I am an Author, Motivational Speaker, Counsellor and Coach. I am passionate to ensure that children between the ages of 10 to 24 years impact their world positively by being agents of change.
I am a Fellow of the West African College of Physicians and I obtained the Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Liverpool and currently undergoing my PhD training with a special focus on Adolescent health at the Lancaster University. I have a short course certificate in Adolescent Psychology. I have worked for ten years as the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics of the Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency. Furthermore, I lecture at the School of Public Health, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City.
I have hitherto been involved in the coaching and mentoring of young people and anchoring of community-based activities since 2006, when I was a Youth Corp member to promote the healthy growth and development of adolescents and young people where they live, work and play.
I am married to an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, and an advanced Materno-fetal Specialist-Dr Biodun Olagbuji and we are blessed with two beautiful children.
My Story
My deep-seated passion for impacting adolescent and young people’s health began as an undergraduate at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. My interest was spurred when a colleague of mine in my first year at the University became pregnant due to the lack of knowledge on comprehensive sexuality education and underdeveloped life building skills. This unfortunate incident resulted in abandonment by her parents after the delivery of the child. Also, she experienced shame, stigmatization, and rejection by her peers, which adversely affected her education. This preventable incident made me uncomfortable and kept me thinking for many days and I decided to contribute my talents, skills and resources to help adolescents and young people achieve their God-given destiny because of their high level of vulnerability.
In 2006, during the compulsory one-year National Youth Service for Nigerian graduates, I launched out to fulfil my set goal by volunteering as a Peer Education Trainer (PET). This PET project was organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the leadership of the National Youth Service Corps. During this period, I engaged in community-based activities of educating young people in secondary schools as well as the community on comprehensive sexuality education and the prevention of HIV/AIDs, respectively. I, in conjunction with two other dedicated Corp Members, organized the HIV/AIDs awareness campaign in the community, aired same on the local television station, and erected billboards in strategic locations in Omuaran community in Kwara State, Nigeria, to prevent and control HIV/AIDs. In addition, I paid the tuition fees of two impoverished adolescents.
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After then, I have consistently committed my talent, skills, finance, and other resources to community development activities, coaching, and mentoring to build adolescents and young people for purposeful impact. In 2017, I established a non-governmental organization named Youth Health and Life Skills Development Initiative (YHLDI) for the sole purpose of reaching out to this target group to reposition them as future leaders in all the fields of their choice. I anchored and sponsored a weekly radio program tagged “Time out with Dr Yetty” for six months to equip young people with the requisite knowledge to lead productive lives. I have donated about 300 copies of my books to young people in secondary schools. I have organized various sensitization programs for adolescents and young people in schools, and maintained a rich web presence to educate and train my target audience consistently.
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, I productively engaged about 400 young people in weekly highly impactful webinars on the WhatsApp platform. The YHLDI organization has reached out to over 5,000 adolescents and young people. I have received testimonials from young people who have been better guided to make informed decisions about their lives because of the organization’s intervention. I have been serving as the National Treasurer of the Society for Adolescents and Young People’s Health in Nigeria from 2018 till date. I am also a member of the International Association on Adolescent Health (IAAH).