Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
19
Project title
Project Hands Off
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Project Hands Off is a school-based initiative by Redefining Narratives focused on preventing sexual abuse among secondary school students, particularly SS1–SS3.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/oluwanifemi-olatunji-6a85a0317?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios……. https://redefiningnarratives.com.ng/
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
My spark for Project Hands Off came from a question I had carried since secondary school: why was there no avenue for me to feel safe as a survivor? I remember how difficult it was to navigate that experience in an environment where conversations around sexual abuse were limited, and where support often felt inaccessible. When I got to university, I began meeting other young women and men who had experienced similar forms of abuse. What struck me was that many of them were educated and seemingly equipped with knowledge, yet they had still experienced abuse. That made me realise that the problem was not simply a lack of education. I started asking: Why can’t prevention begin in schools? And why can’t we create something that goes beyond a single awareness session? That was my “aha” moment. I realised that if we want to change how young people understand boundaries, consent, abuse and reporting, we need to reach them early and create interventions with a lasting impact. This thinking led to Project Hands Off, a school-based initiative designed not just to educate students for one day, but to begin conversations, build awareness and equip young people with knowledge they can carry beyond the classroom. I saw an opportunity to transform my experience into something that could help other young people feel safer, more informed and more empowered to speak up.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
The problem we are trying to solve is something I wish I had access to when I was in secondary school: a safe and intentional way to learn about sexual abuse, boundaries, consent and what to do when something feels wrong. Growing up, there was hardly any avenue where a survivor could feel truly safe enough to speak or seek help. When I got to university, I realised my experience was not isolated. I met young women and men who had also experienced abuse, including people who were highly educated. It made me realise that being educated does not necessarily mean being equipped to recognise abuse, set boundaries or know where to turn for help. I also noticed that many interventions focus on one-off awareness sessions. While these are important, I kept wondering what happens after the session ends. Does the conversation continue? Do students remember what they learnt? Do they feel more confident speaking up? That is the gap Project Hands Off hopes to address. We want to take prevention into schools and make it more intentional and lasting, giving young people the knowledge, language and confidence to understand their boundaries, recognise abuse and speak up when necessary. For me, this is personal, but it is also about ensuring that another young person does not have to navigate the same experience without knowing where to turn.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Project Hands Off is a four-week school-based intervention designed to make sexual, domestic and mental abuse prevention more intentional, engaging and lasting for senior secondary school students. Rather than a single awareness session, we work with schools to deliver a diverse curriculum over four weeks. The programme combines education with interactive and age-appropriate activities, using elements of fun theory to make difficult conversations easier for students to engage with and remember. Students explore topics such as personal boundaries, consent, recognising abuse, healthy relationships, emotional wellbeing, speaking up and how to seek help. We also recognise that simply educating a student is not always enough. Some students may already be experiencing abuse or may have experiences they have never felt safe enough to discuss. For this reason, Project Hands Off will be implemented in collaboration with trained therapists and counsellors who can provide appropriate support and referrals for students who need further help. To understand whether the programme is actually making a difference, we will conduct pre- and post-programme assessments. These will help us measure changes in students’ knowledge, attitudes and confidence around abuse, boundaries, consent and reporting, rather than simply counting the number of students reached. Ultimately, our goal is to create an intervention that students remember beyond the four weeks. We want them to leave with not just information, but the confidence to recognise unhealthy or abusive situations, understand their rights and boundaries, support others and know where to turn when they need help.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Project Hands Off is still at its early stage, but we have already taken an important step towards making it a reality. We have secured sponsorship for Phase 1 of the project and are currently finalising plans for implementation in October 2026. Because we have not yet started the school intervention, our impact so far is better measured by the commitment and support we have been able to secure and the systems we are putting in place to ensure the programme is effective. We are intentionally building the project around measurable change, including pre- and post-programme assessments to understand whether students’ knowledge, attitudes and confidence around abuse, boundaries, consent and reporting improve. Our immediate goal is to use the first phase to test and refine the programme, learn from the students and schools we work with, and build a model that can be taken to more schools. By Phase 2, we aim to reach 2,000 students, and by the end of 2027, our goal is to reach 10,000 students across schools. Achieving this will require additional partnerships and sponsorship, particularly as we expand beyond the first phase. For us, impact is not simply about the number of students in a classroom. It is about how many young people leave those classrooms better able to recognise abuse, understand their boundaries, speak up and know where to seek help.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
