How God gave me divine leading to set up Voice of Influence Foundation – Mrs. Grace Adekanle

There are so many Foundations today around the world, but not all of them are genuinely and passionately pursuing their objectives and goals.

The Voice of Influence Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), established to help indigents members of the society is a break from the norm.

Over the years, The Voice of Influence Foundation has set itself apart from all other Foundations by genuinely and passionately rendering selfless service to humanity, saving the people from poverty, hunger, all forms of abuse and inhumane treatment to human beings.

Hundreds of thousands of people have benefitted and are still benefiting from the benevolence of Voice of Influence Foundation.

Many are the testimonies of young boys and girls, widows and single mothers, aged and the poor who have benefitted from the various empowerment programmes of the foundation.

The Foundation has helped thousands of Nigerians to survive in this trying and perilous time of the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic.

Food items such as bags of rice, beans, garri, cartoons of noodles among others have been donated to thousands of widows, single mothers and aged while cash donations were also made to others.

The President and Founder of the Voice of Influence Foundation, Chief Mrs. Grace Adekanle in this interview with Nigeriastandardng bears her mind on the achievements, vision and mission of the foundation.

She also went down memory lane and revealed how God gave her the divine leading to establish the foundation.

Excerpts…..

Q: Can we meet you ma?

A: My name is Mrs. Grace Adekanle, the President and Founder of Voice of Influence Foundation.

Q: What is Voice of Influence Foundation all about?

A: The Voice of Influence Foundation is a Non-Governmental Organisation that is solely responsible for helping and taking care of the less privileged in the society. We are focused on helping the youth – boys and girls, school children, widows, single mothers aged, among others.

We give voice to the voiceless, hope to the hopeless. We give voices to girl-child, widows and the aged through our different empowerment programmes. We also counsel the youth and school children.

We were founded to stand as a voice for the voiceless and help to the helpless. We are support children and youth to reach their full potential.

Q: How do achieve all these?

A: God has been our pillar of support. We have sponsors, donors, local and international partners. But our major source of support and strength has been the Almighty God.

Voice of Influence Foundation is God’s child, it is an idea from God. I got a leading from God to set up the foundation.

Q: How did you start the foundation?

A: I would say my own case was the case of a message given to me in my dream so to speak I would want to say is a dream though it was not really like it was in the midnight but in the afternoon. I just lay on my couch to relax because it was raining and I got a message in the dream. I don’t know what to call it, was a dream or trance or whatever I don’t know and in that message the message said get a paper and a pen and write  down something.

The message said, write voice I wrote it down, the person said sign, I now signed but I have two signature I have one that I use for my regular bank so I now signed, the person said no, this is not your real signature you write down write today’s date and sign your real signature on this paper and I did like in the dream you know and I wrote down that date June 19 2016.

I wrote that down I signed and the message that said give voice to the voiceless and help the needy I just woke up from my trance and I went to meet my daughter, I said something happened to me now, I said a message came in that I should write voice I don’t understand I don’t have any body that own a foundation or anything and that message said when you go into it counsel women you have to talk to them let them speak out their mind to you and all that  so I was a little bit confused and  what I did was the next I call my Pastor that I want to see him, he said I should come along all he said to me then in 2016 was Mrs Ade, God wants to use you. When I left his office I was  like what is this man saying go ahead with what precisely I didn’t understand it so I now came back home still in my confused state I was just like what happened this person that said something to me in my spirit said I should write my name I should write the  name of this foundation and signed and put my date so I went to Pastor and throughout that 2016, I didn’t think about it because I was like where am I even going to start, I don’t even know what a foundation is all about but after a year that messages kept occurring how do I go about this things I don’t  even know who to talk to  so I just sent a message to somebody on Facebook, I think I have been following her she has a foundation about Youth, I just sent her a message and said, please sis. I have a leading  to open up a foundation can you put me through she didn’t reply I got discouraged I just relaxed so eventually I met a friend who sell wave on but before I met her that was in 2018 I used to have one girl that comes to me, she is always calling me aunty she  relate her issue to me I  counsel her talk to her and all that so then I wanted to venture into human hair business and I known that that girl sells human hair and I now call her, I said Anu please I what to go into this business can you please you know fix me with whoever you are buying from so I can start buying from that person and then learn the trade before I can even think of importing by myself she now said ok aunty let me speak with one aunty she sells human hair and she also has a foundation immediately I heard foundation that message again came back to me to me I said foundation I said anyway is the hair that I want to buy from her now she gave me the lady’s number and I called her we did a transaction and she sent me hair worth 500 thousands then I bought from her and I started selling wave on then later we got to meet.

I met her physically and I ask her if she has a foundation, she said yes she is the founder of “Make me Elegant” and I said please I want to own a foundation, I have a leading because I believe that was a leading I was into event and catering services before now I said so I don’t understand she said well she will put me through not that she knows everything but from the little that she knows she will also explain things to me and all that and that was in 2018. She said well we should bring our resources together go to Ooni of Ife and there will be a program there. She will speak with Ooni of Ife we will have a program there she now said what is the name of my foundation I now said “Voice of Influence” and she said just say Voice Foundation she now said am I ready to start I said no so that now occur to me that I need to register a foundation and now I called a friend who is a lawyer, Barrister Bola then and I said Barrister Bola, I want to have a foundation she said wants the name of your foundation and I said “Voice Foundation” because I was still acting on the leading she said ok and later told me there was a banned on voice on anything foundation so I called another Barrister I have, she is like a kid sister to me and I called her and I said I have an issue, I ask Bola to do little search for me  and she is telling me that there is a banned on “Voice” that is it possible like that I now said maybe there are two many Voices around  because she use to call me mum she now said mum what do we now do I said I continue to think about it so I now said when we wanted to have that program my friend said we need to have the name of your foundation I sent her like two Voices, I think “Voice of a Jewel” when I said “Voice of a Queen”, she now said the people you want to reach out with are not Queens they people who are suffering that you are the ones that we now lift them to that Queen position so don’t give your foundation “Voice of a Queen” in my confused state and I called the Barrister, I said my friend rejected like two names I give her she now said who are you trying to reach and I now said well from my heart I will prefer to reach the teenagers. I will be prefer to counsel them motivate them to have program for teenage girls who are confused about what they want in life who have been experiencing some  kind of heart break they people to share their experiences with them need to put on track  she said ok mum can I call any for you and I said ok Voice must be there she now said, “Voices of Influence” and I said I think I like that because all the name have been calling myself, my friend has rejecting it. I said, I want to influence people through my voice I want to influence youths and teenagers. I want influence women, I now stick to that name so I sent her money for name set and then few days she called me she said, mum congratulations this name has been accepted      and then I ask her what and what do you need for me pay she now call me I should send my picture do this do that so to the glory of God the name was registered and I said to myself, “I’m now the President and Founder of Voice of Influence” that was how we started I have touched a lot of lives.

Q: How has the journey been so far?

A: We started in October, 2018 and since then God has been helping us. We have never looked back since we started. It has been from one success story to another. God has really used us to touch so many lives.

We owe everything to God and our various partners and donors.