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Tag: NGO

  • NGO seeks inclusion of cancer awareness in curriculum

    A non-Governmental Organisation, the OCI Foundation, has said plans have been concluded to introduce breast and cervical cancer awareness campaign into the academic curriculum of senior secondary schools across Nigeria.

    The President of the organisation, Dr Chris Ifediora, made the disclosure at a campaign on cancer held at Stella Maris Girls’ Secondary School, Umuleri, Anambra State, with over 1000 secondary school girls in attendance.

    He said the proposal would be developed with support from the Harvard University Medical School, United States of America, as well as some international bodies in Australia and Nigeria.

    Ifediora explained that the body decided to champion the cause among young women to ensure they avoided certain living habits capable of attracting the disease in their bodies.

    Describing as worrisome, the alarming figures by the World Health Organisation (WHO), that over 8000 Nigerian women out of about 14,000 diagnosed with cervical cancer would die annually, the President called for urgent action to stem the tide.

    He said: “We intend to start with schools in Anambra State and will be approaching the appropriate authorities to work out the details and modalities. We also intend to engage religious institutions so that we can find interventions that are not only sustainable, but socially and culturally acceptable.

    “We agree that this is an ambitious and potentially daunting undertaking, and can be quite expensive, but we really have no option if we are to be effective in saving the lives of our women.

    “Sadly, while their counterparts in most developed parts of the world receive free and universal screenings to prevent and detect these cancers early, our own women in Nigeria and in many other developing countries, have no such preventive systems in place.

    “We, therefore, decided that we cannot continue to wait for our governments to take the initiative. We should also not just sit by and ignore the challenges we face.

    “OCI Foundation will continue to fight for our people, by giving them the tools they need. We admit that these tools may not be perfect and may not be the best. However, for now, they are the best we have.

    “We can continue to accept this unfortunate trend, or just pray over it or worse still, ignore it, and hope that it goes away. Alternatively, we can stand, and fight.”

  • NGO advocates educational development

    A non-government organisation (NGO), the Human Development Initiatives (HDI), has stressed the need for educational development in Lagos State.

    Addressing monitors of the utilisation of the Universal Basic Education Funds (UBEF) in the state yesterday at its head office in Sabo-Yaba, Lagos, HDI Executive Director Mrs.  Olufunsho Owasanoye said the meeting was convened to get field reports and experience sharing from the monitoring groups, team leaders and their assistants.

    She said HDI monitors from Amuwo-Odofin, Ojo, Mushin, Ajeromi, Apapa, Agege, Somolu, Surulere, Kosofe and Ibeju/Lekki local governments were expected to give reports on construction projects, rehabilitation projects, fencing projects and provision of furniture in public primary and secondary schools, to ensure the projects were properly executed.

    Owasanoye said HDI was monitoring Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) projects to make sure contractors delivered them in time and in good conditions.

    “HDI, with the support of MacArthur Foundation in Chicago, the United States of America, is monitoring the utilisation of UBEF, in collaboration with other grantees of the foundation. The project focuses on transparency and accountability of UBEF, particularly in Lagos State.

    “Universal Basic Education (UBE), a nine-year basic education programme, is expected to among others, eradicate illiteracy, ignorance and poverty. It is expected to accelerate development, while strengthening national integration,” the executive director added.

    She said the UBE Act was signed into law in May 2004 to serve as a legal backup, noting that it was funded from the 2% of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federal Government.

    According to her, UBEF is contributed by the Universal Basic Education Commission in Abuja and all states through the matching-grant-counterpart funding arrangement.

    “States through their Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) manage the bulk of UBE funds allocated to them. The funds cover such projects as construction of new projects, rehabilitation of old projects, fencing and furniture for teachers and pupils.”

    HDI Programme Officer Johnson Ibidapo said the monitors were expected to write their reports in details, stating the dates the photographs of the projects were taken and the dates the reports were written.

    “You should monitor the quality of the projects done by the contractors. Don’t challenge the contractors, just write your reports,” he added.

    The monitors told The Nation that there was progress, as projects had been completed and handed over to schools, while some ongoing ones were nearing completion.

