Modupe Ozolua is an American-Nigerian philanthropist and entrepreneur. She is the former CEO of Body Enhancement Ltd, and is currently operating as the Founding President of Empower 54 Project Initiatives formerly known as Body Enhancement Annual Reconstructive Surgery Foundation.
Early life and education
A direct descendant of the Oba Ozolua of the Benin Kingdom, Edo State, Nigeria,. Modupe Ozien Ozolua is the youngest of four siblings born to Prince Julius I. Ozolua, an educationist, and Princess Olua Mary S. Ozolua, a Princess and entrepreneur from Ososo, Akoko-Edo LGA, Edo State. Her name "Modupe" means "I thank you" in Yoruba. She grew up in the Royal House of the Benin Kingdom where her great grandfather Oba Ozolua was the legendary Benin warrior King. Princess earned an associate degree in Business Administration and Management from Southwestern College, San Diego, in 1993, and a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management from Devry International University, Los Angeles, California in 1995. At Southwestern College, she was inducted into the Alpha Pi Epsilon, chapter of Phi Theta Kappa and recognized as an outstanding student by the Southwestern Dean's Honorary List and the National Dean's List.
Personal life
Princess Modupe Ozolua has a son - Prince Oluwaseun Ozolua-Osunbade - and shuffles between Nigeria and Atlanta.
Career
Princess Modupe Ozolua returned to Nigeria in 2001, and founded Body Enhancements Ltd - a cosmetic surgery company - the very first of its kind in West Africa. Despite all the challenges of having a controversial service in a very traditional African country, Body Enhancement Ltd revolutionized the beauty and health sectors in Nigeria. Princess Modupe used the platform her business provided her to educate about the safety of plastic surgery, breaking prevalent myths of the time. In 2003, she founded Empower 54, an international humanitarian organization dedicated to providing desperately needed humanitarian assistance such as medical missions, hunger eradication, education, women/girl empowerment and refugee programs to underprivileged Africans. His Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu is the Patron for Empower 54. All humanitarian aid rendered through Empower 54 is free to the beneficiaries. Under the leadership of Princess Modupe, Empower 54's ’Rise Above Terror’ initiative has been active in rehabilitating women and children survivors of the terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria, through self-employment and education for the children at the IDP camps. Princess Modupe personally leads the Empower 54 team into communities attacked by Boko Haram in remote parts of North East Nigeria to help survivors of terrorist attacks. During one of the foundation's missions, she discovered the extremely malnourished children rescued from Boko Haram's captivity and facilitated the collaboration between Empower 54 and the Borno State Government in evacuating them to Maiduguri for urgent CMAM treatment. 1,500 extremely malnourished children were evacuated from Bama, along with their families.
Projects
Provision of Vitamin A and Albendazol medication for 5 Million children in the Oil producing states of the Niger Delta, Nigeria
Provision of Vitamin A and Albendazol medication for 620,000 children in Province du Mai-Ndombe, RDC
Donation of paint and computers to schools in Province du Mai-Ndombe, RDC
Establishment of small-scale Ready-To-Use-Therapeutic-Foods production facility in Abuja, Nigeria
Donation of 40 feet container of medication and nutritional meals to IDPs, Borno State, Nigeria
Evacuation of extremely malnourished children from Bama, Borno State, Nigeria.
Building of 2 classrooms for IDP children, Bakasi IDP camp, Maiduguri
