First Youth: Empowered to Lead. Making a Difference Together in Nigeria

Denise Buchanan • 3 December 2024

Why Now

Africa holds the world’s largest youth population—and Nigeria is at the center. With over 118 million children, the future of the continent will be defined by how we invest in and protect its youngest generation. Yet, a national survey reveals that 6 in 10 Nigerian children experience physical, emotional, or sexual violence before the age of 18. The harm often comes not just from individuals, but from institutions: schools, churches, and care homes meant to serve and protect. This crisis is compounded by cultural silence, underreporting, and the lack of trauma-informed systems. Many survivors are left without justice or healing, and cycles of abuse continue unchecked. Without a radical shift in how we respond to violence against children, the trauma of today will shape the reality of tomorrow.

But we are not starting from scratch. Across Nigeria, a new generation is already organizing—survivors are sharing their stories, youth are mobilizing, and communities are demanding better. Now is the time to channel this momentum into a national, coordinated effort that centers survivors, empowers youth, and transforms institutions.

The First Youth Initiative will do just that: bridge local wisdom and global strategy to end violence against children through trauma-informed care, legislative advocacy, and youth-led empowerment. Nigeria is not just a geographic anchor—it is a spiritual one. As a gateway to West Africa, Nigeria holds deep ancestral memory from the transatlantic slave trade. Across the diaspora, children have faced systemic violence, from colonial exploitation to modern-day institutional abuse. By empowering youth, through the First Youth Initiative, we are reclaiming Nigeria as a center for global healing - a place where survivors find justice, cycles of trauma end and prevention becomes a collective mission, transforming generations.

Faith Has Feet is a non-profit organization that is deeply committed to empowering young individuals and making a tangible difference in their lives, especially in Africa and the Caribbean Diaspora.

Through our focus on Safeguarding Education, Entrepreneurship Programs, Combating Food Insecurity, Advocating for Social Justice, and Community Building, we are able to address key areas that are crucial for the well-being and success of the youth. With a strong emphasis on transparency and accountability, Faith Has Feet ensures that donors are well-informed about how their contributions are making a difference.

Dr. Denise Buchanan and Dr. Bukola Ogunkua

First Youth: Empowered to Lead

Suburbancares in partnership with FAITH HAS FEET, launched the "First Youth" Initiative, a youth empowerment program designed for youths aged 19–29 in Nigeria, in May 2025.

Why Us

Addressing the issue of childhood sexual violence requires education, advocacy, and systemic reform—an effort that demands both local and global commitment. For the past seven years, Suburbancares founded by Dr. Bukola Ogunkua, has been at the forefront of equipping administrators, teachers, staff, and youth in Nigerian schools and faith-based institutions with vital knowledge on mental health, trauma recovery, and the long-term effects of abuse. As a Nigerian survivor of childhood sexual abuse, her work has empowered over 10,000 educators and trained 70 youth counselors, ensuring that communities better understand how to support vulnerable children.

Dr. Denise Buchanan, speaking in Lagos, Nigeria

Simultaneously, FAITH HAS FEET, founded by Dr. Denise Buchanan, has built upon her work of establishing a global coalition of thousands of survivors and advocates across 5 continents and 25 countries, demanding justice and pushing for a zero-tolerance policy on clergy abuse within the Catholic Church. As a Jamaican survivor of clergy sexual abuse, Dr. Buchanan has worked tirelessly to create awareness, accountability, and prevention strategies to protect children from religious institutional abuse. Knowing her Nigerian ancestry, and recognizing the urgent need to extend this work across Africa and the African diaspora, she launched FAITH HAS FEET to expand advocacy efforts into faith-based institutions and schools across the continent.

Together, Suburbancares and FAITH HAS FEET unite in purpose and action. Their collaboration builds upon a strong foundation of community education and global justice advocacy, bringing the fight against child sexual violence to the forefront in Nigeria. This partnership established the groundwork for the First Youth Initiative, which is a challenge to empower one million youth in one year to heal from past trauma or adversity and grow and learn. The objective is to create widespread empowerment through skills training, mentorship, and leadership development. This will foster economic growth, resilience, and social transformation, helping young Nigerians build careers, uplift communities, and drive lasting change.

