The Nigeria I See: Chibuzor Agomuoh and The SunRise Crew
The SunRise Youth Intervention Organisation has been on for nearly six years. Chibuzor Agomuoh, a graduate of Human Physiology from the University of Calabar never envisioned starting a not-for-profit organisation His initial plan was to raise some money after NYSC, move to England to study Physiotherapy.
As at the time of his NYSC year, SunRise had been on for three years. It was while seeking God in prayer that He made it clear to him that SunRise was not just a hobby, but a responsibility.
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Chibuzor Agomuoh, the Director of the SunRise Youth Intervention Organization
TNIS: What is the SunRise Youth Intervention Organisation about and how was it birthed?
Chibuzor Agomuoh:The SunRise Youth Intervention Organisation is an independent faith based organisation with primary focus on youth intervention and youth development.
Many times I have been asked this question: what inspired you to start SunRise? SunRise is purely the concept of the Spirit of God given to me in the place of prayer. I didn't go into my work with young people because someone else was doing something 'cute' in that regard. I have served in several youth organisations right from my teen years, but never for one day did I imagine starting my own work. I just served because I wanted to help people.
TNIS: Tell us more about your target group…
Chibuzor Agomuoh: Our major focus is the young demographic: adolescents and young adults. The best time to have a sense of direction in life is while you are young. You bend the iron while it's hot, because when it gets cold it's going to be a lot more difficult to bend.
We are doing practically everything possible to get the attention of young persons and to reposition them for greater value.
TNIS: How have you been able to get the attention of young people?
Chibuzor Agomuoh: We do this through the following means:
1) The SunRise School Tour which serves to educate students on Sexual & Reproductive Health; Security & Safety Tips; Principles of Academic Excellence; and The Good news of Jesus Christ.
2) The SunRise Academy for Young Leaders - a two-week holiday training we hold for teenagers and young adults in April, August and December. Young persons are equipped with basic life skills ranging from Web development, Relationship Management, Excellence oriented Living, Leadership Basics, to Personal finance, Social Graces and a lot more. Certificates are issued out by the end of the training.
3) The SunRise SMS devotional (which reaches about 3,000 persons in six countries).
4) Our weekly radio talk show: 'The SunRise Convo with Chibuzor' on Hit 95.9FM.
5) Our website: www.sunrisegospelzone.com.
Here we have loads of articles, news, transcripts of our talk show, and reports of some of our life-changing projects.
6) The SunRise Prisons Outreach. This will begin August 1, 2017 in partnership with .the International Bible Society.
The results have been quite humbling. I get inspiring messages from young persons every week telling me of how some of our projects have given them a renewed sense of hope, inspiring them to live right and pursue their dreams tenaciously.
TNIS: What has been your biggest challenge so far? How was it overcome?
Chibuzor Agomuoh: My biggest challenge? Someone might think my biggest challenge was funding, but that wasn't it. My biggest challenge was compartmentalizing my work as an ordained Pastor serving in a Church, as Founder/director of my organisation, and as an entrepreneur managing a small business. SunRise started as a hobby. I don't know what I would have done without Patrick Ndifon, Cheerful Light and my brother, Chinedu Agomuoh. They are among the sweetest human beings you would ever know and I am grateful to have them.
Our friendship and partnership created an easy platform for collaboration and co-operation, which I believe is a critical ingredient for every successful venture. You need to have a team. You need to respect and value what your team is bringing to the table, especially when they come with their A-game. You don't need to be the 'centre of the universe'.
So, creating space for SunRise in my life was pretty much a challenge. I have so much to do as a pastor and as the director for SunRise. I had to learn to compartmentalize my activities so that one does not crash into the other. I had to train myself to prioritize, to strategize and to delegate. I tell you, being a pastor in itself is so much work. You have to preach, pray and counsel. Several times you would need to travel to preach, you also need to travel for trainings and conferences. It was becoming a problem to me because I was at a time cancelling speaking engagements just to make sure I meet up my SunRise calendar and a lot of persons where not happy. Then sometimes I would have to put so much pressure on my people at SunRise to do a job I wasn't really ready to do because I had pastoral obligations.
