She won that award and was invited to come to England to receive the award and have a visit with the king in Buckingham Palace. That can only be God. And so when some of those people say, oh, thank you. Because suddenly I become mommy to them. They see me in a different role and not a proprietor or whatever. And they say, and I say, no, it’s not about me. It’s the fact that I should thank God that I allowed him to use me to play that role in your life.
Omowale
[00:00:47] Tope: Hello there. Welcome to Treasures and Truth with Tope. I’m excited to have you here today. I’m your host, Dr. Tope Keku. Everyone wants to feel happy, but it’s so easy to lose hope and feel defeated in this chaotic world that is so full of problems. Well, guess what? This podcast is all about helping you to discover the hidden treasures in your trials so you can renew your confidence and live in freedom.
A Listening Heart
Take the first step towards healing and growth. Book your free call now and let’s journey together in faith and friendship.
You’ll find support here if you’re going through a difficult season and need encouragement. Uh, before we get started, I’d like to ask you a favor. If you like this podcast, please subscribe and leave a rating and a review to help spread the word. And so, uh, without further ado, uh, we’ll get on to today’s show.
So on today’s show, our special guest is Mrs. Omowale (Wale) Ogunrinde. She is the founder of the Field of Skills and Dreams, a vocational entrepreneurship training institute in Nigeria. She is passionate about mentoring and empowering women and youth by [00:02:00] supporting them with professional, vocational, technical, and entrepreneurial skills so that they can start businesses and transform their lives.
She and her team have trained over 10,000 individuals in the last 20 years. Yep. You had that right. Over 10, 000. Wow. Please join me in welcoming Mrs. Wale Ogunrinde to the show. Wale, welcome. It’s a pleasure to have you on Treasures and Truth Podcast.
[00:02:34] Wale: with Tope. Thank you. Thank you so much, sis. It’s an honor and a privilege to be here today. Thank you.
[00:02:41] Tope: Yeah. Wow. You and I go back way back when, but, uh, why don’t we start by having you tell us about yourself and your background?
[00:02:54] Wale: Okay, well, my name is Omowale Ogunrinde, um, like Tope has said, and, um, I studied social statistics and demography in university, and then went on to do an MBA, and later on when I started to fill the call of God on my life to do something in education, I went back to do a postgraduate diploma in education.
And now, I’m trying to pursue Ph.D. even in old age in education Management. And, um, I’ve done a few things back in my life with regards to my career. I started out after the National Youth Service Corps (NYSE) and the banking industry. And after I did that for some years, about 10 years, I realized that, oh no, maybe God was calling me out to have more time for my children.
Um, that’s a story for later. And then, no, it didn’t work out. I went back to banking, um, left banking again, went into [00:04:00] trading, and then I heard the call of God on my life. I knew what he wanted me to do, even though I never imagined that it would be as big as it is today. But I heard. It was painful, it was difficult, but I heard.
And I obeyed that call. And to God be the glory, looking back now, I cannot imagine what I would have missed if I had not hearkened to the call of God on my life to do what I’m doing today. So that’s who I am. I’m a mother of two children, grown up. And um, I’m a child of God, obviously. So, that’s it. Wow.
[00:04:49] Tope: you said a lot, a lot right there, and that could take us in many, many different ways. So you, you started out in statistics. So Wale and I [00:05:00] go back to high school days. And, um, so, so Math, I think she was a math whiz. So you started out in statistics and banking. And just again, what you described is a journey of trying to figure out what exactly is my purpose. What’s God’s call?
And what I heard from that little, um, introduction you gave us is it wasn’t a straight path. Like, okay, I know I’m in statistics, and I’m supposed to be here. It kind of was like a zigzag, right? Yes. And then you finally, um, settled down and say, okay, I hear, I hear clearly this is where God’s calling me.
Finding Your Purpose and Answering God’s Call
And that’s what led you to start this field of skills and dreams. So, um, so, you shared a little bit what led to that, but what’s that journey been like? And what’s God’s what’s God’s role in that journey? Maybe you can expand on that for our
[00:05:54] Wale: listeners. Okay. I’ll go back to the banking. My first career in banking was very good.
