Meet Viv Oyolu

August 27, 2010 in Education, Mentoring, Social Enterprise

CEO

Divine Communications Trust

Divine Communications Trust is a London based social enterprise. Founded by Viv Oyolu, the organisation creates educational resources and programmes to help transform individuals, families and society.

Viv Oyolu’s vision is to add value to young people’s lives by providing access to resources and learning that will leave a long-term, positive imprint.

Divine Communications Trust has just launched the inspiring Young Fathers Mentoring Scheme. The programme will match 18-25 year old fathers with male professionals and business owners to act as positive role models.

Why did you decide to start Divine Communications Trust?
I decided to start Divine Communications Trust (DCT) after I had an experience volunteering with an organisation what works with children and young people in inner-city, New York in 2005.

I took a one-year sabbatical to explore life and what it had to offer outside of my marketing career. I was in New York for almost 5 months and the experience changed my life for good; I became instantly grateful for the life I had – born into a family that loves me and has given me the ability to pursue my dreams and take opportunities. I realised not everyone was this fortunate.

So, I came back to the UK with a different purpose. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of people who were less fortunate than I am. It took me some months to go through the process of knowing what exactly to do with this new passion to work with young people. I researched what was available and where I could position myself.

What was your career path prior to starting your business?
Prior to setting up DCT I spent five years working as a Marketing Consultant, freelancing within different sectors including finance, automotive, entertainment and utilities. I had graduated with a BSc in Marketing and later went on to complete an MBA from Durham University Business School in 1996.

What have been the highlights of running your own business?
One of the highlights is doing what I love! I am always excited when I am running a session/talking to young people. The feeling that you can create programmes that can change lives is immense. Words matter and if something I can say will change a young person’s perspective for the better then I consider myself very fortunate.

What is the hardest part of running your own business?
Working alone! I don’t have a business partner to bounce ideas off with, so that’s challenging. I am a logical thinker so everything has to make sense to me. Sometimes that’s a good thing and other times it is a pain because you delay making decisions.

What has been your biggest triumph to date?
That’s difficult to say but I think the first programme I created, the Bina programme, comes close. When I started developing it I had no idea what else was on the market and or if it would be successful. I had an idea and ran with it – it just felt right to do.

The best compliment I have received so far was from an ex-teacher who said he had seen lots of programmes and mine was one of the best ones by far – it brought tears to my eyes! Hard work, determination and belief do pay off.

Tell me more about the Young Fathers Mentoring programme – what was the inspiration for the programme, who are you targeting and how can someone get involved?
The Young Fathers Mentoring Scheme is London-based and matches 18-25 year olds with professional and business men who will act as positive role models.

I got the inspiration from my time in New York and also when I got back to the UK, while researching what I could do that would make a difference. There are a few mentoring programmes around but I am yet to find one that caters for this group of young men. This is not to say there’s no support for them – there is, but there’s no emotional support and they are vulnerable.

Reading research about a typical young father broke my heart and I instantly knew there would be a need. A young father in most cases finds it hard to reconcile his role as a parent and a young man, may be out of education or training, face rejection from family and friends and has low self-esteem.

If this is the case, then a child is already starting his/her life at a disadvantage; with a father who is not whole or able to provide for his child – he can’t give what he doesn’t have! It’s not just about providing materially, it includes emotional love and support and every child deserves to have both parents healthy.

I have created a programme that empowers the mentor to give his best to a young father. I want them to realise the importance of what they are going to be doing and take responsibility for it. They will get all the support they need but would be in charge on managing their mentoring relationship and report to me on the progress they are making. So, after 12 months we can review and be able to chart the difference that has been made.

Mentors who are interested can go to the website www.divinecommunicationstrust.org.uk and complete an expression of interest or call me on 020 3002 7899 for an initial chat; while mentees can call me to fix a time to meet with me.

Can you share the objectives, results and feedback from your Bina and Shaping Attitudes programmes to date?
The Bina programme is an engaging, interactive PSHE (Physical Social Health Education) resource focused on building confidence and knowledge of 11-13 year olds. The programme helps participants make informed choices and lead healthy, safe, responsible and fulfilled lives. The programme also improves key skills such as critical thinking, literacy and communications.

Some comments from students include:
• “I have learnt that the things we do now affects what happens to us in the future, so now I try to make positive choices.”
• “I have learnt that not everyone gets a second chance and so if I have a chance I should take it and not hesitate.”
• “The programme has shown me ways to deal with problems and helped me think before I act.”

The Shaping Attitudes for the Workplace programme is designed to raise awareness of attitude in the workplace for 16-19 year olds starting work placements and/or apprenticeships to improve their employability skills.

We work with Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges, organisations who engage with this group. Divine Communications Trust run the programme with different groups of young people and feedback has been very positive so far from participants and commissioners.

What are you working on at the moment? Can you describe your typical working day?
Typical day?! I have no typical days at all. I am constantly growing and evolving all the programmes; so my days vary a lot. I could be reading up/listening to a webinar (I have a huge appetite for knowledge), catching up on emails, recording videos, writing a blog, calling/visiting potential clients, attending meetings; and the list goes on.

I am developing all three programmes differently – Shaping Attitudes is at different phase compared to the Bina programme and the Young Fathers Mentoring scheme. However, I am putting more emphasis on the Young Father Mentoring because it is the least developed of the three.

I am excited about getting it off the ground before the end of the September, having met with a mentor and mentee; and they look like a good match but the proof will be when the relationship actually starts and develops. So once all the administrative issues are sort out, I will initiate an introduction. I am quite excited about my dream becoming a reality.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received?
I can’t remember anyone giving me any advice when I was starting up – I am sure someone did but I was determined to follow my dream and passion that it got lost on me!

What, or who, inspires and motivates you?
I am inspired by many men and women who have big hearts to make a difference with those less fortunate. I am motivated to do what I do by the people I actually have created these programmes for.

The other day I met a young father coming on the scheme. He shared part of his life with me and in my mind’s eye he was the symbol of the person I had in mind when I created the scheme – that keeps me going.

It’s also motivating when I run any of the other programmes and receive feedback on how much the participants learnt from the programme.

What are your thoughts on networking? Do you utilise online networking tools such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, and if so, have they made a difference for your business?
Yes, I am plugged into all three, as well as YouTube, and find them very useful. I have made friends/business contacts through all of them. More importantly it has given Divine Communications Trust more exposure and raised awareness of our work.

I am not very good at networking – not a huge fan, but see the benefits. I am better at one to one rather than an arranged network event. I have no problem contacting someone on say LinkedIn to set up a meeting to discuss how we could possibly collaborate etc, but would not go to a networking event specifically to do that.

What are your future goals for Divine Communications Trust?
Our future goals include extending our reach of the Bina programme to more secondary schools and to also start a primary school version.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting a social enterprise?
Stay true to and focused on the difference you want to make and what got you thinking of starting the business. It is easy to forget when people (who mean well) give you different pieces of advice.

Also think about profitability as well and the difference you want to make. If you are not profitable then you can’t continue making that difference. Also, you will make mistakes, which is not a bad thing – you learn from them and move on. You will be a better person and be able to share them with others. Be prepared to think outside the box.

For more information on Divine Communications Trust visit www.divinecommunicationstrust.org.uk

You can also find Divine Communications Trust on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and RSS Feed.

Viv Oyolu was interviewed by Octavia Goredema, founder of the Twenty Ten Club.

Twenty Ten Club is a Best Business Blog finalist at the 2010 Black Weblog Awards in the United States. If you enjoyed this post we’d appreciate your vote! If you’d like to vote for the Twenty Ten Club Blog you can do so here until August 31, 2010.