Last year, on my dads birthday 1/13/24 the Late Dave Martin. I received a call from Jennie in Nigeria. She had been following me on Instagram for two years and reached out to share a problem she needed help with. After we discussed her issue, she made a powerful statement: life would be so much easier for single moms in Nigeria if they had more "HandWork" to do.

Curious, I asked her what she meant by “handwork,” and she explained: cooking, doing hair, sewing—things that could help women provide for their families. I asked her how we could make this happen, and she told me these women would need to attend trade school, which costs just $100 per woman, no matter which program they chose.

Without hesitation, I told her I would sponsor 10 women. At that moment, there was no organization, no foundation—just me stepping out in faith. Jennie began recruiting the women, and what happened next was beyond anything I could have imagined.

Jennie hosted a live session online to spread the word. The viewers grew from just 50 people to over 2,000. I knew right then that God was in the midst of this movement. We selected the women, and Jennie asked them to submit videos sharing which trade school they wanted to attend. One by one, the videos came in. Each woman spoke with passion and hope, referring to themselves as part of the “Darlaina Rose Empowerment Program”—a program that didn’t even exist yet!

Seeing the flood of videos, Jennie suggested we create a separate Instagram page to host them, so they wouldn’t overwhelm my personal account. The next day, she sent me the link to a new page she had created: The Darlaina Rose Foundation. I laughed and said, “That doesn’t exist either… but OK!”

As we started helping these women attend school, we realized their needs went beyond education. Many lacked food, transportation, and even housing. A close friend advised me to establish a nonprofit, saying, “These women need real, sustainable help.” And so, The Darlaina Rose Foundation was born.

Today, we officially serve single moms in Nigeria, helping them attend trade schools that teach culinary arts, fashion design, makeup artistry, pastry-making, and more. Our graduates have gone on to build businesses, support their families, and transform their lives. On March 30, 2024, we became a 501(c)(3) organization, and we’re approaching our one-year anniversary.

This journey has been one of learning and growth—learning how to serve, how to take care of the women who mean so much to us, and how to steward this mission God has placed in our hands.

Our goal is to continue empowering single moms by providing them with holistic support—helping them sustain themselves with food, transportation, and housing while they’re in school.

We invite you to join us on this journey. Together, we can create lasting change and give more women the opportunity to thrive.

African Elegance: A night of Culture and Empowerment 3/9/25 7pm

Black tie Fundraising Gala-Formal Attire with an African Twist