Our why is simple…

We exist to (re)establish Joy in the heart and soul of every teenage girl (13-18) across the UK, Africa and Latin America.

The Problem

  • Mental health challenges are on the rise – parents and teachers are concerned.

  • Many girls are struggling with self-confidence and need practical ways to become secure in their identity and boost their self-esteem. The experiences they have had growing up can have a lasting effect on how they view themselves.

    • This often causes struggles emotionally, academically, physically, and/or behaviorally. Some of the issues girls face revolve around self-image, self-worth, and the influences of social media.

  • Many parents, teachers and school staff are swamped with heavy workloads and often don't have the capacity to sit down 1-to-1 with these girls or have the headspace to effectively cater for their needs.

 
 

Who We Are

Joy Uplifts is an education and training company providing teenage girls, educators and parents with the necessary knowledge and skills required to lead effectively in the digital age through a hybrid of online and in-person learning.

 

Our Values

 

  • Society is made of people and this is why we see people, not parts. We believe all people matter!

  • Truth wins, especially in an era where deception has reigned for too long.

    We believe in:

    1. telling the truth completely

    2. telling the truth quickly and;

    3. telling the truth clearly

  • We give away as much as possible without compromising our ability to operate.

    Working transparently frees us to:

    1. do business in a candid manner

    2. reinvest the time we would otherwise spend trying to keep secrets

    3. live without the weight of trying to ensure that the right people know the right things and the wrong things stay in the shadows.

  • We have chosen bravery by accepting who we are. We do this by being who we are and living out our message – practising what we preach.

  • We have chosen to commit to quality to show our clients that we care more about them.

  • Nobody has ever become poor by giving ~ Anne Frank

    Because we love others, we want to meet their needs. We understand that generosity is selfless.

    Generosity is giving without expecting anything in return. It’s built on love, care and compassion, so we have woven this into our organizational DNA holistically i.e. generous with our talents, time, and collaboration.

  • To us, courage is having the strength of character to persist and hold on to ideas in the face of opposition, fear, and high costs.

Meet the Founder

About Ayo Awotona

My name is Ayo, also known as aaayyyyoooooo! 🎶

Fun fact about my name, it's a Nigerian name and it means Joy ✨

I’m a 1993’ baby with incredible infectious energy, a visionary, social entrepreneur, dancer, self-taught Spanish speaker and change agent. Most importantly though… I’m a child of God in Heaven.

I absolutely love learning. In a nutshell, I’m motivated to acquire new levels of knowledge and/or deepen my existing knowledge/skills in a significant way.

Tell us a bit more about Joy Uplifts…

Sure. We are a hybrid educational academy, in-person and digital, and we deliver programs and workshops alongside providing learning resources that can be applied in the 21st century.

We have a presence within schools & communities across the UK, Africa and Latin America. Essentially, we work alongside and partner with teachers and parents at supporting and empowering students. That's one part of what we do…

We are working towards hosting and facilitating training camps. Which will vary from summer camps to in-person training and certification courses.

Our mission really is to equip girls/young women, educators and parents with the tools they need to go out into their real worlds and spheres of influence to make an impact.

We are working towards expanding our curriculum to provide real-life solutions within areas such as self-identity, personal & business finances, leadership, personal development and healthy relationships to name a few. This is why we differ from the traditional school system.

At the core though, our motivation is providing individuals with the tools for them to know themselves well enough, so they are equipped to better lead themselves, then go out and teach/empower others.


Why did you start Joy Uplifts Ayo?

Growing up, I rebelled heavily in school. For some context, I was suspended for a week for starting a physical fight with a girl (just because she was sitting in my seat…) and failed my GCSE’s twice. Third time lucky lol!

I didn’t always fall behind academically, as there were a few times I did really well according to the school metrics, there was just very little consistency in my academic efforts.
To the teachers, I wasn't the brightest student and I was often labelled as mischievous. For me, however, I was just misunderstood and my learning style was never really accounted for, nor was my rebellion ever seen as a cry for help and solutions offered. On the contrary, a majority of the time, I was punished and compared to others, and told I should be better but not necessarily shown HOW I could be better in a way that was conducive for me and my learning needs.

Over the years, as I grew older and wiser, I was able to identify that actually, I love learning (which in and of itself took a while for me to accept and own). I am literally a learning... gain knowledge... transformation-thirsty enthusiast. I realised later on that underneath my quest for gaining knowledge, I needed to learn about who I was as an individual. This was a huge struggle for me as I appeared confident on the outside (being very sociable and rather popular), but deep down, behind closed doors, I struggled with my self-esteem and sense of self-worth!

Something I never learnt much about growing up was the immovable fact that I have intrinsic value. As I’ve grown and gotten to know more about myself and understand that my identity is rooted in Jesus Christ, a profound burden on the inside of me (which I now know to be from God in Heaven) nudged and tugged at me to let me know that I have a responsibility to empower and equip other girls, young women and Educators around the world too.

I really struggled to accept my Calling within Education to be transparent because I didn’t feel qualified to teach, equip and empower in the very environment that previously had me feeling like I didn’t ‘measure up’. However… the closer I’ve grown in my relationship with God, I knew I had to obey Him and go through an emotional healing process because the Call is much bigger than me – great impact is to be made.

So here I am, – by God’s Grace and infinite Mercy – operating as the Servant Leader within an amazing value-driven organisation, Joy Uplifts.

Watch this space…