Educationist Onike King Among Top Ten In 50 Most Influential Sierra Leonean Women Awards

Mrs Onike King, proprietress of Excel Daycare, Nursery and Academy, has been recognised as one of the top ten recipients of the 50 Most Influential Sierra Leonean Women Awards for her long-standing contributions to education, early childhood development, institutional leadership, and community service. The event took place on 22 August 2026 at the Bintumani Auditorium, Freetown.

A committee led by Edmond Alim B. Fornah, Executive Director of Kids Advocacy Network, organised the initiative, with support from 29 advocacy organisations for women and youth. The awards, initiated by youth- and women-led organisations across Sierra Leone, highlight the work of women who have made concrete contributions to national and community development. Mrs King’s place in the top ten reflects a career spanning classroom teaching, school leadership, policy engagement, and international outreach.

Mrs King has been an influential voice in Sierra Leone’s education sector, particularly in early childhood education and the private school community, for many years. She heads Excel Daycare, Nursery and Academy. She has been steadfast in an education model that marries academic foundations with character formation, pastoral care, discipline, and a focus on each child’s individual needs. She believes that formative years are crucial to a child’s intellectual, emotional and social development.

It’s a story about education. Born to Mr and Mrs Ekundayo Gilpin, Mrs King is the fourth of six children. She began her education at St Anne’s Primary School, where her mother was Headteacher. She attended St Joseph’s Convent and gained a teaching certificate at Milton Margai Teachers College. Later, she deepened her professional knowledge by studying in the United Kingdom at the University of Leeds and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Those experiences abroad opened her eyes and impacted her work back home.

Mrs King’s influence doesn’t stop within her school campus. She served on the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Technical Working Group, bringing practical classroom and school management lessons to the national policy arena. In that role, she has helped plan early childhood education, ensuring policy discussions are informed by teachers’, parents’, and children’s realities.

She has advocated for investment in the earliest years of life and for high-quality early childhood programs as a necessary foundation for developing the capacities of future learners and citizens.

In addition to her work at Excel Daycare, Mrs King holds leadership roles in several professional and faith-based organisations. As Secretary-General of the National Union of Private Schools, she is at the centre of debates on standards, institutional development, and the changing role of private education in Sierra Leone. She also serves as Treasurer of the Christian Schools Association, offering governance and development support to faith-based schools.

She also serves on the Thrive Early Childhood Development Steering Committee and is the Chief Executive Officer of the GEED Foundation, which drives community-focused initiatives in early childhood development. In these roles, she supports programs that extend beyond the school gates to meet wider social and development needs in communities.

Mrs King’s influence has gone round the world. She has spoken and shared her thoughts on teacher empowerment, institutional leadership, and child development at professional forums, and has lectured in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, China, Ghana, and Nigeria. She was a judge in the Teach and Win Competition, a TV initiative to find the best teachers in Lagos. This work reflects her commitment to pushing the envelope in the teaching profession.

Her international work also touches on diplomacy and cultural exchange: as Chairperson of the Sierra Leone–China Friendship Association, she promotes people-to-people ties and cultural understanding between the two nations.

Mrs King says her Christian faith affects her leadership style. She is a member of the Good News Prayer Group and credits her faith in Jesus Christ for her commitment to serve. This spiritual perspective, she says, leads to a leadership style of responsibility, humility and a desire to serve others.

She is married to Mr Arnold King, and they have two sons, Kenneth and Kadel. Her recent recognition as one of the top ten in the 50 Most Influential Sierra Leonean Women Awards is both a personal and public acknowledgement of women’s broader contribution to Sierra Leone’s development. Mrs King’s path from classroom teacher to institutional leader, national policy contributor and international ambassador for education speaks volumes about the growing roles women are playing across the country.
Through Excel Daycare, her professional associations, her work in early childhood policy and her community projects, Mrs King remains a passionate advocate for an education system she believes will empower people, families and the nation. This award is not only about the achievements of one educationist but also about the broader impact of women who sustain Sierra Leone’s social and developmental progress.