Making Communities Safer in Nigeria

Most of the work we do is emotionally draining and thankless. People come, you give everything, and they walk away. To be recognized by an institution that didn’t even know me personally was powerful.

For Kate Ibeanusi, justice is a daily fight to ensure dignity for all, especially the marginalized. With decades of experience in women’s rights and prison reform, Kate has dedicated her life to confronting the unseen injustices that unfold in homes, courtrooms, and correctional facilities across Nigeria. Kate began her journey in the civil society space working with Project Alert, one of Nigeria’s foremost women’s rights organizations. There, she was managing programs as well as was on the front lines supervising interventions, counseling abuse survivors, going to police stations and courtrooms, and advocating for stronger domestic violence legislation. “I was responsible for receiving cases, making referrals, following up at police stations, and walking the justice system through the provisions of the law,” she says. “Victims were often told to go home and beg their abusers. That had to change.”

Kate (right) at the launching of the EdoEMS in Edo, Nigeria with Governor Godwin Obaseki and Commissioner of Public Safety and Security Kingsley Uwagbale.

New ambulances during the launch of the EdoEMS in Edo, Nigeria.

Her commitment eventually led her to the Nigerian organization Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), where her focus shifted to women in prison, a group often invisible in public discourse. What she found was disturbing: facilities ill-equipped to address women’s needs, and incarcerated women struggling without even basic sanitary supplies. “The prison system in Nigeria wasn’t built to accommodate women,” she explains. “Yet, there they were in a structure meant to punish, not rehabilitate.” These experiences spurred Kate to establish the Sheerah Verenda Full Life Initiative (formerly Initiative for Sustaining Family Unity) in 2013, a unique effort to respond holistically to domestic abuse. Sheerah Verenda Full Life Initiative advances dignity, justice, and resilience for families and communities.

Unlike traditional rights organizations focused exclusively on women or children, Kate’s initiative also welcomes men who have been abused; a reality she observed more often than expected. “Young boys, husbands, and even elderly men were quietly enduring abuse, with no one to speak for them,” she says. “We needed a family-oriented approach.” In 2014, Kate received the Katherine Fleming International Development Award, administered by Coady Institute. The recognition came as a surprise and a moment of deep affirmation. “It gave me the feeling of being seen,” she says. “Most of the work we do is emotionally draining and thankless. People come, you give everything, and they walk away. To be recognized by an institution that didn’t even know me personally was powerful.”

Kate as a Junior Fellow at the International Peace Institute New York.

 Kate at a stakeholders conference to set up of the EdoEMS.

Through the award, Kate attended Coady’s Diploma in Development Leadership program, which was a turning point. The program not only validated her efforts but also introduced her to a global community of changemakers. The participatory learning model and diverse cohort helped her refine her methods and expand her impact.

“Coady’s framework gave me a vocabulary and structure for what I was already doing intuitively,” she says. “It helped me test my ideas against global standards and find new ways to grow.”

Since her time at Coady, Kate has gone on to complete a Women, Peace, and Security fellowship jointly offered by the African Leadership Centre in Nairobi and King’s College London. She credits her credibility and international opportunities in part to the visibility the Katherine Fleming Award gave her.

Through her work at Emergency Response Africa, she led the Edo Emergency Medical Services providing free ambulatory and onsite medical emergency services to residents of Benin City.

Her work is informed by a balanced life philosophy. Kate does not view patriarchy as something to be torn down with rage, but as a system to be challenged with clarity and fairness.

“I didn’t come into this space to fight men,” she says. “I came to affirm that women are human beings first; deserving of the same rights, respect, and space to thrive.”

She also remains vocal about the emotional toll such work carries, often unrecognized by outsiders. The financial and psychological demands are real, and yet the work persists, sustained by deep conviction.

Kate sees Coady Institute not just as a training ground but as a source of long-term solidarity.

“I’ve prayed that one day I’ll be able to fund someone else’s journey to Coady,” she says. “It was truly life changing.”

Her story is a reminder that grassroots change often begins in overlooked corners: prison cells, community shelters, homes shadowed by silence and with the right support, that change can ripple outward to touch policy, institutions, and generations to come.

The Katherine Fleming International Development Award is presented annually to an African woman leader in memory of Katherine Fleming a 1985 graduate of St. Francis Xavier University (1985), who dedicated her life’s work to overcoming child poverty in Africa until her death in 1999.  

Since 2000, Coady Institute has presented the prestigious award to 25 different recipients during StFX Homecoming celebrations. In 2025, to mark the 25th anniversary of the award, Coady Institute offered the first Katherine Fleming Women’s Leadership Course in partnership with Organization for Women in Self Employment (WISE) Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The award and course were made possible through the generosity of donors. Learn more and donate by going to Katherine Fleming International Development Award