A Dream, One Step at a Time

By Faith Habu, former Girl Rising Student Ambassador

“If the opportunity to greatness seems distant, start small”, said Napoleon Hill. Quotes people say are overrated—but not for me. They are windows to a world I am familiar with, an opening to someone else’s lens similar to mine.

A few years ago, I was another girl filled with dreams, and that dream was to empower girls and

children, especially vulnerable communities. What started from late-night imaginations, writing down ideas, and painting a scenario in my head seemed almost perfect—a Disney land, filled with wishes and imagination. Then it occurred to me: if the rat from the Ratatouille, a Pixar animation had focuse on constraints rather than ability to rise above them, then the quote “Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere” wouldn’t be in existence. Leaving one’s comfort zone is becoming a cliché—but it is true.

“Start small,” I keep telling myself. And that is what I did. I volunteered for social-justice courses, took online classes on the SDGs, and volunteered as a student ambassador for Girl Rising to hone my leadership skills. That took years of rejection emails, excitement to borrow my dad’s phone and sit there eager for an interview I never got to hear back from, and years of staying up at night to complete a YouTube lesson I couldn’t follow in the daytime because there’s a more affordable offer for data at night. In all of this, I keep hearing, “If you need anything, I am here,” from a voice I recall—my dad smiling, as if he wasn’t the same person who is as frustrated as me because he hasn’t been paid his salary and is wondering where the next meal is coming from.

Along the line, I realized I needed tangible impact to spotlight the plight of the vulnerable. And I began hosting community sensitization sessions and lessons in schools and orphanages, using profits from my entrepreneurial business and grants like the Natasha Stevens Fund 2022 from Girl Rising. And the vision became clearer—not because I get to pass interviews, but because I get to envision what I would be doing in the next five years. This “Disney land imagination” birthed the Displaced Not Disposed initiative.

Though not formally registered, it is functional, and the mission remains the same: to empower

displaced and vulnerable communities through sensitization across human rights, disability rights, digital rights, empowerment, and other sensitization deemed fit to give them a normal life.

Selected for the Global Youth Mobilization – Youth Empowerment Fund, the Displaced Not Disposed initiative shall visit an IDP camp. We’ll be distributing learning materials and empowerment materials.

Looking back on an article I wrote years ago, “Empowering IDP Camps in Taraba State, Nigeria,” I am reminded again that where we come from is who we are, but we choose every day who we become. This is not an indication that I am there yet, but that I am making an effort with my team to reach such heights. You, reading this, can start small. You can start volunteering for causes you love, start taking that online class, and if you feel lost, take a break and move on. You may not have someone like my father ensuring you achieve your dreams, but at least you’ve got dreams to hold on to and the opportunity to read this article to know that you are not alone. Together, we choose to make the world a better and equal place for all.