Africa Volunteering Week August 12th-18th Every Year.
What is Africa Volunteering Week (#AVW)?
Africa Volunteering Week is a time to rekindles the spirit and power of volunteerism across the Africa continent in every faucet of life.
Volunteerism is a unifying force bringing people together, breaking local and global barriers, establishing trust, friendship and open endless doors of opportunities to people.
We believe volunteering is no respecter of age, geographic location, gender, educational background or financial status.
Africa Volunteering Week challenges people in Africa and the world to do volunteering activities both in-person (face-to-face) or online (virtual) as long as it impact any African communities or countries.
Africa Volunteering Week aim to inspire citizens, organizations and government to promote sharing, investing and contribution of one’s skills, time as well as resources which is required to strengthen individual and institution capacity for the purpose of gaining social, cultural, political and economic inclusion and participation.
Africa Volunteering Week August 12th-18th Every Year.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
About The Founding Team
Africa Volunteering Week (#AVW) is an initiative founded by two extraordinary changemakers Olutope Olatilewa E. and Rasak Adekoya in 2017, with a passion to create awareness, advocacy and education in the POWER & BENEFIT of VOLUNTEERISM.
Olutope (Topsie) Olatilewa E. – a visionary entrepreneur, business strategist & change leader. She teaches economic empowerment by helping organization and people turn their ideas into reality. She is the Founder/CEO of Business Without Boundaries(BwB) and African ChangeMakers Initiative (ACi). An awardee of AFLI (Project Pakati), 2020 Equal in Tech award (Leadership in SME), WeforGood award (100 African Women Creating a Better Africa), Voices Fellow, Ashoka Changemakers Scholar, Lead City Voices, West Africa Ampioneer for Ampion Venture. She has led and collaborated with professional teams both locally and globally to execute various project in a timely manner among who are MasterCard Foundation, Ashoka Changemakers Future Forward Program, Global VA Week-Africa, OIVAC, African VA, Global Entrepreneurship Week etc. She actively seeks and establishes business relationship with global companies who want to have a business presence in Africa. Being an African lady, Olutope is passionate about the African people and passionate about transforming it human capital skills. She has trained and mentored thousands of people in various business start-up, career development, growth and expansion. She is championing entrepreneurship, leadership development and social innovation, youth policy, AfcFTA and Africa Union Agenda education for youth, women and girls in 54 African countries.
I am Rasak Adekoya. I am a young progressive Nigerian but physically blind [visually impaired]. I am a Public Speaker, Brand Strategist, Assistive Technology Expert and an Inclusive Leadership Coach. I am driven by the desire to help young people find their purpose, raise thoughtful leaders and help to build a strong brand for individuals, corporations and organizations. I am passionate to seeing individuals rise above the doldrums of poverty to peaks of personal development and by extension to other facets of their lives. I am a Strategic Thinker who has spent his time on providing dynamic solutions to new and emerging markets for entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, my participation in policy formulation has earned me opportunity to get involved in several nations building project.
Professionally, I am a skilled communicator as a broadcaster and a shrewd business strategist with vast experience in Business Development and Human Resource. Besides this, my academic pursuit is endless. Till now, I am currently undergoing training with three different reputable professional institutions. Presently, I sit on the leadership board and serves as consultant to few organizations. Deeply committed to the enlistment and transformation of people, volunteer for both local & international non-profit organizations included but not limited to Nigeria Society for the Blind, Nigeria Farmcraft School for the blind, Initiative for Disability Empowerment and Support (I.D.E.A.S.), Al Mubaraq Foundation International, manifest Dream Project just to mention few.
Popularly called Asiwaju, a paradoxical title compared to my young age, Rasak’s aspiration for significance has led him to champion several young minds and adults to be productive and effective in their activities. widely read and author of over fifteen e-books, I recently released my first publish book (Paperback) title, brand your blindness with over five thousand copies sold between the first one month of publication.
Within the past three years that I lose my sight, I have been able to change perception about the blind to the public. I am not only an advocate for disability issues; rather, I have reasonably convinced many through my proven ability and the result I got from them. Blindness has never stopped me from solving problems and inhibiting challenges that will stand as obstacle for people in the future. I have only channel my energy in alignment to what I am capable of doing that will spot me among the exceptionalities. I know success has a voice. And I speak the voice; add value and value will be added back to you. Solve others problem and your problem will be solved.
As the CEO of 360 connect communication & technology enterprise, I facilitate online training session, the potential leadership class, for individuals and team using BBM, Facebook & WhatsApp. Also, the potential leadership class has been extended to senior secondary school students and their teachers as a means of inculcating the spirit of leadership into them before they leave school. The leadership curriculum designed towards this mission is on-going as a project in three different schools right now.
All of these have been accomplished through my daily broadcast messages, blog, books, podcast, and public speaking, training and coaching classes.
