A young woman, Oyefunde Bukola, sits on a white plastic chair outside her home in rural Ondo State, Nigeria. She faces the camera calmly, surrounded by lush green trees and a partially built brick structure.

Our impact, their story

How Oyefunde Bukola escaped child labour and found a future in Nigeria

After years of hardship and child labour, 20-year-old Oyefunde Bukola found a path forward through the ILO’s ACCEL Africa project. With training in makeup artistry and the support to begin her own work, she is reshaping her future with confidence and hope, in her own words.

15 December 2025

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My name is Oyefunde Bukola, and I am 20 years old. I was born in Ibadan in Nigeria, and from the beginning, life was very tough for me. Things were never smooth. My mother raised us on her own. She kept struggling to send us to school by selling pepper, palm oil, and other small things. I still went to school, but not every day. Sometimes I would go on Monday and be sent home on Tuesday because we couldn’t pay. There were days we had no food. There were days I stayed home and cried, wondering why life was like this.

When I was twelve, my mother asked her younger sister in Lagos if she could take me in, so she could have a lighter burden and send the others to school. My aunt promised she would put me in school. I believed her. But when I arrived, that was not what happened. Instead, I became a housemaid. I cooked, washed clothes, cleaned, took care of her children, and worked late into the night, yet she never registered me in school. I lived like that for almost three years.

One day, a neighbour encouraged me to tell my mother the truth. I borrowed a phone to call her and told her everything. She cried. A neighbour even gave me transport money to return home. When my aunt called my mother the next day, she lied that I was still with her. But I never went back.

Life did not get easier after that. My mother took us here to Akure, hoping things would improve, but we faced more hardship. At fifteen, I found myself doing farm work just to eat. The money was so small, like peanuts. And because we had nothing, I had to stop school completely so my younger siblings could continue. Sometimes, I felt like my life was disappearing. I was afraid that if things continued like this, I would end up in a marriage I was too young for, simply because there was no other way out.

A smiling young woman, Oyefunde Bukola, laughs with her hand raised slightly as she stands outdoors in her community in Ondo State, Nigeria. Lush green foliage surrounds her, and she appears relaxed and joyful. — Oyefunde Bukola shares a moment of laughter in her community, reflecting the confidence and hope she has gained after leaving child labour behind through the ILO’s ACCEL Africa project.

Then, one day, everything changed.

Some leaders in our community came to me and asked if I was interested in a programme by the ILO called ACCEL. I had never heard of the ILO in my life. I didn’t know what it meant. But I went. They asked me which work I wanted to learn, and without hesitation I said makeup. I had loved makeup since my time in Lagos, watching people get ready for events. I had passion for it.

I trained for six months. The ILO checked on us constantly. They stood by us. After the training, they told us they would give us equipment. I did not believe it. How could someone like me ever afford makeup kits? But when I arrived, I saw many boxes and tools. I asked myself, “Am I dreaming?” When they called my name and handed me my kit, I almost cried. I never thought I could get something like that, not even in ten years.

Oyefunde Bukola stands with three other young community members and ACCEL Africa beneficiaries in Aponmu, Ondo State. The group smiles warmly at the camera, surrounded by green vegetation and their houses in the background. — Oyefunde Bukola with fellow ACCEL Africa beneficiaries in Aponmu, young people who are building better futures after leaving child labour behind with support from the ILO.

With the equipment, my life truly started to change.

I continued learning; beyond makeup, I studied how to fix lashes, how to understand new products that come out every year. I wanted my customers to trust me and never complain. Today, people call me for weddings, naming ceremonies, burials, photoshoots, many types of events. Even though I don’t yet have my own shop, my boss gives me jobs, and I can now support myself and help my family. I am saving so that one day I can open my own studio and become a boss of my own.

If the ILO had not come to our community, I would have still been on the farm with no future. I would have remained in suffering, maybe forced into early marriage. Instead, I now have work, skills, confidence, and dreams.

I thank the ILO and ACCEL Africa with all my heart. I don’t know how to express it fully, but they changed my life. They gave me a future.

And now, when I look ahead, I see hope.

Find out more:

ACCEL Africa is tackling child labour in Nigeria's cocoa sector by promoting business development and formalization.
The project also works with vulnerable communities to teach them about the risks children face in farming and the importance of education.
ACCEL Africa is also supporting Nigeria's efforts to expand social protection to cocoa farmers, miners, and informal workers at risk of child labour. This includes updating social registers, expanding health insurance coverage, and through cash transfers in Ondo and Osun States.
ACCEL Africa is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.