw another competition organized by The Moth for a workshop in Kenya. I had always wanted to tell my story. So, I filled in the application form online. On the 26th of last month, I got a mail from The Moth that I have been accepted. Currently I am preparing to travel to Kenya on the 31st of this month. I am very happy to have come across OD. It’s barely a year since I came to know about OD and I have won three international competitions!
On his experiences during the programs
I never thought I would fly an airplane, I believed I would travel overseas, at least not in the next five year. So you can imagine how I felt when I got the mail that I would be traveling to Uganda. I went agog with joy and excitement, fantasizing how it was all going to happen. I dreamt severally boarding the plane before the actual day of my flight because I buried my thoughts imagining it every day, so it was not unusual that I kept dreaming about it. Eventually when I did board the plane in real my kart skipped breaths. My flight from Abuja to Ethiopia then to Uganda was a memorable one. I can never forget it. I met with amazing young people from different parts of Africa and Europe and we quickly formed a community, learning and bringing new ideas and knowledge on how we can solve the difficult problems in our society especially gender inequality which is the root cause of female genital mutilation
When I got to Austria to attend the Global Peter Drucker Forum in Vienna, it was quite a different experience. There were more of white people mainly from America, Asia and Europe. Only two Africans made it to the forum through the challenge. It was a highly regarded event, the meeting point of intellectuals and the who-is-who in the field of management. There were lots and lots of interesting programs and ideas that will get you thinking and imagining. As usual I made friends so quickly and contributed my quota from my essay.
As I prepare to travel to Naivasha Kenya to attend The Moth workshop, I reflect on how my life has been greatly influenced and improved by these events. They have given me the courage to speak out about what I believe in even though everyone might have different views, I just have to speak out. My self confidence and self acceptance which has been boosted by this events fuels my passion in fighting for what I believe in and it fills me with inexhaustible energy to persist on it despite all odds. They have inspired me to do much more, having seen other young people who are doing far better. They have given me a platform to tell my story and a means for my story to be heard. In fact, I can’t say enough what I have gained in the last two years attending these international events because it has shaped and transformed my life for good. And for this I am very grateful to Almighty God, and a very big thank you to OD for bringing opportunities like this at our doorstep. I know many more opportunities are on the way. Well done OD!
Congratulations to Michael! OD wishes you all the very best!
For more stories, visit OD Blog.