At a time someone said I was a 'benevolent dictator', and at the same time an 'excellent collaborator' (laughs). Maybe he had to add the second phrase thinking I might get pissed (laughs). Being someone close to me, I very much understood his point of view, and he meant no harm. Many times I was fierce with my approach to meet up demands, but over time I have learnt to balance things up. I have learnt to judge my intentions carefully. I have learnt to say 'no' when I am not comfortable travelling to speak for someone without feeling guilty, and 'yes' when I know I am very much comfortable with it and it's the will of God.
TNIS: Can you shed more light on your recent venture into radio?
Chibuzor Agomuoh:My venture into radio was a weird one (laughs). It was sometime last year, I was preparing my luggage for a trip. While folding my clothes I muttered to God, "Lord, we just had our 5th anniversary at SunRise. I would have loved to go on radio to talk about our work, but we don't have enough money for that. Our budget is really tight. I sincerely would have loved for us to go on radio to talk about it, at least for once."
Then as I stepped into the bathroom, I heard a still small voice in my heart say, “You are asking for money to pay for short radio time, but I am giving you a radio show." I paused. My heart began to pound fast, honestly! That was the voice of the Holy Spirit. I know it so well and when He speaks I know something is definitely going to happen. Those on my team would tell you that having a radio show was never my plan at the beginning. God placed it in my heart.
Having a paid show on Hit FM is really expensive. You need to be courageous to take that step. I had been a guest on radio a couple of times which I can count only on my 5 left fingers. I had no experience of radio presenting. Early in the year I told myself that I was ready to do new things, to stretch myself, to start more life changing projects
The show seeks to provide young persons with quality and practical information on their personal lives, business, career and spiritual development. It's a capacity building programme.
Thanks to some of my amazing friends and partners of our organisation: Ms Imani Dove, Mr. Victor Oziegbe, Prof. Christine Ikpeme, Barr. Geraldine Ekanem, Prof. Edisua Itam, Mr. Peter Bisong, Mr. Itam Hogan, Mr. Ayotunde Oladipupo, Mr. Chinedu Erinne, Mr. John Azuma, Mr. Edidem Basiekanem, and my brother, Mr. Chidiebere Agomuoh, the Show has been on air since April 8, 2017 on Hit 95.9FM every Saturday by 10am. It has had excellent reviews.
We are running the Show debt-free.
TNIS: How do you recruit and retain your staff? Are they paid?
Chibuzor Agomuoh:If I were to pay those working on my team for every service rendered, I would go bankrupt. I don't think I can adequately pay these guys. I am blessed to have persons on my team who, like myself, have a different means of livelihood, and who sacrificially give of themselves to change the lives of tens of thousands. SunRise has an impressive reputation with a lot of people thinking that we must have a dense work force, no that's not true. Patrick Ndifon, Cheerful Light, and I have skilfully managed this work with several volunteers who come to serve from time to time.
SunRise is a product of the kindness of dozens of individuals. The work we do is quite heavy but fulfilling, and I do not take their sacrifices for granted. I have a team of blessed men and women.
See, during the early days, we would spend so much for our school tour programmes that we would run out of money, and Patrick would have to run to the ATM to withdraw his own money to handle a need at SunRise. We wanted to make our free training sessions so phenomenal and at the same time we wanted to cut cost so much that Cheerful would plead with a friend to lend his Projector to us. At one time he had to run like a toy in the rain to hand it over to us while he hurried back to the office (laughs).
You know the amazing thing about our work over the years is, we have never applied for a grant. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But it's the truth. We have never applied for a grant. Just a few months ago we began striking some partnership deals with some organisations, like The International Bible Society. We did not apply for such partnership. They came to us.
Come to think of it, must you apply for a grant before you can change the world? There is nothing wrong in applying for a grant. We might do so in the future. But if I may ask, the giant organisations giving grants to lesser organisations, how did they start? They started by gaining community support. This is what I would advise anyone seeking to start a community development initiative.
