Ferdinand Ekechukwu
J
Journalist, Mary Chinda, at a recent event, turned her personal journey of pain and healing into a growing mission to support young women through mentorship, education and empowerment.
At the event, Single Ladies Conference in Enugu, Chinda brought together young women to confront the often-hidden scars of sexual abuse, heartbreak, grief, rejection, poverty and other painful experiences, while also addressing the growing dangers of substance abuse.
The conference, themed, “Inner Healing: Broken Yet Beautiful,” focused on helping women understand that their painful experiences do not have to define their future. The event also featured discussions on drug abuse, with advocate David Folaranmi warning young women against using alcohol and drugs as a way of escaping emotional pain. But for Chinda, healing must go beyond conversations.
As part of her StraightenedOut Woman Outreach, the AriseTV correspondent has begun putting practical support behind her advocacy by paying the school fees of female university students who may otherwise struggle to remain in school. Chinda recently paid the fees of four female university students in Enugu, bringing to six the number of female students she has personally supported with school fees this year, including two students of the University of Nigeria, UNN.
Chinda says the initiative is driven by her belief that education can give young women alternatives to some of the vulnerabilities created by poverty and financial hardship. She is now targeting at least 50 female students annually, starting with 20 and gradually expanding the programme across Nigeria as funding becomes available.
The initiative is currently largely financed from her personal income and savings from her work as a journalist. The move reflects a broader philosophy behind her work: that emotional healing, education and economic empowerment must go together. At the Enugu conference, participants were encouraged to confront their experiences rather than allow trauma to determine their identity, while speakers also highlighted the dangers of peer pressure, addiction and destructive coping mechanisms.
Beyond the conferences, Chinda runs an online mentorship and discipleship programme for young women, reaching participants from different parts of Nigeria. She says the goal is preventive — helping young women develop the emotional strength, knowledge and support systems needed to make healthier choices.
The outreach has already reached more than 1,000 women, with previous conferences held in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Enugu, and plans to expand to other locations. For Chinda, the mission is simple: help a woman heal, keep her in school, strengthen her identity and give her the tools to build a better future. And with the school-fees initiative now expanding, what began as a personal response to pain is gradually becoming a wider movement of healing, education and hope for young women.