Recognizing the challenges and stigma faced by sex workers, Blossom Girls Outreach Foundation took a unique approach to make a positive impact. BGOF is a registered nongovernmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to reaching out to women who are victims of the sex trade with the message of love and hope.
Doreen Omosele, BGOF’s founder, a young woman who is very passionate about reaching out to sex workers, has dedicated her life to seeing them become more. The aim is to help sex workers reclaim their dignity, rebuild their lives, find new perspectives for money making, and embrace a brighter future.
BGOF started in 2017 with a visit to a brothel in Calabar.
Since then, outreaches have been organized yearly to several cities in Nigeria like Abakaliki, Ibadan, Lagos, Benin and Abuja.
In 2021, with the help of Donors and Volunteers, BGOF executed “ProjectReachOutTo100Sex Workers” where the book “Purple” written by Doreen Omosele, was shared for FREE. Having reached out to over 200 sex workers since inception, the impact of the NGO’s efforts is evident in the stories shared by the sex workers themselves.
“We’ve received calls from ladies reached out to, expressing gratitude and sharing testimonies of leaving the sex trade to find better path” says Bethie Johnson BGOF Secretary.
One sex worker in an interview during an outreach shared, “I never knew people who seek to love and help us exist, because people mock us and treat us with no love and respect but BGOF came to show us love”
BGOF’s commitment goes beyond outreach.
"I never knew people who seek to love and help us exist, because people mock us and treat us with no love and respect but BGOF came to show us love"
They have rehabilitated Miss J.K an ex-sex worker, who reached out for help after reading the book Purple. Her story is one the NGO holds dear as she wasn’t around when the book was shared in the brothel. In J.K’s words ‘‘I was drawn to the beautiful woman on the book cover and reading it made me quit prostitution’’ January 4th 2022, Miss J.K called the NGO expressing her gratitude saying “The book was written for her”.
BOGF placed her under intensive mentoring, supported her with monthly stipend, got her a job, gave her capital to start a business, provided her with housing as well as support for her child’s education. The NGO’s plan to rehabilitate and empower more sex workers like Miss J.K is in the works.
With a heartfelt drive to bring more positive change to these girls, Mrs Doreen Omosele has launched #ProjectReachOutTo200SexWorkers. The project will kick off in September 2023 and it would focus on business orientation, sharing of 200 copies of PURPLE and provisions. The NGO plans to provide business workshops, counselling sessions, vocational training and rehabilitation centres to help participants evolve, acquire new skills and explore alternative sources of income.
BGOF is calling on donors and volunteers to join hands in supporting their project. In the words of Maya Angelou, “Good done anywhere is good done everywhere”