Empowering Change: United People Global Sets to Build a Better World by Empowering Communities in Nigeria.
By Raymond Enoch
In a world grappling with the urgent challenges of climate change, war, inequality, and economic instability, a global movement is flipping the script—and giving power back to the people. This initiative is United People Global (UPG), a Geneva-based nonprofit, is transforming grassroots potential into global progress by empowering individuals, especially those historically marginalized, to lead sustainable, inclusive change.
UPG is not just another nonprofit—it is a community-powered engine of impact. Rooted in the belief that everyone has a role to play, UPG serves as both catalyst and compass, guiding everyday people to become champions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From its dynamic leadership programs to on-the-ground humanitarian efforts, UPG is redefining what civic action looks like in the 21st century.
At its core, United People Global operates under four strategic pillars: Raising Awareness, Strengthening Belief, Facilitating Collaboration, and Fostering Community. Through these guiding principles, UPG reaches into communities across 149 countries, equipping individuals with the tools, training, and trust to take action.
Whether it’s mentoring entrepreneurs through UPG Biashara, preparing sustainability leaders through its flagship UPG Sustainability Leadership Program, or promoting peace and humanitarian aid through initiatives like United for Ukraine and Peace for Palestine, UPG empowers people not only to dream of a better world—but to build it.
With more than 2,742 UPG Sustainability Leaders trained and over 86,000 people impacted globally, UPG’s reach is both vast and personal. Its mission goes beyond elite conference rooms; it thrives in classrooms, refugee camps, startups, and villages.
Resonating with this story, of Global Impact is Patience Shimadoo Ukange. She is
among the thousands transformed by UPG’s vision. Patience Shimadoo Ukange, a Nigerian climate advocate, gender rights defender, and the founder of The Confident Woman Africa Initiative, whose life’s work is a blueprint for the kind of leadership UPG is cultivating—a grassroots champion whose reach now spans nations.
For more than five years, Patience has devoted herself to uplifting women and girls, especially those in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Abuja and Benue State. Through tailored skills-development initiatives, her organization has transformed the lives of over 3,000 women and girls across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, and South Africa.
Patience’s impact is deeply personal. “Sustainability is not just about the planet,” she says. “It’s about people, particularly those left behind in development conversations—young girls, rural women, and the displaced. Empowering them is how we heal both society and the earth.”
She is a proud alumni of the UPG Sustainability Leadership Program, where she refined her leadership skills and expanded her global reach. Her journey through other prestigious fellowships—including the Aspire Leaders Program (Boston), Vital Voices Visionaries Program, and the Visionary Compass Accelerator—has further fueled her vision of inclusive climate and gender justice.
Recognized both locally and internationally, Patience has won accolades such as the 2025 Bold Pitch Winner at the Visionary Compass Accelerator and the 2022 Most Outspoken Female Corps Member in Lafia, Nigeria. Her voice has echoed at the Gender and Inclusion Summit 2024 in Abuja, the Vital Voices Visionaries Summit 2024 in Washington, D.C., and the World Bank Summit 2025 in the United States, among others.
What makes UPG exceptional is not just its programs—but its philosophy. The organization doesn’t just train leaders; it trusts them. It doesn’t just give resources; it raises resilience. And it doesn’t just speak change; it sparks it.
One of UPG’s most unique initiatives is the Goodwill Vows, an inclusive take on the traditional philanthropy model that allows anyone—from schoolchildren to CEOs—to commit to giving back throughout their lives. By democratizing generosity, UPG ensures that impact is not reserved for the wealthy or the well-connected.
Its UPG Schools and Institutions program takes this further by certifying learning environments that foster sustainability leadership, civic engagement, and innovation, creating a ripple effect from the classroom to the community.
As the world faces turbulent transitions, UPG’s message is a rallying cry to citizens everywhere: the future is not a spectator sport. From Geneva to Ghana, from Los Angeles to Lagos, the organization is stitching together a global tapestry of changemakers—young and old, urban and rural, privileged and underserved—united by one belief: We all matter.
UPG’s impact is the embodiment of its tagline: “Powering People to Build a Better World.” And in people like Patience Shimadoo Ukange, it has found proof that purpose-driven individuals can do just that—change the world, one community at a time.