I actually got double promotions, got a lot of recognition, and all of that. But of course, maybe how many years into banking, I got married, and my husband wasn’t comfortable with the work hours, and he really, really wanted me to stop. And I did. At that time, truly, there was no good factor. I just stopped because, well, the man is supposed to be in authority in the home and, um, if this is going to cause some trouble, just obey.
And I did. And then, of course, it was rough. It was tough at home, and um, my finances were just going haywire. I wasn’t happy at all. I loved my children, but I wasn’t just happy being at home, not doing anything. And so I went back into banking. Two years in banking, I woke up one morning and [00:07:00] I heard clearly.
And you know, so when people say they hear God, I know there are times when I’ve heard God clearly. And I heard him clearly that morning saying, stop this job. And I was like, what? I had become kind of prominent. I was doing exceptionally well. I was earning so much money. My official car was the best car in the family.
And I heard, and maybe because of the background I have and the way I also teach other people. Immediately I heard that. I knew there was no argument. I knew that I was not supposed to be thinking of where would the money come from. I knew I was just supposed to obey the Commander-in-Chief, which is the Holy Spirit.
And I did. And I can remember very well that my [00:08:00] junior sister, a dentist, was staying with us at that time. And I quickly ran out of my room, and I asked her, please, can you send somebody from your office to drop a letter at work for me? And she said, what was going on? I said, well, I’m not going back. And she said, are you sure?
I said, yes, God just spoke to me. And it was, everybody was like, what’s going on here? And my husband asked casually, as men will do, aren’t you going to work today? And I just said, I’m not going. I didn’t even tell him what had happened. So I quickly wrote the letter, got an envelope, gave it to my sister and she took it.
And of course the battle started. My employers did not want me to go. My chairman got his wife involved and all of that. But I had heard what the commander in chief was saying. He did not tell me what was going to happen. He did not tell me what I was going to do, but he had said, stop this job. And I did.[00:09:00]
And so in trying to listen to what he would have me do. I opened a shop and I started selling groceries and basic things and all of that. And I remember one of the days the landlord of where I had that store came up to me and said, Oh, people said you were this important in the bank. And how come you are selling in this small space?
And I said, well, that has nothing to do with what I’m doing. I’m just being the call of God on my life. And so that went on for a few years. The store got bigger, very big. I now started to import things and all of that, but there was no fulfillment. And all the while I kept saying, what else can I do? I wanted to open a daycare center.
My husband was like, he asked a million questions and I backed off again. And then lo and behold, one day. I was going to pick my [00:10:00] kids from school, and then I went into a store on Opebi, a restaurant, to buy them refreshments. And I saw a lot of the teenagers that I used to mentor in church. And I asked the question, and I never forget.
I said, what are you guys doing here? Because these are the same group of young people, after service, they will ask me for money. They don’t have money to write exams and all of that. So what are you doing here? And one of them used the word and said, we are just hanging out. I said, what does that mean?
Hanging out? They say, yes, there’s nothing to do. So they are just coming together to have fun. And I told myself, no, this cannot happen. And then I called a young man who had been talking to me about heart making skills and all of that in church. And so on the 1st of May, 2003, cutting the long story short, I ran a [00:11:00] vocational program in my local church.
I invited professional, highly skilled artisans to come and teach. And we had three classes in one day. And I’m sure for those who know, I belong to the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria, where people dress so gaily, elegantly to church on Sundays. And I had a parish pastor whose wife was a very elegant woman.
And we made a heart, we made so many things in that one. Day program. And we presented the hat to her and she was able to wear it. And lo and behold, people started coming to me. We want more of this. We want you to do this for the women. This is not for the teenagers. One of our teenagers started a bead making business, um, after that class, to the extent that her parents bought her a car, [00:12:00] because they said her business was now affecting her studies, and they wanted her to concentrate in school.
She was going to UniLab, but she was having to supply her jewelry in different places, and they bought her a car, and I said, what? Is this thing as good as this? Because for me, it was just like, just do something to help the teenager. And so, it became very successful. It became something that everybody in church wanted.
