Ogo Chinenye Maduewesi

Executive director, Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation

Biography

Ogo Maduewesi is a regular Nigerian girl living a normal life and having a beautiful brown pigment till someday in Feb 2005 when her skin suddenly started turning white, a condition called Vitiligo. She is a Daring, Innovative, Resilient and Dynamic lady, born into a family of six as the first daughter and second born. She was born on the 14th June 1974 in Nnewi, Anambra State Nigeria, West Africa. Ogo Maduewesi is the founder and Executive Director of Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation (VITSAF), the first Vitiligo patient-driven organisation in Africa. She started VITSAF on a shoestring budget. She was simply moved by her own experiences and search for answers to some unanswered questions and confusion about Vitiligo in her community. Ogo broke the ice and brought the Vitiligo cause (Awareness and Enlightenment) to the forefront of Nigerians and rest of Africa. She has inspired and technically supporting Vitiligo Support groups and organisations across sub-Saharan Africa. She developed the World Vitiligo Day (WVD) June 25 advocacy and campaign and collaborating efforts with so many others, but particularly Vitiligo Research Foundation USA who is the major player in WVD activities today. Ogo Maduewesi is holds a Certificate in i. Advocacy and Citizen Engagement from Coady International Institute, St Francis Xavier University Antigonish Canada(2013), ii. Social Sector Management (2011) and iii. Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management (2008) both from the prestigious Enterprise Development Center of Pan-Atlantic University Lagos. She holds a PGD in Financial Management from University of Ado Ekiti (2005); Ogo graduated from Rivers State Polytechnic with Higher National Diploma HND in Business Administration and Management (2000). She has worked in diverse sectors from Fashion, IT, Brand company, Media and also as an entrepreneur before her divine meeting with Vitiligo and thus a Vitiligo patient-advocate, changemaker and a Social Entrepreneur. She is presently studying Advanced Certificate in Nutritional Counselling having learnt the huge health benefits from her Vitiligo journey and presently advocating that to all through her blog. On the 14th of June 2012, she was inducted into the prestigious Ashoka Fellowship International as an Ashoka Fellow. Ogo maintained she is most grateful to God for experiencing life with Vitiligo, in her words ‘all I have learnt from this journey is priceless and I will forever cherish it’.