Benefits for Participants

The First Youth Initiative offers comprehensive support for age qualified participants:

Trauma-informed Courses, Practical life and Technical skills training.
⁠Free accommodation, meals & transportation to training events
Access to laptops, tablets, or smartphones
Free data subscription during training period
Free mentorship and networking opportunities to build strong connections and support systems

By providing these essential resources, First Youth aim to eliminate barriers, enabling every young participant to maximize their potential and contribute meaningfully to their communities. This initiative is an opportunity for young Nigerians to grow, heal, and learn.

OBJECTIVES (Measurable)

Engage one million youth (ages 19–29) (Called First Youth, i.e. One million youth in one year) through a peer-to-peer network and targeted digital outreach, starting with 56 existing trained trauma-informed youth leaders who each recruit 10 peers in a replicable cycle.
Establish a Nigerian Survivors Council and submit 3 survivor-led policy proposals by the end of Year one.
Activate 10 cross-sector partnerships (government, technology, health, faith-based) with 3 programs launched.
Launch legal review + child abuse prevention pilot in Ogun State with 2 monitored institutions.
Train 50+ school/faith-based staff in trauma-informed care, impacting 500+ youth directly.

Strategy

Launch WhatsApp + social survey using ACEs (Advanced Childhood Experiences) framework to recruit and map survivor stories. Extend this incredible opportunity by inviting friends, family, and peers to join.
Deliver trauma-informed curriculum for 1 school and 1 faith-based organization; develop national pilot.
Partner with Ministries, NGOs, and industry to co-create scalable, youth-led solutions.
Host quarterly stakeholder roundtables to align ministries, educators, survivor advocates, and youth leaders.
Launch a national digital storytelling campaign that elevates survivor voices and youth-created content.
Build and distribute a Mobile Mobilizer Toolkit including low-power devices, solar-powered kits, printed curriculum, and culturally relevant facilitation guides.

Key Outcomes

October/November 2025 – Youth Solutions Summit +Youth Creative Lab Launched – beta test for where we are in enrolling 1 million youth.

April 2026 – Host global conference celebrating the outcome of the First Youth Initiative with public sector/government alignment, survivor leadership, and cultural storytelling.

Outcomes to Date

As of June 5, 2025: The First Youth Initiative was launched in May 7, 2025 with 56 trained youth leaders. To date there are 15,000 youth engaged in community hubs and advocates, educators, and policymakers are joining forces, sharing knowledge, to drive systemic and legislative change in Nigeria.

Ready for Impact

For those ready to make an impact in Nigeria, Sign up today and bring others along on this transformative journey!

https://forms.gle/xbCmcTTvtPiT5jRx7

By coming together and working towards a common goal, we can truly empower the First Youth and create a brighter future for all.

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A man is giving a speech in front of a crowd of people in a church.

Why the G7 must prioritize childhood sexual violence: A survivor’s call from Jamaica to the world

by Denise Buchanan • 5 June 2025

Denise Buchanan, Ph.D. , Founder, Faith Has Feet and Member of the Brave Movement As a Jamaican survivor of clergy sexual abuse, I write this not only from the place of deep personal pain, but from a position of global purpose. I am the Founder and CEO of Faith Has Feet, an international organization on a mission to create community-based solutions that combine grassroots advocacy, survivor leadership, and policy reform to safeguard children from sexual violence wherever they may live, learn, or worship. We are not only advocating but building avenues to justice, healing, and protection for every child. To date, we have 12,000 youth engaged in Nigeria on a mission to heal and end childhood sexual violence. World leaders will gather in Canada for the 2025 G7 Summit this June, amid immense global uncertainty. The agenda includes critical global priorities: peace and security, economic stability, climate change, digital transformation, and democracy. And yet, absent from this list is one of the most pervasive and devastating human rights violations of our time: child sexual violence. SEE MORE HERE

A man in a white robe is walking in front of a building.

