Charity Dawang aka Password Char was born on the 10 October 1979 in Kaduna and raised in Numan local government area of Adamawa State. She is of Bachama ethnic extraction. Her father, the late Titus Wanenoson, was a military officer, who worked all his life in the army. Dawang holds two Masters degrees and runs a non-governmental organisation which targets the development of women and children.
BACKGROUND
Charity Dawang aka Password Char was born on the 10 October 1979 in Kaduna and raised in Numan local government area of Adamawa State. She is of Bachama ethnic extraction. Her father, the late Titus Wanenoson, was a military officer, who worked all his life in the army. He was one of the prominent military officers in Nigeria. He was popularly known with a military nickname, Hauka Da Bori (The hero of Bachama land). Her mother was Lami.
Charity is the founder of an Abuja-based nongovernmental organisation (NGO), Dependable Basic Child Foundation that assists children born with deformity by paying for their surgeries. The NGO also sponsors vulnerable children to different schools in the FCT. She is married with three children.
EDUCATION
I started school at Numan Three Primary School in Numan local government area of Adamawa State, then went to Government Secondary School in Numan Township which I completed in 1993. After my secondary school education, I proceeded to Kaduna Polytechnic to acquire my HND in Marketing.
I did my postgraduate diploma in Business Administration at the University of Abuja and proceeded to the Imo State University for a bachelor degree in Management.
I also obtained certification in 2015 from National Institute of Management (NIM) as a chartered manager and also obtained certification from the Chartered Institute of Administration (CIA) as a chartered administrator 2019. I currently have two masters’ degrees in public administration, and business administration in view. I have also attended various conferences and certified trainings within and outside the country.
CAREER
I started my career with a telecommunications company and later moved to the banking industry. I am currently working with Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, the operator of Kainji and Jebba Power Plant in Nigeria.
ACHIEVEMENTS
I have published three books and written several journals and had hosted a lot of trainings. I also specialise in motivational speaking on self-development, house help management, and awareness against child molestation and offer consultancy on office setups, SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), as well as operate a provision store.
MENTOR
My mother is the secret weapon of success in my life. She saw me through my upbringing with words of encouragement and prayers. Till her death, she had been an encourager to where I am today. My brothers, sisters and most importantly, my two guardians have also contributed tremendously to where I am today. I would love to thank them because without them I won’t have been where I am. I have several women who have triggered and supported me to keep moving.
INSPIRATION
My inspiration is to see that every woman in Nigeria can be financially independent and should be able to do something financially to support their families and the nation as a whole. Every woman should matter.
I also want to see that all children born with deformities are well supported in this country. This has been my dream and desire. I hope that one day a law will be created to support and give a voice to all domestic staff in Nigeria.
DREADS
My fear is the way people give out their female children as domestic staff and the manner at which they are being humiliated because they are house helps. I strongly believe a law should be made to back up these children and protect them from harmful abuse.
WHAT DIFFERENTIATES YOU FROM OTHER WOMEN?
I am a determined and result-oriented individual. I aspire to develop a professional career in a dynamic country like Nigeria where an enabling environment requires optimum effort. As a woman, I need to work hard to achieve my goals and my vision, where an African woman would have to struggle to attain her optimum dreams.
CHALLENGES
As a woman, especially in our African setting, you have to face a lot of challenges, where you deal with domestic matters, children, place of work and you would have to balance them all.
REGRETS
I have no regrets in my life but thanking God for seeing me through to where I am today.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR NGO IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?
The expectation on my NGO is to see it grow and having a voice for every house help or domestic staff in Nigeria and Africa. To also see myself having to take care of vulnerable children born with deformity. I try to grow my business and the NGO at the same time.
ADVICE TO WOMEN
My advice to women is for every woman be aware of the trend surrounding us in the entire universe now. No woman should allow herself to be a liability to her family and to the society as a whole. Like I titled one of my books (Poverty Is a State of Mind Not Finance), it is woman’s decision to imprison herself with lack. You have to do something for yourself and stay away from procrastination and giving excuse not to make it in life.
