Our Founder

Ngong Sonedita Nyeah, popularly known online as VeryDarkWoman, is a Cameroonian social entrepreneur, women's rights advocate, community leader and digital storyteller. She is the Founder and President of Women's Light Foundation, a grassroots organisation working to advance the safety, education, dignity and economic empowerment of women, girls and underserved communities in Cameroon.

She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from the University of Buea and has professional training in hair installation and nail technology. Her work draws on experience in public speaking, advocacy, content creation, digital storytelling, community mobilisation, project coordination and social media communication.

The experience behind the leadership

Originally from Bum, Fondung, in Cameroon's Northwest Region, Sonedita grew up in a large family affected by financial hardship and later by the wider insecurity of the Anglophone crisis. Her family had also experienced the loss of a sibling during the Lake Nyos disaster, leaving eight siblings.

Education was not guaranteed. Financial hardship interrupted the schooling of several members of the family, but Sonedita remained determined to continue. She worked as a house help at different points to help meet her educational and personal needs, and eventually became the only university graduate among the eight siblings.

Her childhood also exposed her to the protection risks that can arise when poverty leaves a girl dependent on others for basic needs and education. She experienced situations in which adults expected to provide support instead attempted to exploit that vulnerability. A serious childhood burn accident, followed by inadequate care during her recovery, left lasting scars and deepened her understanding of the protection gaps vulnerable children can face.

Building education, skills and independence

Sonedita's own path to independence was built gradually through education, work and practical skills. Alongside university, she learned vocational skills that created additional earning opportunities. She also built a career through social media, developing a strong public identity as VeryDarkWoman and an online community of tens of thousands of people across platforms including TikTok and Facebook.

Digital content creation strengthened her skills in communication, storytelling, video production, audience engagement and advocacy, while creating economic opportunities that contributed to her independence. Together, her academic education, vocational skills and digital career helped her become a versatile and financially self-reliant young woman.

This experience strongly influences her approach to women's economic empowerment. She believes financial independence is not simply about income. For many women and girls, access to education, skills and economic opportunity can increase confidence, reduce dependence and expand the choices available to them.

From digital visibility to community action

As her public platform grew, Sonedita increasingly used it to support community needs. Before establishing a formally recognised organisation, she was already participating in grassroots outreach — supporting vulnerable families, single mothers, children and hospital patients, assisting with educational needs, and using her online audience to mobilise attention and support.

These experiences changed her understanding of impact. Emergency assistance could respond to an immediate need, but lasting progress required stronger pathways: keeping girls in school, equipping young people with income-generating skills, improving awareness of violence and available support, and helping vulnerable communities build greater resilience.

That understanding led to the development of Women's Light Foundation, established in 2025 and built on the community work Sonedita was already undertaking.

Mission in practice

Under Sonedita's leadership, the Foundation has translated its mission into practical initiatives. In 2026 she led the Back-to-School Hope Initiative, reaching more than 200 children with educational materials and other essential support. The initiative also incorporated conversations on education, dignity, personal safety, girls' rights and speaking up against abuse.

She has also led skills-development activities for young people, particularly girls, in areas including hair installation, makeup, nail technology, braiding and barbing. These activities reflect her belief that practical skills can provide pathways to income, confidence and greater independence.

Her advocacy addresses rape, domestic violence, gender-based violence, femicide and victim blaming. Through community sensitisation, short films, digital storytelling and public advocacy, she works to strengthen awareness, challenge harmful attitudes and encourage prevention, survivor support, accountability and timely action.

Sonedita has participated in stakeholder engagement on femicide and violence against women and girls. These experiences continue to strengthen her commitment to collaboration with government institutions, civil society organisations, community leaders, development partners and other actors working toward safer and more equitable communities.

Leadership approach

As Founder and President, Sonedita provides strategic leadership for Women's Light Foundation and oversees programmes, partnerships, advocacy, fundraising, community outreach and project implementation alongside a volunteer-driven team.

Her leadership approach is grounded in three principles:

1. Lived experience should inform solutions without limiting them.
2. Community members should be participants in change rather than passive beneficiaries.
3. Empowerment should create practical choices that can continue beyond a single intervention.

She brings together the perspective of a grassroots leader, a trained accountant, a vocational-skills practitioner and a digital communicator. This combination allows her to connect community realities with public advocacy, partnership-building and practical programme delivery.

Vision for the future

Sonedita's long-term vision is to grow Women's Light Foundation into a strong, transparent and sustainable Cameroonian organisation with the capacity to expand effective grassroots interventions into longer-term programmes and partnerships across Cameroon and internationally.

She envisions stronger education support for girls, expanded livelihood and economic-empowerment opportunities, improved prevention and referral pathways for people affected by gender-based violence, greater community awareness, and partnerships that connect grassroots experience with institutional resources and expertise.

Her personal journey remains a source of perspective, but her work is focused firmly on the future. Today she has built greater stability, independence and a safe space of her own. Rather than viewing that progress only as a personal achievement, she sees it as a responsibility to help make education, protection, skills and economic opportunity more accessible to others.

Ultimately, Sonedita envisions a Cameroon where women and girls can live with dignity, remain in school, access protection and healthcare, develop sustainable livelihoods, live free from violence, and have the resources and opportunities to shape their own futures.

My experiences taught me that empowerment is not only about telling women and girls to be strong. It is about making sure they have education, protection, skills, information and economic opportunities that give them real choices. Women's Light Foundation is my way of turning what I have learned, the platform I have built and the opportunities I now have into pathways for others.— Ngong Sonedita Nyeah (VeryDarkWoman), Founder & President