  • NGO provides educational support to girls in Kaduna

    A Kaduna-based Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative (EWEI) says it will provide education subsidy to girls.

    It said that the subsidy would be given to the girls in public secondary schools to promote their retention and completion rate in Kaduna State.

    Miss Bilkisu Gwabin, EWEI’s Finance and Supplies Officer, made this known in Kaduna on Thursday, at the opening of a one-day Empowerment Seminar for 10 new beneficiaries.

    Gwabin explained that the support, under the NGO’s Educational Subsidy Programme (ESP), supported by Inti Raymi Fund, was designed to assist the students with fees, uniforms, and learning materials.

    According to her, the goal is to improve retention and completion rates of female students in public schools to enable them to acquire basic education and live a quality life in future.

    “The beneficiaries also benefit from EWEI’s empowerment seminar where young girls are equipped with productive life tips and income generating skills’’.

    Mr Babatunde Ajiga, EWEI’s Board of Trustee Secretary, explained that 13 girls had benefited from the programme from 2008 to 2017.

    According to him, 40 per cent of Nigerian children from six to 11 years of age are not in school, adding that EWEI’s programme was to support the education of intelligent girls from poor families.

    Mrs Grace Attah the NGO’s Programme Officer, Organisational Development and Learning, said that the beneficiaries were selected based on needs, ethnicity and religion.

    Attah explained that 10 new beneficiaries were selected to benefits in 2018, from Government Girls Secondary School, Doka, Government Secondary School, Television and Government Secondary School, Barnawa.

    Also speaking, Safiya Garba, the Founder and the programme Director of the NGO, commended the Kaduna State Government for taking steps to provide free education to girls in the state.

    “Although we do not know what it would cover and for how long, we nonetheless, want to ensure that we prepare secondary school girls and equip them with income generating skills to support their tertiary education.

    “We provide long term support to the girls up to the end of secondary school and provide additional six months life skills support as intern in EWEI, to develop their leadership capacity.

    “What we expect in return is for the girls to do well in school,” she said.

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    Garba called on parents of the beneficiaries for support to ensure that the girls’ study hard and grow up to be leaders in their homes, their communities and the nation at large.

    “Let’s work together to ensure they all finished secondary school and excel beyond.”

    Mr David McGrain of Inti Raymi Fund expressed joy that the fund had helped put a smile on young girls’ lives and pledged to do more.

    McGrain told the beneficiaries that they could do anything in life if they remained focus.

    One of the beneficiaries, 20-year old Jessica David, said she had been a beneficiary since 2014, describing the support as a life changer that had added value to her life.

    “Besides taking care of my educational financing and providing the needed learning materials, the NGO had equally equipped me with income generating skills which is helping me take care of my financial needs.

    “EWEI also enlightened me on my rights as a lady and how to set long term goals for a meaningful future, and thanks to them. I am soaring higher and higher to my goals,” David said.

    Another beneficiary, Mary Ayantokun, 19, said that EWEI paid her school fees from junior secondary school until she graduated from secondary school.

    “EWEI paid my fees for WAEC, NECO and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board examinations. I am so thankful to this life-changing support.

    “Not only that, I have learned several income generating skills like beads and cake making and other self -reliant skills that are helping me meet my financial needs.”

  • NGOs canvass shelter for domestic violence survivors

    Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) involved in issues of domestic violence and child abuse have asked the Lagos State Government to build more shelters for survivors and other vulnerable persons.

    According to them, the lack of enough shelters posed a challenge to the success of their activities.

    They spoke at a roundtable by the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), which is part of the British Council Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) project funded by the European Union.

    The NGOs included Acts Generation, Amazing Amazon Initiative, Centre for Sex Education and Family Life, Community Women’s Right Foundation, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Project Alert, Women Arise for Change Initiative, Women’s Right and Health Project (WRAPH), African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), Sophia’s Place, among others.

    The NGOs asked the government to provide a databank of domestic and sexual violence cases and child abuse which they all can access, as well as a common referral document to the Police and Mirabel Centre to make their jobs easier.

    Acts Generation President Mrs Laila St. Mathew-Daniel said at least five cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse cases are reported to them each week.