August of that year, 2003, I decided to run a three day event. instead of one day and we had more skills. And because of my background, I decided to teach a little bit of business administration. So when you’re making money, how do you do your costing and all of that? And lo and behold, by 2005, I was beginning to hear God in everywhere I turned to.
I could hear him saying, this is not for the [00:13:00] local church. This is what I’m calling you to do for the society. And I’m like, how do I go about this? And the pressure in my spirit was so much. I would sleep. I would wake up. I would write things down. And I was like, where am I going to get the money to do all of this?
How am I going to set this up? I’ve never run, you know, something like this before. And, um, but as usual, I had to obey the voice of God. And I always tell people that for the first time in my life, as disciplined as I know I am in trying to set up the training center, I wrote a check that was returned from the bank because I had spent So much money.
I did not even know that I was running out of money, but to God be the glory. A journey that started on the [00:14:00] 1st of May, 2003 is 20 years today. We’re doing well. God has taken us to places that I could never imagine. God has turned around the lives of people through this organization. And like we know, God knows the end from the beginning.
All he was looking for was for me to trust him and to obey him to do his will. Wow,
[00:14:28] Tope: wow, wow, wow. Thank you Wally for sharing that journey. Wow. Um, wow. Just, just even, just even thinking about stepping out in obedience, uh, just cold calling and saying, all right, I quit. That was a major
[00:14:55] Wale: step in obedience. And then the very tough one, very [00:15:00] tough one.
I can’t go into the details, but it was a tough because almost everything depended on that income. It was a tough one, but the turn around has just been unimaginable. Turn around both for my husband, myself, the exceptional things God has done between then and now, nobody could have imagined it. Nobody.
[00:15:29] Tope: Wow.
So that, that’s prompting me, uh, that’s prompting a picture in my mind of a saying that we have in Nigeria.
And the transition of that is whoever does business with the Lord never loses.
[00:15:47] Wale: Correct. And that’s good for my husband, myself, the whole family. That’s it.
[00:15:53] Tope: Yeah. You can never lose. When you do business with the Lord. Yes. Wow. Yes. I’m just amazed by your [00:16:00] obedience and mm-hmm. by how you, even though that journey was not laid out clearly, perfectly, you know, you didn’t have, you just had two steps.
Obey that, and then he gave you the next two steps. And that again, that call for Abraham to go, um, he didn’t have a roadmap. He didn’t have, well, when you get to here, you’ll make a right turn. No. He just had to step out in faith and then trust God to supply what he needed. And that’s the story you just shared with us that you had to step out in faith, trust God, and slowly but surely, God shed light, guiding your path, directing your steps.
Wow. Yes. Wow. Thank you so much. And then that you have touched over 10, 000 individual people and that’s just amazing. And so in, in, in, uh, going forward, I want to, I want to ask you 1 thing I [00:17:00] read, uh, when I was doing a little research about you is that. You encourage your students to celebrate their wins by telling their success stories.
So I know you probably have, I mean, if you have, if you have mentored 10, 000 people, men and youth, I mean, women and youth, um, you have tons of stories to share. So this is up to you, which ones you want to
share. That can bring hope. Maybe there’s someone out there who’s thinking, I have no skills. I don’t know what to do. Or maybe like you, they’re hearing God calling them, but they’re kind of sitting on the fence like, did I hear correctly? Am I supposed to be doing this? Stories that can inspire them, motivate them to say, if God can do it for her, he can do it for me. Uh, stories that encourage them to step out into the field. So if you can share.
Success Stories of Transformation and Empowerment of Women and Youth
[00:17:53] Wale: Okay, well, I pray the Holy Spirit will guide me. There are just too many. [00:18:00] But maybe I should just start with, um, a general story about Chibok women that we trained back, More than almost 2017, 2016, and we worked with the Chibok women, everybody knows their story, displays, Christian women, they had lost all hope, they had lost actually all hope, and we gave them skills to be able to, they were reluctant when we moved into their community.
And you know how it is, women who had seen their husbands murdered and all of that. And we started teaching them. We, couldn’t understand their language, but we just knew that the Lord was going to help us because they did not speak English and they did not speak Hausa. So, we just had to do sign language that we did not understand at all.
