Mrs. Helen Ibidunni Ituah-ighodalo, was born on the 19th of July, 1980 in Oyo State, Ibadan to the family of late Olaleye Ajayi family.
Ibidunni, studied Microbiology at the University of Lagos, Akoka, before she further got training in Business Management from the Lagos Business School.
She is a Fellow of the National Institute Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN).
It all started while she was waiting to gain admission into the University of Lagos to study Medicine.
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This was her father’s choice, and being that she loved her sire very well, she also fell in love with the medical sciences. But unknown to her, providence had charted another course for her.
Her Father late Olaleye Ajayi was the Student Union Government, SUG, of the University of Ibadan in the 1967-68 session.
Due to an inexplicable error, Helen’s admission letter to study medicine was somehow mixed up and sent to someone else, all to her dismay and disenchantment. No amount of tears could reverse human error.
READ ALSO: Breaking: Ibidunni Ituah-Ighodalo Is Dead
The young teen, then, was left with no choice than to study another science-related course. This, in a way, made her ambivalent on what career to pursue.
While still in school, then Helen Ajayi, participated in a beauty contest which she eventually won and was crowned Miss Lux. That was the beginning of a new stage in her life.
Marital Life
She got married to Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, in 2007.
https://youtu.be/IA8azNuvXXw
Each day, she came up with one career or the other; “I want to be a pilot,” she would cry to her husband, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, the next day, she was thinking of becoming an engineer. At a point, she gave up on her indecisiveness.
Over the last 15 years, she has no doubt dominated the events management and decoration business in Nigeria, especially in Lagos and Abuja, the federal capital territory.
Her entry into that space really changed the headlines.
For instance, everyone is still talking about the 15 amazing days of great discounts and wonderful giveaways she instituted to push the boat out at that landmark.
The narrative behind her foray into the events management sphere will make a good read any time and any day, and this is a fact that can be verified from her past works.
How she founded the Ibidunni Ighodalo Foundation
Like any newly married couple, my husband, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, and I looked forward to starting our family and holding our children in our arms.
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You can imagine our dismay, when after getting married in 2007, we watched the years roll by without a child of our own. After several doctors’ appointments, we were told that we wouldn’t have children unless we sought treatment through assisted reproduction.
This was the doctor’s report we received, but we choose to believe God’s own report, unshaken in our faith as we firmly believe that that we will have our children.
This period of delay also came with pressure and a lot of insensitivity from people to our situation. I also had to deal with the emotions, pain and the roller-coaster hormonal imbalance that comes with all sorts of treatments.
Thankfully, I am married to an amazing man who has been there for me through all the procedures; unflinching in his support.
Along the journey, I have met women who only needed one round of a treatment I had done nine times. The only thing holding them back was either the lack of finance or the psychological support needed to get through it. It was at that point I decided to stop thinking about myself and start trusting God to help these couples fulfill their dreams of having their children.
On the morning of my last birthday, I thought about not having had children long and hard while praying. There and then, I made a covenant with God and told Him that I would leave it completely in His hands.
In the interim, as we wait for our miracle, I would help couples going through the same challenges by providing spiritual, financial and psychological support. I was ready to do my part to get rid of the stigma attached to childlessness.
I wanted people to instead see couples-in-waiting as blessed mothers and fathers of nations! Upon thinking about the weight of this dream, I started out feeling a little reluctant especially when I thought about the privacy we might lose. However, when I thought about the unending joy it would bring to people’s lives, it seemed to me that it would be worth the sacrifice.
I made up my mind to stop worrying over childbearing and to just keep trusting God while helping other couples through their own fertility journey. As I prayed and mulled over the idea, I felt peace and that was how the IBIDUNNI IGHODALO FOUNDATION was born!
As part of our plans to raise awareness on issues pertaining to fertility and bring hope and joy to many homes, we have partnered with a number of fertility clinics with high success rates that are willing to help with discounted costs for treatment.
We also have partner organizations that help subsidize other medical bills while raising awareness about fertility issues alongside. Parenthood is a reality that should not be denied to every couple that desires it.