A Pope Who Rejects Sexual Violence

by Denise Buchanan • 5 June 2025

I know that the Roman Catholic Church has failed historically to prevent and to root out child sexual violence within its own ranks. I am a Jamaican survivor of such abuse by a priest. Francis spent much of his papacy issuing apologies for clerical sex abuse . His successor must do more. The 135 cardinal electors must ensure the church’s next leader is committed to a public position of zero tolerance of abuse by any of its members. Though a 2021 update to canon law declared sexual abuse criminal and not merely a moral offense, it only imposes certain penalties “where the case calls for it.” The next pope must update canon law to adopt a zero-tolerance law given that sexual abuse is a grave crime against the life, dignity and freedom of victims. It must be applied without exception, and in sexual abuse cases, the church must release sufficient information to demonstrate compliance with these rules. He must establish an independent compliance agency to investigate, document and publicly identify people of authority in the church who contributed — through their negligence or intentional acts — to concealing abusive priests. This conclave must select a new pope with the commitment — and the record — to show he has never and will never tolerate the abuse of children within the church, nor the secrecy that enabled it. We need more than apologies; we need change. Read the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/05/06/francis-catholics-pope-trump-ai-vance/ Denise Buchanan, PhD. , Los AngelesThe writer is the CEO, Faith Has Feet, and a member of the Brave Movement.

A woman is covering her face with her hand.

Survivors of Sexual Abuse Can Still Hope—But the Vatican Must Choose Justice Over Denial

by Denise Buchanan • 5 June 2025

Published in Ms. Magazine 5/29/2025 By Denise Buchanan, Ph.D., a Jamaican survivor of clergy sexual abuse and international advocate for child protection and trauma recovery. She is the CEO of Faith Has Feet, co-founder of ECA: Ending Clergy Abuse , a Global Justice Project and member of The Brave Movement When Pope Leo XIV stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 9, 2025, survivors of clergy sexual abuse around the world looked on—not with awe, but with apprehension. His election, rather than ushering in an era of accountability and healing, has reopened wounds. Many had hoped for a papacy rooted in reckoning, but instead, we have received familiar deflections—denials of personal responsibility for cases that unfolded under his leadership in past roles. Rather than acknowledging institutional failures or the human suffering caused, he has opted for self-preservation over repentance, speaking in guarded tones that prioritize the Church’s reputation over the voices of its most wounded. Yet, paradoxically, survivors must hold on to hope—not because of what has been said, but because of what remains possible. Hope is not passive. It is the fuel of the faithful and the force behind every justice movement. And while Vatican pronouncements remain cautious, the Church no longer operates in the secrecy of past centuries. Civil investigations are advancing. Lay Catholics are mobilizing. Survivors are organizing, speaking truths that no papal statement can silence. We must not forget: The clergy abuse crisis is not just a moral failing of individuals—it is a structural crisis fueled by clericalism, secrecy and misplaced loyalties. The solution requires more than denials and vague assurances. It demands humility, transparency and systemic reform. MORE HERE IN MS. MAGAZINE

A man is standing on a balcony with his hands in the air.

An Open Letter to Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of His Meeting with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors

by Denise Buchanan • 5 June 2025

Your Holiness Pope Leo XIV, Today, as you meet with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, I write to you not only as a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, but as one voice among thousands who have endured profound suffering and who are working tirelessly to ensure no child ever endures what we did. I am a Jamaican woman of Nigerian ancestry, and the founder of Faith Has Feet, a global faith-based organization devoted to safeguarding children and empowering survivors. Over the past eight years, many of us have helped build a global network of survivors and advocates across the world—people who are united by pain, resilience, and an unshakable determination to ensure justice and prevention. But this work cannot advance without your leadership. And leadership, in this moment, demands listening. The time has come for the Church to make a decisive shift: survivors must no longer be excluded from the rooms where decisions about safeguarding are made. Although there may be a few survivors on the Pontifical Commission, the question must be asked—how can the Commission be effective in preventing clergy abuse without listening directly to those who are still muted and in pain working for years seeing no pathway for justice? Survivors in regions such as Africa and across the Diaspora have been especially marginalized. Our experiences, our perspectives, and our wisdom are too often silenced. Yet it is in these very places that clergy abuse has gone unacknowledged, hidden beneath layers of secrecy and shame. Your Holiness, if you are serious about protecting minors and restoring the moral credibility of the Church, you must: Meet with Survivors Directly – not only from the Global North, but from across the Global South and the Diaspora. Our perspectives are indispensable. Update Canon Law to Include a Universal Zero-Tolerance Law – recognizing sexual abuse as a grave crime against life, dignity, and freedom. Enforcement must be consistent and transparent. Establish an Independent Global Survivor Council – with the authority to investigate, document, and publicly identify those within the Church who, through negligence or intentional acts, concealed abuse or enabled abusers. Ensure Compliance Through Oversight – granting the Survivor Council true enforcement power to monitor how zero-tolerance is applied in every diocese. This is a pivotal moment. You have the opportunity to lead the Church into an era of bold transparency, meaningful accountability, and survivor-centered justice. Will you rise to that calling? Will you direct the Pontifical Commission to open the door to this level of engagement and inclusion? The world is watching. Survivors everywhere are waiting—not simply to be acknowledged, but to be included as partners in building a Church where the safety and dignity of children come before all else. With hope, urgency, and in solidarity, Denise Buchanan, PhD , Survivor of Clergy Sexual Abuse, Founder, Faith Has Feet, Jamaican-Nigerian Advocate for Global Survivor Justice, Member of the IADC Pontifical Gregorian University IADC Advisory Committee and Member of the Brave Movement