Whether your work is focused on health, education, or the environment, you must have a burning desire to solve problems in that regard. Community support ensures the sustainability of your work. I know of friends who depend on grants for their work, but they are amazed by the impact of our work. Sometimes the amount of resources we invest in our projects is much higher than the grants they receive. When grants from big organisations don't come, what do you do? Do you continue to procrastinate?
Nigerians are very giving, provided they know they are giving to something noble. Start with your own money, that will inspire and challenge people. Let your work speak for you. Start small to grow big.
Also, you don't necessarily need to start an organisation to effect a change in your community. Learn the culture of saving some money from your salary for benevolence. This is one thing I admire about the Americans. They have a culture of donating to charity, $10, $20.
We are making plans to start having full time staffs in 2018. Cheerful, Patrick and I started talking about this early this year and we have selected those we are sending for trainings that would last months before they can assume office next year. This is to ensure that the work grows consistently as we leave it in the hands of faithful people, giving us room to focus on other things.
TNIS: What role do you see the Sunrise Youth Intervention Organisation playing the development of Nigeria in the next 5 years? How are you working towards it?
Chibuzor Agomuoh:The Nigerian youth is the future of this great country. Conscientizing young persons on their obligation to themselves, their families and to this nation is what we are passionate about. Teaching them to take responsibility for the change they want to see in their community is one of it.
In the next 5 years, I see SunRise grow significantly in this direction in the next five years. There is no youth rehabilitation centre for drug addicts in this part of Nigeria. That has been my concern and part of our plans for the future. I would be glad if the government or if someone else is able to set up one in the near future. I have sat with parents who weep as they tell me about the drug addiction of their children. By the grace of God we have been able to provide help to some of them, and we are working towards increasing our capacity to helping more persons with such problems.
I am so proud of the crop of young Nigerians we have now. So many of them are doing amazing things all around this country and all around the world, seeking to change the status quo. I am glad SunRise is a part of this transformation. Gradually our modus operandi as a nation is changing. We are beginning to incorporate excellence in our work making it have a global appeal. My desire is that young Nigerians everywhere would embrace this new mindset and make something better out of their lives. That is the forecast of our work in the next five years.
TNIS: Thank you Chibuzor for this opportunity. I look forward to seeing your organisation grow in her global reach and influence. Well done.
Chibuzor Agomuoh: Thank you, Minka, for this interview.
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Chibuzor Agomuoh, the Director of the SunRise Youth Intervention Organization
TNIS: What is the SunRise Youth Intervention Organisation about and how was it birthed?
Chibuzor Agomuoh:The SunRise Youth Intervention Organisation is an independent faith based organisation with primary focus on youth intervention and youth development.
Many times I have been asked this question: what inspired you to start SunRise? SunRise is purely the concept of the Spirit of God given to me in the place of prayer. I didn't go into my work with young people because someone else was doing something 'cute' in that regard. I have served in several youth organisations right from my teen years, but never for one day did I imagine starting my own work. I just served because I wanted to help people.
TNIS: Tell us more about your target group…
Chibuzor Agomuoh: Our major focus is the young demographic: adolescents and young adults. The best time to have a sense of direction in life is while you are young. You bend the iron while it's hot, because when it gets cold it's going to be a lot more difficult to bend.
We are doing practically everything possible to get the attention of young persons and to reposition them for greater value.
TNIS: How have you been able to get the attention of young people?
Chibuzor Agomuoh: We do this through the following means:
1) The SunRise School Tour which serves to educate students on Sexual & Reproductive Health; Security & Safety Tips; Principles of Academic Excellence; and The Good news of Jesus Christ.
2) The SunRise Academy for Young Leaders - a two-week holiday training we hold for teenagers and young adults in April, August and December. Young persons are equipped with basic life skills ranging from Web development, Relationship Management, Excellence oriented Living, Leadership Basics, to Personal finance, Social Graces and a lot more. Certificates are issued out by the end of the training.
3) The SunRise SMS devotional (which reaches about 3,000 persons in six countries).
4) Our weekly radio talk show: 'The SunRise Convo with Chibuzor' on Hit 95.9FM.
5) Our website: www.sunrisegospelzone.com.
