Lily Bandotubo: GLP Has Given Me The Opportunity To Impact Lives Through Blogging

Lily Douere Bandotubo is the secretary of Joint National Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) in Warri southwest LGA, Delta State and she is a 2019 GLP Fellow.

Growing up as a child, Lily Douere Bandotubo aka Liwonder Food had the dream of becoming a Medical Doctor to save lives despite being someone living with a disability. After her OND in Agricultural Technology, she gained admission in 2010 to study Medicine and Surgery at Niger Delta University but was later withdrawn. “I had surgery on my lower limbs so I could walk erect with crutches but couldn’t cope with studies after the surgery. So I was withdrawn from Medicine and Surgery and transferred to Medical Laboratory Science; however, the HOD told my dad that I couldn’t be transferred because I was walking with crutches. This made me depressed for months but I never gave up,” Lily said.

As for the impact of GLP fellowship on her work, she explained: “In 2019, I became a GLP fellow and this has helped me gain a lot to build my business and every opportunity that comes my way. GLP platform has helped me a lot in the area of sharing my blog articles via Information Day Online to impact GLP fellows.” She also publishes the articles of some fellows to impact lives and promote their works and ideas. “Sharing ideas on the platform has helped improve my business career and blogging. Indeed, I am proud to be a GLP fellow,” she explained further.

In 2015 she was selected for the Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) through the Office of Job Creation, Asaba, Delta State and was awarded a certificate of recognition as the best trainee in 2016. She is an Emerging Entrepreneurs fellow, a GLP fellow, a YALI fellow, an African ChangeMakers fellow, a YPDP fellow, Cherie Blair Foundation Mentee Alumni, and a 2019 participant of the PAN African Youth Forum, Ethiopia.

She is an entrepreneur under Catering and Confectionery, an author, a blogger, and a mentor. CEO of LIWONDER FOOD ‘N’ GLOBAL EVENTS, Lily has worked as a volunteer with various NGOs using her entrepreneurial skills to impact youths, women, and orphanage children. She confidently recalled: “I did a community development service project on skills to impact students during my YALI RLC cohort 10 program and I am best described as an ambitious and driven person because I thrive on challenges and constantly set goals for myself.”

“My biggest dream over the next 5 – 20 years is to have a foundation that will impact and empower youths, women, orphanage children, students, and persons living with disabilities so that they can be bold and useful to the society at large,” Lily concluded.