About Us
Welcome to Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative (EWEI).
We are a non-governmental organisation based in Kaduna, Nigeria, dedicated to catalysing systemic transformation by equipping women and girls with the resources, knowledge, and support they need to thrive, lead, and achieve true excellence.
The Reality We Face
In Nigeria, the journey toward gender equality remains fraught with systemic barriers.
Recent data reveals a stark reality: of the over 20 million children out of school across the nation, the majority are girls, often sidelined by poverty, unsafe learning environments, and harmful social norms.
Furthermore, nearly one in three Nigerian women aged 15 to 49 has experienced physical or sexual violence, and female representation in national governance remains staggeringly low at under 5%. These are not mere statistics; they represent the stifled potential of millions. EWEI was built to challenge and change this narrative.
Our Story
EWEI was established in 2008, born out of the vision and lived experiences of our founder, Safiya Ibn Garba DTRF. As a Desmond Tutu Reconciliation Fellow with a profound dedication to peacebuilding and human development, Safiya recognised a critical gap in the way women and girls were supported in her community.
Through her extensive work championing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, Safiya saw first-hand that true empowerment requires more than just meeting immediate needs. It demands deep, structural change, a commitment to justice, and a focus on holistic healing.
Drawing from her diverse expertise, Safiya built EWEI to be both a sanctuary and a launchpad. She envisioned an organisation where women are not just survivors of their circumstances, but active architects of their own resilience and future.
Our Approach
At EWEI, we believe that empowering a woman is the most effective way to elevate an entire community.
We bridge the gap between grassroots realities and global frameworks, such as the operationalisation of UNSCR 1325, translating policy into tangible, life-changing action.
Our work is defined by:
Holistic Human Development: We go beyond traditional capacity building, integrating innovative psychosocial support programmes to foster deep, lasting community resilience.
Systemic Transformation: We focus on structural reform, advocating for policies and environments that allow women to participate fully in peacebuilding, governance, and economic development.
Data-Driven Impact: We ground our passion in rigorous monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks, ensuring that our interventions deliver measurable, sustainable results for the communities we serve.
Operational Structure
Our daily operations are managed through five specialised departments that work together to deliver quality programmes and sustainable impact.
These departments report directly to our executive suite who report to our Board of Trustees (BOT).
We are all accountable to the girls, women and communities we serve.