What makes Project Hands Off different is not that we are the first people to talk to young people about abuse. The difference is in how we are approaching the conversation. A lot of school-based interventions around sexual abuse are built around one-off awareness sessions. We want to change that. Hands Off is designed as a four-week experience, giving students time to learn, ask questions, reflect and gradually become more comfortable having conversations that can otherwise be difficult to discuss. We are also intentional about making the programme engaging. Instead of relying only on lectures and presentations, we will use storytelling, games, discussions and elements of fun theory to help students connect with the subject and remember what they learn. We want students to participate in the conversation rather than simply listen to it. Another important difference is that we are connecting prevention with access to support. We recognise that when you start talking about abuse in a classroom, a student may realise that something they have experienced is not normal or acceptable. Through our planned collaboration with therapists and counsellors, students who need further support can be connected to appropriate help. Finally, we want to measure whether the programme actually works. We will assess students before and after the intervention to identify changes in their knowledge, attitudes and confidence. So, our innovation is really in bringing these pieces together: a longer school-based intervention, interactive learning, professional support and measurable outcomes. We are taking a conversation that is often treated as a one-day awareness activity and turning it into a more intentional experience.
How many people are on your team?
30
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Project Hands Off is the pilot project of Redefining Narratives, an initiative that advocates against sexual, domestic and mental abuse. Redefining Narratives has a 30-men team with 6 team leads. Gold Katchy leads our Communications team that promotes collaboration and stakeholder engagement. Frank Miracle-Media and Content team Adeeko, Ikeoluwa- Sponsorship and Partnerships team Olatunji, Oluwanifemi is the Executive Director Olaniyi, Fathia- Volunteer Coordination And many others
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Our immediate next step is to complete preparations for Phase 1 and implement the first four-week intervention in October 2026. We will work closely with the selected school, facilitators, therapists and counsellors to ensure that the programme is delivered in a way that is safe, engaging and appropriate for the students. After Phase 1, we will collect feedback from students, teachers and facilitators and review the pre- and post-programme results. This will help us understand what worked, what did not, and what needs to change before we expand. Our next major goal is to take the programme to more schools and reach 2,000 students by Phase 2. We will also strengthen our partnerships with schools, mental health professionals, child protection organisations and potential sponsors to support this expansion. By the end of 2027, we aim to reach 10,000 students. To make this possible, we will develop a more structured programme toolkit and facilitator model that can be replicated in different schools without losing the personal and interactive nature of Hands Off. We also plan to build a stronger monitoring and evaluation system so that our growth is guided by evidence, not just the number of students reached. Ultimately, we want Hands Off to become a sustainable school-based prevention programme that can continue reaching young people beyond our direct involvement.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
At Redefining Narratives, we have always believed that conversations around abuse should not be left to a few people. We create spaces where young people can learn, ask questions and engage with difficult conversations without feeling judged. One of our main ways of doing this is through our weekly Thursday discussions, where we openly discuss sensitive issues surrounding mental, sexual and domestic abuse. We also recently started a podcast, with two episodes currently released, where we explore and analyse some of these issues in a more detailed and relatable way. We have a growing WhatsApp community of over 250 people, and we are continuously working to expand it. Beyond WhatsApp, our community also engages with us across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and Facebook, allowing us to take these conversations beyond one physical space. Project Hands Off will build on this existing culture of engagement. In schools, students will not simply sit and listen to a lecture. We want them to participate through discussions, storytelling, activities and peer engagement. We believe that when young people are given the space to understand an issue and ask questions, they are more likely to carry those conversations into their own circles. As we grow, we also want to involve more volunteers, educators, counsellors and young advocates who can help us take these conversations further.