    She said their greatest challenge was where to keep survivors when they are rescued.

    “A good number of the women do not know where to go when they are in problem. I want to suggest that government should build shelter for vulnerable women in all the local government areas of the state.

    “There should be a fund which NGOs can tap into to help survivors,” she said, adding that she had operated for 18 years so far using her own funds.

    “We believe it is better to prevent abuse than to be at the other when it has already happened,’ she said.

    Amazing Amazon Initiative President Mrs Mercy Makinde said she went into advocacy three years ago after leaving a violent marriage 13 years ago.

    Aside asking for shelter for abused women and girls, she emphasised the need for women to be economically empowered.

    “We help women who go through domestic violence and teach children how to protect themselves against all forms of sexual abuse through sex education

    “We have the ‘Touch Me Not’ campaign which teaches children how to avoid and identify abuse. I believe that financially empowered women will be liberated from gender violence,” she said.

    Centre for Sex Education and Family Life Founder Mr. Praise Fowowe said there should be change in the approach to gender based violence.

    “Gender based violence did not start from beating the wife, it actually started from the home upbringing, environment and significant emotional experience,” he highlighted.

    Community Women’s Right Foundation Executive Director Mr. Lateef Akinborode said his foundation also partnered with the police to monitor cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse from the inception to conclusion.

    Project Alert Founder Mrs. Josephine Chukwuma, called for male participation in issues of gender based violence.

    “In all our domestic violence workshops, we noticed there was no male participation. We focus so much energy on raising and empowering the girl-child, leaving the male child.

    “The men are being sidelined, resulting in a lot of men being unable to handle successful women,” she said.

    Mrs Chukwuma who is also the Shelter Manager, Sophia’s Place, said she started the very first shelter for women in Lagos but that it was inadequate.

    She said she made input into the shelter built at Aboru by the Lagos State government. She said despite the place being equipped with state of the art equipments, it is removed from the city and inadequate for the volume of women displaced after violation.

    African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) President Mrs. Mandy Asagba told the story of a woman who laboured and sent money home from abroad to her husband to build a house for the family.

    She said the woman came home to discover that her husband was married to another woman and was denied access to the house. The woman was later found dead in a room she lived in.

    Mrs. Funmi Falana of Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA), said that the NGO provided empowerment programmes for women and children in terms of scholarship among others.

    Falana, who was represented by Mrs. Amara Nwosu, said the scholarship programme for the less privileged children from primary to university.

    “We have an ongoing scholarship programme, providing education for the less privileged children from primary to university level.

    “We also give lots of legal advice to women and girls to be better people in the society through our partners, the Femi Falana Chambers.’’

    FIDA Chairperson Mrs. Ngozi Ogbolu said the group focused on protecting the wellbeing of women and children.

    She said: “FIDA has a ward at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, and we have adopted a school at Makoko, Lagos.

    “We prosecute and defend cases, conduct advocacy and organise training for survivors of gender based violence. We run Alternate Dispute Resolution, ADR, and resolve a lot of marital issues.’’

     

  • Photos: Ooni welcomes new wife to palace

    Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has welcomed his new Olori into his palace in Ife, Osun state.

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  • Youth entrepreneurship: NGOs to the rescue

    Youth empowerment and entrepreneurship are critical to eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring economic growth. Some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are working to offer youths Gskills to start their own businesses. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The International Labour Organization (ILO) said more than 66 million young people aged between 15 and 24 across the world are unemployed.

    Nigeria is one of the nations affected, with unemployed youths accounting for more than half its unemployed population. This, according to experts, has made the need to increase skills training for youths compelling.

    Already, some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have risen to the challenge. One of them is Afterschool Centre for Career Development (ACCD), a non-governmental, capacity development organisation committed to inspiring, investing in, and engaging young people.

    The NGO, which also facilitates growth opportunities for youth start-ups, was designed to encourage faster private sector growth by providing grants for start-ups; improving vocational training, and providing opportunities for retraining and volunteering.

    Specifically, the organisation is exploring opportunities in alternative energy solutions sector, where it targets solar power to create jobs for youths. According to the NGO, solar energy has great job opportunities.