And they started sewing and they started baking. And to God be the glory till today, they call me, they have [00:19:00] become the breadwinners of their families because most of their husbands are dead. The ones who have husbands, they can no longer go to the farm and their lives have totally changed. Their children are going to university because the mothers are now working because they have a skill.
And these are people who had lost all hope and people that had a difficulty in even communicating with those who were there to teach them. Now I’ll give also another example of the young lady who just won an award in the UK. Honestly, it’s funny because we just started working with that organization, the Princess Trust International last year March.
It was a very long road to get there. We never applied. They called my office and the staff told me and I ignored the call. I said, anybody who wants to work with us, you’ll send an email or [00:20:00] she’ll visit the office. And we kept on ignoring, they kept calling. They would tell me and we kept ignoring them. And lo and behold, one day, how they got my direct number, I don’t know.
They called me and said, What’s going on with you? We’ve done our research, we want to work with you, we want to ask questions, and I said, oh, I’m sorry, but anyway, and I didn’t even know that that organization belonged to somebody so high up, the King of England today, as at that time nobody knew he was going to become the King of England, and we started working with them.
We produce the results that we normally produce. They loved the work, and then they told us that, Oh, we have these global awards that happen every year, and all the people we have trained would have to send in their profiles, what they have achieved, and all of that. And we sent in profiles, or I think about three of the students, and lo and behold, two of them…[00:21:00]
One won the regional one for Africa. One won the global one for all the countries where the Prince’s Trust works across the world. And they decided that the one who won the regional award, who is a guy who came to us with his suitcase from the eastern part of Nigeria. I never forget that story because it kind of aligns with my own story.
That when God is telling you to do something, just do it. It might look stupid, it might look ridiculous. God never told me people would be looking for us to work with. He never told me we would have, no, nothing like that. And then this guy came to us with his suitcase. from Imo State, which is the eastern part of Nigeria.
And he was at the interview with his suitcase. And as I was walking around to [00:22:00] supervise the work that team members were doing, I said, Why do you have a suitcase? He said, No, I just came in from Imo State. And I said, Oh, this program is not for you. Because we want people who live close by here. There are so many things truality and all for you not to have accommodation.
No, we can put you on another program. And he said, please, I’m begging again, just give me a chance. By tomorrow, you will see that things have changed. I am going to do this program dedicatedly. Lo and behold. He was with us for three weeks. We trained him. We put him on an internship. He was supposed to be on that internship for three months.
The second day he got on the internship, the executive director marketing of that company called me and said, where did you get this guy? We are going to give him a job. Second day. This is the same guy who won the regional [00:23:00] awards. After he won the regional awards, we never knew that the coronation was going to happen.
We got a phone call to say, does this guy have a passport? He is being invited to come for the king’s coronation in England. Remember, this is a guy. I was going to turn back, but this is a guy who said when he was living in most states, his parents said, you are going on a wild goose chase for a free training in Lagos.
This cannot be true. This nothing is going to come out of it. And he said, his mind tells him he should show up. And today his story is totally different. He went for the coronation, came back. One week after he got even a new job, he’s in another job now, paying double of what he was earning just at the end of April.
The girl who won the Global [00:24:00] Achievers Award has never been to university. She was working as a nanny and one of her uncles… saw our flyer, introduced the program to her. She came in, she was in a class with people who are graduates. She was deployed to an organization where three of them were deployed.
She was the only non-graduate. The other two were graduates. She got into the organization. The woman liked her. The woman retained her and gave her a graduate role. polished her up, brushed her up. Nobody knew that she would win the Global Achievers Award. She won that award and was invited to come to England to receive the award and have a visit with the king in Buckingham Palace.
That can only be God. And so when some of these people say, Oh, thank you. Because suddenly I become [00:25:00] mommy to them. They see me in a different role and not a proprietor or whatever. And I say, no, it’s not about me. It’s the fact that I should thank God that I allowed him to use me to play that role in your lives.
