Unlocking dreams and building bridges through education and empowerment

Margaret Awoyo is a Class of 2024 Millennium Fellow from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She also won the 2025 MCN Stories competition. Margaret joined Adrija Das of Team MCN to talk about her experience with the Millennium Fellowship. The interview has been edited for clarity and length by Team MCN.

Adrija, Team MCN: Thank you so much for joining me to talk about your Millennium Fellowship story and the journey after the fellowship. Why don't you begin by telling me a little bit about yourself and who you are. 

Margaret Awoyo: My name is Margaret Awoyo, I'm a Nigerian, and at my core I would say I'm a storyteller and a bridge builder. I'm very passionate about communication and social impact.

For me, I grew up seeing so many brilliant young people who had dreams but not tools to achieve them. That planted in me a burden to create systems that would unlock opportunities regardless of where someone was born. Professionally I've worked in communications, branding and PR, helping organizations craft narratives that inspire people to take action.

My deepest passion lies in education, empowerment, and designing ecosystems where possibility is not limited by environment. That's what has shaped my journey so far, and why I wake up every day excited to build. 

Adrija, Team MCN: Could you share with us a little bit more about the work that you're doing right now and how your journey in the arena of social impact has been? 

Margaret Awoyo: Okay, right now I lead the Bridging the Gap Initiative,  under Limitless Africa. We work with underserved teenagers to improve literacy, provide mentorship, and equip them with digital skills that are directly tied to opportunities. For example, earlier this year we started a book club in schools. Kids have told us, “oh, this is the first book I've ever read outside schoolwork. Oh, I understand identity better.” Moments like that have struck me, showing me how something as simple as introducing books could ignite a new horizon for a child. And on the digital side, we've introduced students to skills like video editing, writing and graphic design. One of our girls, learned graphics, started designing, and has already matched up with an industry leader. This is a reminder that when you give skills, you give dignity and responsibility. 

The journey has not been easy. Resources are scarce and sustainability is always a concern. But I've learned creativity, resilience, and the power of starting with what you have. I've also seen our community and collaboration multiply impact. Working in social impact means navigating immediate resources, but finding creative ways to make lasting change. 

Adrija, Team MCN: Of course. Thank you so much for sharing. Could you tell us a little bit more about your future aspirations? How do you plan to leverage the leadership and the social impact skills you have acquired in shaping the future? 

Margaret Awoyo: My vision is to scale Limitless Africa into a pan-African organization that transforms how we approach education and empowerment, something that really finds access to opportunity based on creativity.

I want to build student hubs that combine literacy, mentorship and digital innovation, a physical space they can walk into instead of a mobile initiative that we have to move from here to there, places where young people can learn, practice, and connect. The leadership skill I've been honing has been mobilizing people that I will use to scale this work.

From my MCN journey, I learned that impact is about consistent, thoughtful steps that create ripples. My focus is on building strong, replicable systems that will impact without losing quality or depth. 

From my MCN journey, I learned that impact is about consistent, thoughtful steps that create ripples. My focus is on building strong, replicable systems that will impact without losing quality or depth. 

Adrija Das, Team MCN: Could you describe your Millennium Fellowship journey for us, particularly how you found out about the program and what led you to apply? And are there any learnings from your time in the program that you still carry with you till this day? 

Margaret Awoyo: I found out about the  Millennium Fellowship during my undergraduate years from a friend. During the Millennium Fellowship, my project was quality education for all (QEFA). This was born out of the frustration I carried from childhood. While everyone believes education is a pathway to a better life, society has consistently failed to provide equitable access to it, especially for children in underserved communities. So QEFA was my first structured attempt to confront that disparity. I partnered with Slum2School Africa to advocate and create awareness about the access to education. We had mentorship programs for students in schools. We also had skill acquisition and we also provided psychosocial support because we were working alongside a professional psychologist to help these children in vulnerable settings. 

The deeper I went, the more I realized that awareness was not enough. Inequity wasn't just about access to classrooms. It was more about access to opportunities, mentorship, and practical tools to rise above systemic barriers. It was due to that realization that I first started Bridging the Gap under Limitless Africa.

In so many ways, my Millennium Fellowship project itself was the seed. But, you know, I would say bridging the gap is a tree that is still growing anyway. The vision has matured. It has become more practical, more measurable, closer to the sustainable impact I've always dreamed of. 

Adrija, Team MCN: Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing that. I'm curious to know if there is one experience during the fellowship that stands out for you, and what was it?

Margaret Awoyo: The fellowship was when I led my first real social impact project. But the fellowship taught me that impact is not always about skill. You know, it's about small, consistent steps that actually create change. And the campus directors then were very helpful. I still remember Gamaliel and Eniola.

Millennium Fellowship opened my eyes to the fact that passion is not enough. The passion is there. It can cause you to start, you know, but sustainable systems are what sustain it. Sustainability is not something that you can take out of your project.

Adrija, Team MCN: Thank you so much for sharing. As somebody who has been in the Millennium Fellowship program and continued on the path of social impact, what would be the one advice you would want Millennium Fellows to know as they prepare to enter the social impact space? 

Margaret Awoyo:  Start small, but stay very consistent. When it comes to social impact there's that zeal to want to do so much, want to reach so many people, you know. But when you start to see the magnitude you can easily get overwhelmed. So don't wait until you have everything figured out. Use what you have, where you are, and even who you are, and let your vision go with you. Also understand that passion ignites the fire, but purpose is what drives it.

There will be challenges, there will be doubts, and seasons of slow growth. But what will keep you grounded is the reason you started, your why. And finally, impact is not a sprint. Impact is a journey. It's something that you have to keep doing and doing. So you have to build for sustainability.

Passion ignites the fire, but purpose is what drives it.

Adrija, Team MCN: That was powerful, Margaret. Speaking about the work that you're currently doing, what would you want our Millennium Fellowship community to know? And if anybody's interested in working in the space of quality education, what would be any lesson or advice for them? 

Margaret Awoyo: I want the communities to know that Bridging the Gap initiative under Limitless Africa is about giving young Africans the chance to dream, and build beyond the environment. We work with teenagers in underserved schools, through literacy clubs, digital empowerment programs, mentorship, and exposure opportunities. Imagine a student from a rural community, not only reading their first book, but also learning web design,  building their first website, and interning with a company. That's the kind of transformation we're creating. It's important because Africa's future depends on its young people, but too many people are left behind because of geography or lack of resources.

So when we bridge this gap, we're able to unlock limitless possibilities, not just for individuals, but for the future of our continent. Transformation and impact starts with one person. You can look at the number, look what you need to solve, but you can start with one person and you don't have to cover numbers.

Transformation doesn't equal numbers, actually. It's just consistency that gives you that number. If you have transformation at the core of what you're doing, you really want to make an impact. It starts with one person.

Adrija, Team MCN: Wonderful. That brings us to the end of today's call. Thank you so much for sharing, Margaret!