Here we have loads of articles, news, transcripts of our talk show, and reports of some of our life-changing projects.
6) The SunRise Prisons Outreach. This will begin August 1, 2017 in partnership with .the International Bible Society.
The results have been quite humbling. I get inspiring messages from young persons every week telling me of how some of our projects have given them a renewed sense of hope, inspiring them to live right and pursue their dreams tenaciously.
TNIS: What has been your biggest challenge so far? How was it overcome?
Chibuzor Agomuoh: My biggest challenge? Someone might think my biggest challenge was funding, but that wasn't it. My biggest challenge was compartmentalizing my work as an ordained Pastor serving in a Church, as Founder/director of my organisation, and as an entrepreneur managing a small business. SunRise started as a hobby. I don't know what I would have done without Patrick Ndifon, Cheerful Light and my brother, Chinedu Agomuoh. They are among the sweetest human beings you would ever know and I am grateful to have them.
Our friendship and partnership created an easy platform for collaboration and co-operation, which I believe is a critical ingredient for every successful venture. You need to have a team. You need to respect and value what your team is bringing to the table, especially when they come with their A-game. You don't need to be the 'centre of the universe'.
So, creating space for SunRise in my life was pretty much a challenge. I have so much to do as a pastor and as the director for SunRise. I had to learn to compartmentalize my activities so that one does not crash into the other. I had to train myself to prioritize, to strategize and to delegate. I tell you, being a pastor in itself is so much work. You have to preach, pray and counsel. Several times you would need to travel to preach, you also need to travel for trainings and conferences. It was becoming a problem to me because I was at a time cancelling speaking engagements just to make sure I meet up my SunRise calendar and a lot of persons where not happy. Then sometimes I would have to put so much pressure on my people at SunRise to do a job I wasn't really ready to do because I had pastoral obligations.
At a time someone said I was a 'benevolent dictator', and at the same time an 'excellent collaborator' (laughs). Maybe he had to add the second phrase thinking I might get pissed (laughs). Being someone close to me, I very much understood his point of view, and he meant no harm. Many times I was fierce with my approach to meet up demands, but over time I have learnt to balance things up. I have learnt to judge my intentions carefully. I have learnt to say 'no' when I am not comfortable travelling to speak for someone without feeling guilty, and 'yes' when I know I am very much comfortable with it and it's the will of God.
TNIS: Can you shed more light on your recent venture into radio?
Chibuzor Agomuoh:My venture into radio was a weird one (laughs). It was sometime last year, I was preparing my luggage for a trip. While folding my clothes I muttered to God, "Lord, we just had our 5th anniversary at SunRise. I would have loved to go on radio to talk about our work, but we don't have enough money for that. Our budget is really tight. I sincerely would have loved for us to go on radio to talk about it, at least for once."
Then as I stepped into the bathroom, I heard a still small voice in my heart say, “You are asking for money to pay for short radio time, but I am giving you a radio show." I paused. My heart began to pound fast, honestly! That was the voice of the Holy Spirit. I know it so well and when He speaks I know something is definitely going to happen. Those on my team would tell you that having a radio show was never my plan at the beginning. God placed it in my heart.
Having a paid show on Hit FM is really expensive. You need to be courageous to take that step. I had been a guest on radio a couple of times which I can count only on my 5 left fingers. I had no experience of radio presenting. Early in the year I told myself that I was ready to do new things, to stretch myself, to start more life changing projects
The show seeks to provide young persons with quality and practical information on their personal lives, business, career and spiritual development. It's a capacity building programme.
Thanks to some of my amazing friends and partners of our organisation: Ms Imani Dove, Mr. Victor Oziegbe, Prof. Christine Ikpeme, Barr. Geraldine Ekanem, Prof. Edisua Itam, Mr. Peter Bisong, Mr. Itam Hogan, Mr. Ayotunde Oladipupo, Mr. Chinedu Erinne, Mr. John Azuma, Mr. Edidem Basiekanem, and my brother, Mr. Chidiebere Agomuoh, the Show has been on air since April 8, 2017 on Hit 95.9FM every Saturday by 10am. It has had excellent reviews.
