At the 2025 commemoration of Nigeria’s Independence, we joined Montage Radio 99.7 FM to highlight the importance of teaching history as a foundation for national growth and global contribution.

Ramatu Ada Ochekliye spoke at the Women Community in Africa (WCA) Town Hall Meeting, themed: “Empowered to Lead – Changing Attitudes Towards Female Leadership.”

We hosted ten storytellers for our capacity-strengthening session on Social Media and Mobile Photography for Advocacy.

Together, we looked at gender equality and mainstreaming, behavioral drivers for advocacy and change, the art of telling stories for social media, and using mobile photographs as a tool for advocacy.

To commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child and Mental Health Day, our Founder and Portfolio Director, Ramatu Ada Ochekliye, joined Montage 99.7 FM on October 11, 2025, to discuss the theme “The Change I Lead: Building a Mentally Healthy Generation of Girls.”

We attended the National Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Conference hosted by Stand With A Girl Initiative (SWAG) on April 8, 2025, in Abuja. The conference was a vital platform for dialogue and collaboration aimed at finding sustainable solutions to improve the lives of IDPs in Nigeria.

As with the previous editions, Shades of Us joined NHW on March 28, 2025, for the third edition of the Gala in Abuja. The theme this year was “Her Strength in Every Story: Creative Expressions for Women’s Health,”. It was a reminder that creative expression is not just a mirror to society; it is a megaphone for change.

At Shades of Us, Menstrual Hygiene Day is a time to reaffirm our commitment to supporting menstrual health and hygiene initiatives. Through education, advocacy, and partnerships, we strive to ensure that everyone has access to the resources and support they need to manage menstruation safely and with dignity.

Shades of Us attended the Internally Displaced Women’s Conference at Wassa IDP Camp because we believe in amplifying voices, fostering empathy and understanding, advocating for rights, collaborating with stakeholders, and contributing to capacity-building efforts aimed at empowering internally displaced women.

We were honored to attend the official country launch of mothers2mothers (m2m) Nigeria in Abuja.

The premiere of our short film FLOW, a short film that is about period poverty, and the pressing need to promote empowerment, dignity, and resilience when it comes to periods.

Strong Enough Girls Empowerment Initiative (SEGEI) collaborated with GLAMODI Women and Girls Development Initiative to host its ninth annual Purple Ball to celebrate women’s empowerment, inclusion, and leadership commemorating the 2024 International Women’s Day. 

We are joining the world to commemorate the 16 Days Of Activism Against Gender Based Violence as we continue to advocate for equity, awareness, and resilience in our communities

Our Founder, Ramatu Ada Ochekliye, was invited to The Sunshine Series ‘Brunch and Rejuvenate’ event in commemoration of International Women’s Day. ‘Brunch and Rejuvenate’ was such a beautiful, calming session to celebrate women in leadership, connect with people with shared values, and remind ourselves that we are deserving of rest. Enjoy some memories from the event.

Shades of Us produces documentaries and other types of storytelling products. We are open to partnerships with other non-profit organizations working to promote the global goals and make the world a better place for all of us.

In 2021, Shades of Us attended the State of States Report launch organized by Budgit Nigeria. Every year, through the State of States report, Budgit assesses the long-term fiscal sustainability of all the 36 Nigerian states, and ranks their fiscal performance, from the most sustainable to the least sustainable.

The DARE Conference is a two-day conference organised by YouthHubAfrica, which sought to bring together over 500 young Africans to discuss and benefit from the practical experience of other youth speakers and artists who share personal life experiences, success stories as well as their vision regarding an end to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Against women and girls in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Shades of Us produces films around the sustainable development goals as they affect Africa, Africans and people of African descent. These films are usually precluded by rigorous script readings and rehearsals. Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures.

Jela’s Development Initiatives (JDI) launched the J Blood Match App, an artificial intelligence application that connects voluntary blood donors to recipients using their blood type and location, on February 9, 2023.

Maternal health is a critical issue in Nigeria, with thousands of women dying each year due to preventable causes. In recognition of this pressing challenge, Nigeria Health Watch organized the second edition of the Celebrating Womanhood Art Gala, focused on “Elevating Women’s Voices for Quality Maternal Health Care.”

Shades of Us partnered with Save our Women (SOW) Foundation for the ‘1 Girl, 1 Pad’ campaign in 2017 to provide young women in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Abuja with sanitary pads. The goal was to ensure every female in the selected IDP camp had enough pads for at least three months, assuming she has a menstrual period of three days.

Shades of Us produced four films around sexual and gender-based violence and mental health.  They are Report It, The Dumps, That Whole Area of Grey, and Flip the Switch. These films were screened to a small group of people in Abuja on November 1, 2021. Here are pictures from the premiere.

We are excited to be working with the Idimma Project on their Strong Voices Project, a radio drama on mental health across cutting various themes.