LAGOS — Women empowerment organisation ARISE is marking 18 years of service with a two-day anniversary programme in Lagos focused on impact, advocacy and community intervention.
Founded and led by Advocate Dr. Siju Iluyomade, ARISE says its work over the past 18 years has moved beyond speeches to practical action in women empowerment, girl-child development, healthcare, education and community projects including hospital initiatives and borehole provision. According to the organisation, the anniversary theme “IMPACT” reflects a deliberate push to assess how much more can be done, not just how far it has come. “Empowerment is not just a word,” ARISE stated. “It is a woman acquiring a skill, a girl staying in school, a patient receiving care, a community gaining clean water.”
Activities will begin with the *ARISE WALK FOR LIFE* on Saturday, October 31, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. The walk will start and end at the Grand Ballroom, Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, with participants wearing the ARISE 18th Anniversary T-shirt to promote healthy living and community wellbeing. The *ARISE CONFERENCE* follows on Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at the same venue, with a free Ankara dress code. The event will feature stakeholders, beneficiaries and partners, and will include free medical services — health screenings, dental care, ophthalmology consultations and free eyeglasses — as well as the organisation’s signature ARISE Pink Buckets outreach.
ARISE said the 18th anniversary is both a reflection and a call to do more. “Organisations do not become legacies merely by surviving. They become legacies by leaving something behind,” the group noted, inviting the public, corporate bodies and the media to join the celebration.
ARISE! ARISE! ARISE! — 18 Years of IMPACT. 18 Years of EMPOWERMENT. 18 Years of CHANGING LIVES.