We are running the Show debt-free.
TNIS: How do you recruit and retain your staff? Are they paid?
Chibuzor Agomuoh:If I were to pay those working on my team for every service rendered, I would go bankrupt. I don't think I can adequately pay these guys. I am blessed to have persons on my team who, like myself, have a different means of livelihood, and who sacrificially give of themselves to change the lives of tens of thousands. SunRise has an impressive reputation with a lot of people thinking that we must have a dense work force, no that's not true. Patrick Ndifon, Cheerful Light, and I have skilfully managed this work with several volunteers who come to serve from time to time.
SunRise is a product of the kindness of dozens of individuals. The work we do is quite heavy but fulfilling, and I do not take their sacrifices for granted. I have a team of blessed men and women.
See, during the early days, we would spend so much for our school tour programmes that we would run out of money, and Patrick would have to run to the ATM to withdraw his own money to handle a need at SunRise. We wanted to make our free training sessions so phenomenal and at the same time we wanted to cut cost so much that Cheerful would plead with a friend to lend his Projector to us. At one time he had to run like a toy in the rain to hand it over to us while he hurried back to the office (laughs).
You know the amazing thing about our work over the years is, we have never applied for a grant. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But it's the truth. We have never applied for a grant. Just a few months ago we began striking some partnership deals with some organisations, like The International Bible Society. We did not apply for such partnership. They came to us.
Come to think of it, must you apply for a grant before you can change the world? There is nothing wrong in applying for a grant. We might do so in the future. But if I may ask, the giant organisations giving grants to lesser organisations, how did they start? They started by gaining community support. This is what I would advise anyone seeking to start a community development initiative.
Whether your work is focused on health, education, or the environment, you must have a burning desire to solve problems in that regard. Community support ensures the sustainability of your work. I know of friends who depend on grants for their work, but they are amazed by the impact of our work. Sometimes the amount of resources we invest in our projects is much higher than the grants they receive. When grants from big organisations don't come, what do you do? Do you continue to procrastinate?
Nigerians are very giving, provided they know they are giving to something noble. Start with your own money, that will inspire and challenge people. Let your work speak for you. Start small to grow big.
Also, you don't necessarily need to start an organisation to effect a change in your community. Learn the culture of saving some money from your salary for benevolence. This is one thing I admire about the Americans. They have a culture of donating to charity, $10, $20.
We are making plans to start having full time staffs in 2018. Cheerful, Patrick and I started talking about this early this year and we have selected those we are sending for trainings that would last months before they can assume office next year. This is to ensure that the work grows consistently as we leave it in the hands of faithful people, giving us room to focus on other things.
TNIS: What role do you see the Sunrise Youth Intervention Organisation playing the development of Nigeria in the next 5 years? How are you working towards it?
Chibuzor Agomuoh:The Nigerian youth is the future of this great country. Conscientizing young persons on their obligation to themselves, their families and to this nation is what we are passionate about. Teaching them to take responsibility for the change they want to see in their community is one of it.
In the next 5 years, I see SunRise grow significantly in this direction in the next five years. There is no youth rehabilitation centre for drug addicts in this part of Nigeria. That has been my concern and part of our plans for the future. I would be glad if the government or if someone else is able to set up one in the near future. I have sat with parents who weep as they tell me about the drug addiction of their children. By the grace of God we have been able to provide help to some of them, and we are working towards increasing our capacity to helping more persons with such problems.
I am so proud of the crop of young Nigerians we have now. So many of them are doing amazing things all around this country and all around the world, seeking to change the status quo. I am glad SunRise is a part of this transformation. Gradually our modus operandi as a nation is changing. We are beginning to incorporate excellence in our work making it have a global appeal. My desire is that young Nigerians everywhere would embrace this new mindset and make something better out of their lives. That is the forecast of our work in the next five years.
TNIS: Thank you Chibuzor for this opportunity. I look forward to seeing your organisation grow in her global reach and influence. Well done.
Chibuzor Agomuoh: Thank you, Minka, for this interview.
Youth is hope, youth is the future.
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