    Faculty Lead, Afterschool Centre for Career Development, Miss Esther Eshiet, said the organisation was tackling youth unemployment and lack of energy access by training graduates in clean energy entrepreneurship.

    She said the organisation had launched Unwana, a national solar jobs project, which is part of its green jobs programme aimed at creating awareness, catalysing market demand and training skilled solar engineers and entrepreneurs to provide after sales services.

    This intervention, Eshiet said, will improve the uptake of solar energy solutions and greatly reduce dependency on fossil fuel.

    Delivered in partnership with ASteven Group and Verge Development Solutions, she said the solar engineering training will provide participants with the knowledge and skills needed to pursue a career in the solar energy field and become successful solar energy entrepreneurs and engineers.

    Eshiet added that the entrepreneurs will take part in practical activities to understand what can go wrong during the installation, the required panels, quality of products, and problems to look out for, among others.

    She said the organisation was keen on equipping solar entrepreneurs with all the right tools required to run their businesses.

    According to her, the beneficiaries will be able to launch their own sustainable energy enterprises to earn money for themselves while expanding energy access in their communities.

    Beyond the training component, Eshiet said the project was also providing start-up investment loans of up to N1 million to trainee solar engineers and entrepreneurs.

    ACCD is also focusing on improving the employability of graduates through volunteer and internship opportunities.

    The organisation has created an online platform called Opportunity Hub that links young people to available resources.

    Through the platform, it provides information on conferences, post-graduate degrees, vacancies and skills-development opportunities. It currently has more than 42, 000 subscribers on the platform.

    The Faculty Lead said the organisation has developed an e-mentoring programme, which enables young people have access to career services online through Opportunity Hub. It also allows them gain personal support and mentorship to realise their professional dreams.

    Another area the NGO has broken new grounds was in promoting access to finance for start-ups.  In collaboration with Heritage Bank and PIND Foundation, Afterschool Centre for Career Development held an ‘Access to Finance Workshop’ to expose Nigerians to the numerous funding opportunities available for entrepreneurs in high impact sectors.

    The sectors include manufacturing, technology, agriculture, real estate and retail. The workshop was attended by 121 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Calabar, Cross River State.

    The organisation also held a digital summer academy, where winners emerged at the end of the Academy’s Pitch Fest programme.

    One of them included Emilia Omini Okoi, who won the first prize with her idea, tagged ‘Revamp,’ an online portal to teach people to reuse and recycle their existing wares to wealth.  Her first prize included an HP Laptop and a six- month incubation and data support.

    The second prize winner, Francis Benjamin, won an HP Laptop, three months incubation and data support for his BandAid idea – a content curation platform for life bands and entertainers nationally.

    Third prize winner, Precious Inyang, won a Lenovo IdeaPad laptop, one month incubation and data support for Readlearn- a targeted learning platform for young people preparing for examinations.

    The Runner ups for the fourth and fifth prizes went to Smith Nkereuwem of Jalo App and Keyu Patrick, for her gerontology service idea for retired civil servants.

    Similarly, Start Hub, a tech incubator, based in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, is driving the growth of innovative digital companies.

    Start Hub is a lab with business centre facilities and all-in-one-open-space for entrepreneurs to leverage on Nigeria’s strength and capitalize on opportunities in the global economy.

    Its aim was to stimulate economic growth in the tech community by providing key ingredients like seed funding, mentorship and access to business expertise.

    Others are networking opportunities, peer review, pitch development, product testing and introduction to investors.

    As part of its entrepreneurship project, Start Innovation Hub is providing business training to young entrepreneurs.

    Its Founder, Johnson Hanson, said the hub conducts training programmes to tackle youth unemployment through entrepreneurship.

    According to him, the hub trains, nurtures, and supports entrepreneurs as they launch, grow and operate successful businesses.

    Hanson said the support he received from actors in the national and global start-up ecosystem and his participation in international fora where young entrepreneurs are given the right opportunities and support were crucial to his success.

    He said of all the ICT Hubs in Akwa-Ibom, Facebook chose Start-Innovation hub as its key partner, and that so far, more than 500 youths have been trained on entrepreneurship and ICT. There are over 145 people in the hub.

