Dream it. Then make it happen
Nigeria’s Adebola Aderibigbe, 20, has emerged the first African and the youngest ever to receive the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Realizing The Dream Award
She won the Horizon Award at the 15th Realizing the Dream Legacy Awards Banquet. alongside former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. and former U.S. Senator Doug Jones who both received the Mountaintop Award and the Call to Conscience Award respectively.
The annual event recognises persons who provide vision, courage, and leadership to improve the quality of life for all, in line with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideals of promoting social justice, peace, and equality.
Adebola, a native of Abeokuta, Ogun State, is driven by the dream of using her journalistic prowess to amplify unheard voices and create waves of inspiration.
Her advocacy journey for the rights of the girl child started at 15 when she won the maiden edition of the now annual International Day of the Girl Child Essay Contest, beating over 1000 other contestants to the top prize.
A sophomore student at Stillman College, Alabama, Adebola is also the Manager of The House Tuscaloosa. She volunteers to promote and develop literacy in The West End Community in three areas: Educational, Musical, & Spiritual in alignment with the mission of the library.
Adebola runs an Initiative called “Girls Matter Too” and she is a volunteer member of The Legend Lifeskills Foundation, a non-governmental organisation set up with the aim of equipping young people especially girls with skills for success in life and career.
Some of the previous Horizon Award honorees include inaugural recipient Kendra Key, Tyler Merriweather, Elliot Spillers, Marissa Navarro, Quinvarlio S. Kelly, Jr., Emma Mansberg, Carina Villarreal, and Christopher Gill.