Because whatever he wanted to do for you, for as long as you are obeying, he will do, whether I cooperate with him. or not. So I’m in a place where I thank God that I am cooperating with him and I’m able to. I continue to ask for more grace to cooperate with him to be able to transform the lives of people who have lost hope, who have felt that nothing good can come out of their situation, women who have been battered, who suddenly have become business owners, who suddenly are working in roles in organizations where they would never have been given.
a chance and that is the role that I find myself playing now [00:26:00] in the work I’m doing. So we’re not just teaching, we’re not just empowering, we’re not just equipping, we are mentoring, and God has placed us in a position where God can also use us to help them achieve what God has installed for them.
Thank you, sis. Wow.
[00:26:20] Tope: Wow. Uh, what comes to mind as you say that is the blessings of God will make room for you and for others in your life. Wow. Uh, just your obedience has been multiplied not once, not twice, but over 10, 000 times. And you find yourself. You know, hanging out with royalty. God’s
[00:26:50] Wale: blessings open doors that no man can shut.
[00:26:54] Tope: The Lord’s opened the doors for you and for your trainees. And I saw that picture on [00:27:00] LinkedIn. I was like, wow, this is my friend,
[00:27:03] Wale: my classmate. You’re hanging out with the King of England!
[00:27:08] Tope: Wow, what a blessing, what a blessing. So I just, I’m humbled, uh, and thankful to know you, to know your heart, uh, that you’re about partnering with God to transform people’s lives.
To help them to tap into their potentials. I think you started out that story by saying you met some youth, they were hanging out. What is the purpose in hanging out? That was purposelessness, right? And God showed you a vision, gave you a vision right there of how that hanging out purposelessness could be transformed.
And you followed that. And look at the fruit. It is beautiful. And again, I [00:28:00] love your heart. I love that you are aligned with God. And sis, I see even more fruit coming out of this. Amen.
[00:28:10] Wale: Thank you so much for sharing. Thank you, sis. Thank you.
[00:28:13] Tope: Thank you. And I know that you’ve shared part of your story. You’ve shared your, um, your, um, mentees stories.
Finding Your Purpose: Practical Tips and Encouragement
But let me ask you this. What’s one challenge you have you faced and how did you overcome it?
[00:28:28] Tope: And as you share that, tell us, give our listeners maybe some practical tips, something tangible that they can, if they find themselves in that space today, that they can take forward and go, okay, here’s, I didn’t know about this.
Here’s a tip that I could, hold on to and be a form of encouragement.
[00:28:49] Wale: Yes, one thing I would say is, um, I had a lot of challenges with financing the vision that God gave me, and so I began to take a lot of retreats to just go to a quiet place, spend three days. pray and talk to God and just say, Lord, you need to talk to me.
How am I going to continue with this vision? And every time God would tell me he’s my source and that I, it wasn’t a thief. I was broke, but I did not have surplus. It wasn’t as if I could not pay my bills, but I did not have surplus, but I had always expected that there should be surplus. And so God would always tell me that he is my source.
And over years, I just had to believe that because truly I wasn’t going broke. I wasn’t in debt. I was able to meet my obligations. And I realized that truly the word of God says he will supply all our needs according to his riches [00:30:00] in glory. And that is the story of the work I do. We’re not broke. We meet all our financial obligations.
There might not be surplus. We are not begging. We are not owing. We are paying our bills. The number of staff keeps on increasing and God has remained true to his word. When you focus on who God is, he magnifies himself. That is the story of my life. Whether in ill health, whether in a situation that you are just not understanding what is going on.
Once you have a word, God will magnify himself. The other thing is for a lot of women, we don’t develop our skill sets to be able to achieve much in [00:31:00] life. And so we find ourselves playing regular roles and make us truly not needed. And that is where a lot of women do not find fulfillment. Um, a woman, I believe, not just women, even for men, everybody should find something that kind of aligns with what God wants them.
to be. It must not necessarily have a financial, um, reward, but for as long as you get a place of fulfillment, that you are doing something that glorifies God, it will give you so much joy that Every problem would be like at the back bench. That has been the story of my life. Like I’m saying, I don’t have surplus, but in all sincerity, am I happy?