A group of people are standing around a table with a man in a suit signing a document.

Take It Down Act

by Denise Buchanan • 5 June 2025

Today I witnessed the signing of the Take It Down Act. It is not just legislation, it was a national reckoning with the digital expoitation of our children and it was a profoundly personal moment—a victory for every survivor whose voice was once silenced by shame and fear. For Ben Holman and I, who were invited as Members of the Brave Movement, this law represents more than legislation—it’s a declaration that in the digital age, dignity, safety, and justice are not optional; they are essential. First lady Melania Trump, who championed the legislation, said, "This legislation is a powerful step forward in our efforts to ensure that every American, especially young people, can feel better protected from their image or identity being abused through nonconsensual, intimate imagery," she said at the ceremony. "Artificial Intelligence and social media are the digital candy for the next generation — sweet, addictive and engineered to have an impact on the cognitive development of our children, but unlike sugar, these new technologies can be weaponized, shape beliefs and, sadly, affect emotions and even be deadly." READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Consult With Survivors

by Denise Buchanan • 8 May 2025

Welcoming everyone in dialogue and love. I, and many other survivors of child sexual violence by priests, accept this invitation. We have already crafted a “zero-tolerance law” alongside canon lawyers. The next crucial step is for Leo to include survivors in discussions that will accelerate a way forward. A Global Survivor Council, with the authority to oversee and enforce compliance with the zero-tolerance law, would be a profound indicator that the church is ready to confront this clergy abuse crisis with genuine accountability. The track record of the U.S.-born pope is an indication of the level-setting and leadership that he will take into the forward momentum of the church — one that we hope prioritizes justice over reputation. Survivors have the ability to forgive missteps of the past; however, there must be a trajectory toward healing and justice for those harmed. Leo’s words, “God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail,” set the tone for his papacy. Survivors now look with expectation that the pope will ensure the evil of clergy sexual abuse will no longer prevail. Leo has an opportunity to lead the church into an era of unwavering transparency, accountability and survivor-centered justice. Will he rise to the challenge? The world is watching. Survivors everywhere are waiting. #bravemovement #faith_has_feet #PopeLeoXIV #Survivors #bebrave Read the story here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/05/08/american-pope-letters-leo-xiv-robert-prevost/

A man in a suit is writing on a piece of paper.

How legislative and policy reform can protect children from sexual violence in religious spaces

by Denise Buchanan • 22 December 2024

On 26 January 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) took a historic step by calling for the recognition of abuse in institutions across Europe (Resolution 2533). The decision highlighted the necessity for thorough reparation for all types of violence against children, such as sexual abuse, physical violence, and mistreatment in various institutions. Contributions from 22,285 victims and survivors worldwide, shared through the Global Our Voice Survivor Survey, supported the case for this significant decision. At Faith Has Feet , we believe that safe environments for our children, whether in churches or other spaces, requires everyone's involvement. Leaders will not hold themselves accountable, so it is our responsibility to do so, and I invite you to embrace this mandate.

A group of women are sitting in a circle in a room.

Taking Action: Transforming Belief into Impact

by Denise Buchanan • 3 December 2024

Having faith is a powerful force, but true impact comes from turning belief into action. FAITH HAS FEET is an organization dedicated to doing just that—mobilizing communities and individuals to create tangible change where it's needed most.

A man wearing yellow gloves is kneeling down in the grass.

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by Denise Buchanan • 3 December 2024

In a world where community needs continue to grow, organizations that prioritize action over words become pillars of hope and change. FAITH HAS FEET is one such organization—a movement dedicated to transforming lives through education, entrepreneurship, food security, social justice advocacy, and community building.