Read The Life Changing Story of Godwin Kingsley, Founder of World Impact Development Foundation

My name is Godwin Kingsley, Founder of World Impact Development Foundation (WIDEF). I am a development professional with extensive project management experience spanning 8 years in governance, poverty and hunger alleviation, humanitarian relief and economic empowerment for youth, women and children.

I also sit as a member of Faculty for Seal Resource Firm and Mastermind Business School with centers in UK, Dubai and Singapore and Nigeria where I consult on leadership and management for nonprofits and corporate organizations. I am a Certified Management Consultant and Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants, a fellow of the African Change Makers Fellowship and a Fellow in the US Department of States, Young African Leaders Initiative, Regional Leadership Center, Emerging Leaders Program.

I am a member of the Global Shapers Community, Abuja Hub – an initiative of the World Economic Forum and a member of the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth, a member of Afrika Youth Forum and YALI Network. I also serve as country representative for Youth Organization for the European and African Union and World Humanitarian Community. In the past I have worked as the Regional Program Officer of the West African Civil Society Forum.

I grew up living in some shanty town in Southern Kaduna. In the Peri-urban city where I grew up, you will find hungry, homeless, orphans, women nursing babies, children begging for food, some selling candies and sachet water between congested traffic in hope of earning money. These children and their families seems to have been neglected and forgotten making them resort to begging on the streets exposed to the harshness of the scorching sun, accident and abuse. At the age of 9, I was enrolled into Federal Government College Kwali Abuja, and when I was through I waited for three years before I finally got admission into University of Abuja where I obtained a Bachelor of Education degree in Social Studies and have since then further developed myself personally and professionally.

Growing up and not having all my needs met, taught me a good lesson of how to survive, thrive and be self reliant. As a student, I got engaged in buying and selling of wristwatches, ties and perfumes so I can meet other basic needs that weren’t provided for. I had to find a way to support myself through school. However, my situation hasn't been the worst compared to other untold stories of pain and struggles by millions of Africans who have struggled with poverty and its effects- lack, hunger, frustration, homelessness and much more.

I have always wondered why my country Nigeria hasn’t been able to fix its challenges - the socio political and economic problem that has kept a vast majority of its rural masses enclave in the paws of poverty and misery. In spite of the huge enormous human, material and natural resources in her possession, in the last fifty years, Nigeria has been battling with the problems of poverty and development.

Out of these concerns, I began to search for answers and think of ways to impact lives, fix the multi complex challenges and solve the multi-faceted problem that has kept so many people enclave in the paws of poverty and misery. From my search I discovered that the reason we still have so many poor rural communities in Nigeria and Africa is partly as a result of failure of leadership. This was the beginning of my journey as a leader in the development space.

Driven by a strong commitment to contribute to the alleviation of poverty and development of Nigeria, in 2014, I founded World Impact Development Foundation (WIDEF) a non-profit contributing to the fight against poverty, hunger, inequality and poor governance as well as promoting equal access to social and economic opportunities for all.

Over the years, I have worked relentlessly in addressing the poverty’s root causes that include the absence of rights, opportunities and assets - all largely due to social exclusion and discrimination. I have always believed the reason most people - youth, women or girls remain poor is because they don’t have access to information, opportunities and resources and that could change their lives.

Hence, I have been actively engaged in coordinating policy advocacy and collaborating with development partners, community leaders, civil society and senior government officials in formulating policies, designing strategies, executing action plans and facilitating trainings to promote gender equality, social justice, women and youth empowerment.

At the grassroots level, I have also taken the lead in driving community action helping youth and women build resilience, escape poverty and realize their full potential. I work with youths and women empowering them througheducation, skills acquisition and mentorship to build their dignity and self esteem.

I have lead our team in implementing the Rural Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition (RESA) initiative, through we have trained and empowered over 4000 youths and women on entrepreneurship, vocational skills and agriculture across several local communities in five states across Nigeria.

Drawing inspiration from the words of Mother Theresa, ‘If you can’t feed a thousand, feed one’ I initiated the Quest for Survival and Love Mile Projects. Under my leadership, through social media, crowd funding and partnering with donor agencies, private sector corporations and other fundraising techniques; we have been able to provide adequate food for hundreds of women and their children thereby helping hundreds of women and their children improve their feeding and overcome hunger as a result of poverty.

From 2014 till date, I have led our team in implementing four editions of these projects which though started out as small initiatives has grown to become a movement that has helped reduced poverty and hunger for hundreds of women and children. The Quest for Survival and Love Mile Project are now a household name as we have become one of the main drivers of the sustainable development goal on ending poverty, hunger and malnutrition among disadvantaged families and communities. Furthermore, I am the convener of the annual Social Impact Leaders Summit-, an event which brings together various stakeholders from the public sector to foster discussion on ending poverty, making social impact and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

In advocating for the empowerment of youths and women, I have appeared on major media platforms such as the Nigerian Television Authority, African Independent Television and TVC. Also, my passion for impacting and transforming lives has earned me the Transformers Hub International Award for phenomenal impact and contribution towards transforming lives and empowering communities in Africa and beyond.

I am also a recipient of the Uni Caribbean Business School ‘‘International African Quality Award’’ for contribution to human capital development, a recipient of the National Unity Merit Awards for commitment to Nation Building, and a finalist for the ‘I AM Nigeria Initiative’ Community Service Award among several others.

In the future, I hope to build one of the largest poverty-fighting organizations in the world, providing relief to people hit by disasters and emergencies, and contributing to economic empowerment that strengthens livelihoods over the long term, as well as empowering citizens to demand good governance and influence the decisions that affect their lives.

I also hope to take the lead in addressing the root causes of poverty through the mix of innovative grassroots community actions aimed at tackling the immediate needs of the poor and top level policy advocacy aimed at creating lasting solutions that tackles poverty and the effect of poverty.

Ultimately, I want to leave a legacy of compassionate, visionary and transformational leadership. I want to serve as a mentor and raise a new generation of emerging social entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and social impact leaders that are passionate about ending poverty and hunger, providing quality education for children, decent work for youth and women and making the world a better place through the virtues of love, compassion and kindness.