From childhood trauma to global stage: Salvation Grace earns spot at World summit

By Esther Olatimehin

Salvation Grace, a Nigerian social-impact leader and founder of the youth-led organisation, Voice Against Rape and Sexual Harassment Foundation (VARSH Foundation), was recently selected for the One Young World Summit 2025 in Munich through the Hauwa Ojeifo Scholarship, following years of advocacy against sexual abuse and gender-based violence.

While speaking with Lagos Voice, Salvation, who grew up in a rural community in Osun State, attributed her childhood experience of abuse as an inspiration to be a child advocate, across the nation. “I was sexually abused, bullied, and accused of witchcraft as a child. I struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. At age 16, I started finding my voice and volunteering with children,” she recounted.

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According to Salvation Grace, her advocacy gained formal structure when she gained admission into Obafemi Awolowo University. In her first year, she co-founded VARSH, an initiative originally operating within the OAU campus community, but has expanded to nine tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

The organisation began with an online campaign of collecting stories from survivors of rape and sexual abuse before moving to physical interventions. Since then, VARSH has reached more than 100,000 children, adolescents, and women across 67 communities in 14 states, including the FCT.

One of the cases that stands out for Salvation Grace is a girl she came across during her campaign at Osun State in 2021, who was gang-raped. “After my session, she told me, ‘Aunty, I want to be like you. I want to tell my story one day, and I want to go to university,” Salvation Grace said.

Salvation’s foundation provided counselling and follow-up support for the young survivor, leading to her revitalization, as she is currently studying in a University. Salvation acknowledged that the work of a child advocate comes with both emotional and financial strain. “My advocacy work is extremely personal,” she said. “Sometimes I want to stop, but it also heals me.”

She also added that most of VARSH’s activities were self-funded. “I save up for projects. Friends and external supporters help. It’s not sustainable, but funding will never stop us from acting.”

At the One Young World Summit, Salvation joined young leaders from across the world to discuss national challenges and develop collaborative solutions. She said one of the standout innovations was equal reach’s model for connecting refugee talent to digital work opportunities. “I believe this could be a game-changer for rural communities in Nigeria,” she said.

Salvation Grace described her selection for the summit as honour and validation of the work she has done over the years.