By Joseph Abasi-Abasi, Calabar
Girls’ Power Initiative (GPI), a leading feminist organization, has launched a ₦50 million endowment fund in memory of its founder, late Professor Benedicta Edwin Madunagu, to ensure the sustainability of her lifelong work on girl-child empowerment and gender justice.
The fund was unveiled in Calabar, Cross River State, during a hybrid event marking the first anniversary of Prof. Madunagu’s passing.
The symposium, held physically at GPI’s headquarters and streamed globally via Zoom, brought together women’s rights activists, academics, development experts, and civil society leaders.
In her opening address, Prof. Ayo Atsenuwa, Chairperson of GPI Board of Trustees, described the endowment as a strategic step to preserve the vision of Prof. Madunagu, affectionately called “Mummy B” by thousands of girls whose lives she transformed.
“This fund is our collective commitment to ensure that Benny’s dream of an equitable society where every girl can thrive does not die with her,” Prof. Atsenuwa said.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, founder of Project Alert on Violence Against Women, paid glowing tribute to the late scholar-activist, crediting her mentorship for the establishment of Nigeria’s first shelter for survivors of domestic violence in the 1990s.
“Bene was a pillar of the Nigerian feminist movement. She did not just talk about change; she built institutions and touched lives,” Dr. Effah-Chukwuma said, urging participants to honour her memory through sustained action.
Unoma Madunagu, GPI Executive Director, announced that the endowment will annually support comprehensive empowerment programmes for at least 100 vulnerable girls at ₦500,000 per beneficiary.
The package includes life skills training, digital and technological education, mentorship, and vocational skills acquisition.
Proceeds will also finance the operations of the Gender Development Institute (GDI), GPI’s research and advocacy arm, which focuses on policy analysis, evidence-based advocacy, and capacity building for gender equality stakeholders.
Madunagu further disclosed ongoing discussions with the University of Calabar for strategic collaboration to strengthen GPI’s vocational training centres, especially in the face of rising cases of sexual and domestic violence against women and girls.
The event closed with a minute’s silence in honour of Prof. Madunagu and renewed calls for intensified advocacy as the world marks the 2025 edition of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
Donations to the Prof. Bene Madunagu Endowment Fund are being received through GPI’s verified accounts, with the organization assuring transparency and accountability in the management of contributions.