Am I in a happy [00:32:00] place? Yes, I am. The, the, the, I was sharing with um, some new partners. I said, I don’t go to bed until so late. I wake up so early, but what am I thinking about? Who else? That person that came and needed help. How can we get them help? How can we connect somebody to a job? How can we connect a youth?
How can we find a solution? It just gives me joy and that is because I’ve found out that that is what God wants me to do. Once you are able to find that thing, you will realize that. If you have emotional problems, you are not going to remember. If you have a husband who because and whatever, you are not going to remember.
If you have a child who is giving you a lot of headache, you are not going to remember because you’ve come to a place where you can see God doing things in your life that [00:33:00] is beyond what you yourself can do. Do I have the Personal or physical capacity or the mental capacity to do the work I’m doing. I don’t think so.
I don’t. People ask me, which school did you go abroad? Who are your mentors? Unfortunately, in the space where I’m working here, I don’t have. So, I’m mentoring more people. I’m mentoring older people. I’m mentoring people in business because there’s a grace that comes with obeying the voice of God. Put the financial aside.
Just as his word says, seek ye first his kingdom and its righteousness, and every other thing will be added unto you. Once you are doing that, every other thing, he will meet those needs. And that’s my
[00:33:53] Tope: final one. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for sharing those practical tips. So if I [00:34:00] can summarize it, it’s a new…
Mentioned that it’s depending on God, uh, the secret sauce is depending on God, depending on God, depending on God, depending on God. Um, secondly, as women, uh, we kind of tend to not maybe develop our skills, so we just. You know, we just don’t, um, don’t step it up, but as we partner with God, asking him what do you have for me?
Find that calling and step into it and you will find fulfillment. And as you pursue that calling, you will be able to not only find fulfillment and joy within yourself, but you will glorify God in return. Yes. And then, and then the last thing we say that… You know, grace comes from obeying God and the grace to do whatever he’s called.
Because when we’re called to step out into uncertainty, it’s scary. I’ve never been on before. I don’t have a [00:35:00] road map. What am I supposed to do here? It can be scary. It can be overwhelming, but what I’m hearing is that God’s grace comes from obeying God and that He will give us the grace. He will supply our needs.
We may not have access, but he will supply every need. And that’s the, that’s the word you shared with us that you’re able to pay your bills. You, everything is flowing well. You, because of that grace that comes from God. Wow. So if you’re in a place where you’re struggling or you’re trying to figure out what’s my purpose, what’s the next steps.
You know, while they shared about
[00:35:41] Wale: going on a retreat, taking time out and just being silent, being quiet and asking the Lord, uh, what does he want for your life? What does he want you to do? Where is he at work in this season? How can you partner with him there? Spend time quietly to hear God’s voice for [00:36:00] yourself.
Final Thoughts
And then once you do that, step out in faith and trust that his grace will go before you and his grace will be sufficient. So, again, Wale, thank you so much for, uh, really a rich discussion, a rich conversation with you today. Um, do you have any last words for our listeners?
[00:36:22] Wale: Um, it’s a chorus that we all know.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way. To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. It may look tough. It may look impossible. But truly, the story of my life is every time I’ve trusted, the barriers are broken and joy cometh. So please, listening out there, just trust. And you will see him [00:37:00] hold your hand and take you to a higher level.
Thank you so much, Tope. I really enjoyed myself this afternoon. You’re welcome.
[00:37:08] Tope: You’re welcome. Thank you for coming. So let me ask you this. How can people connect with you?
[00:37:16] Wale: Um, on Instagram, on LinkedIn. Um, Facebook. They can send messages. Um, the email address is a bit long, but you’ll find it also on any of those pages.
Field of Skills and Dreams. Academy. And, um, Anyway, they should just connect, ask questions, and we are always happy to help.
[00:37:40] Tope: Okay, so I will also include that in the show notes as well, so people can connect with you on Facebook, LinkedIn, um, and just social media in general, and I will have those in the show notes. Yeah, so again, Wahid, thank you for
Connect with Mrs. Omowale Ogunrinde at Field of Skills and Dreams
You may also be interested in Transforming Trials into Purpose