    Hanson believes that through greater investment and capacity building in digital literacy and skills development, Nigeria will be able to narrow employment gaps and create an environment in which everyone can thrive in the marketplace.

    Working with Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE), the hub has also been able to empower women in the region to start and run businesses using digital tools, ensure full, non-discriminatory education and skills training, and broaden access to finance and markets.

    The aim was, according to Hanson, was to promote women’s economic empowerment as a catalyst for growth in all sectors and also boost employment.

    Having graduated from the Federal University of Technology (FUTO), Owerri, with a major in Engineering, Johnson has over time developed himself to an information and communication technology (ICT) expert. He is now a role model for youths seeking a career in ICT.

    As a tech entrepreneur, Johnson is following his dream to shape the future of tech entrepreneurship in Africa.

  • NGO to construct public toilets in Ekiti

    Bread of Life Development Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has concluded plans to construct model public toilets in 14 small towns in Ekiti West and Gbonyin Local Governments, Ekiti State, between October 2018 and May 2019

    The project titled: Farewell to Open Defecation, is being implemented under the civil society grant component of the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme Phase Three (WSSSRP) III, financed by the European Union in Ekiti, Plateau, and Adamawa states.

    According to statistics, Ekiti State has a safe sanitation coverage of 32 percent in rural and small towns, and 38 percent in urban towns. Open defecation, which accounts for 68 percent, is the highest in the south west of the country, according to State Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) policy.

    In Gbonyin Local Government Area, a UNICEF 2014 survey, shows that 92 percent of the communities are without public latrines; and in Ekiti West Local Government Area, 124 communities do not have any form of public latrines according to the Ekiti West WASH profile, 2014 report.

    ‘Farewell to Open Defecation’ will reduce open defecation in Ekiti State and its associated health effects; generally increase living standards; improve economic livelihoods through jobs and income creations; reduce economic losses due to incidences of diseases caused by poor sanitation and safe water; and result in safe sanitation behaviours, and safe hygiene practices in 14 small towns in Gbonyin and  Ekiti West LGAs, Ekiti State.

    The overall objective of the project is to strengthen  water and sanitation (WASH) governance institutions; increase prioritisation and funding of WASH  sector by public and non-public actors; and  increase access to sustainably managed, safe Sanitation WASH facilities  in 14 Small towns in Gbonyin and Ekiti West Local Government Areas (LGAs), Ekiti State.

    The scheme is a WASH governance and service provision project, mobilising stakeholders for effective WASH management, and sustainably increasing access to safe WASH services through construction of  Sanitation Demonstration Units (SDUs) in 14 Small towns, Gbonyin and Ekiti West Local Government Areas (LGAs), Ekiti State.

    The project will result in the construction of modern public toilets in 14 small towns in Ekiti State between October 2018 and May, 2019. The benefitting towns are Iluomoba, Agbado, Egbe,  Imesi, Ijan,  Aisegba, and Ode in Gbonyin LGA; and   Erio, Ido-Ile, Ipole-Iloro, Aramoko, Oke Imesi, Erinjinyan and Ikogosi in Ekiti West LGA

    The public toilets also known as integrated Sanitation Demonstration Units (SDUs) will be constructed in either a motor park, bus stop, garage, or market place; and comprise two blocks of three compartment pour flush toilet, urinals, handwashing facilities, bathing room, laundry, car wash, a sani centre,  solar powered motorised borehole, and three prepaid meter public water standpoints.

    The project will also support the sanitation task groups  in the two councils to discuss and address WASH governance issues particularly policy, regulatory, legal, institutional, and financial framework for accelerated access to safe sanitation; facilitate several media based high level advocacy to key public and non-public service providers towards prioritising sanitation and mobilising financial resources for safe sanitation  in the two LGAs; support the two LGAs Sanitation Task Groups to organise WASH public enlightenment  meetings quarterly; and mobilise community leaders in the LGAs on strategies of accelerating safe sanitation and hygiene practices in the 14 small towns.

    The constructed public toilets will be handed over to Public Toilet Management Committee (PTMC) for sustainable management, while private operators will be locally recruited to  operate and maintain the public toilets through public contracts. The public toilets will be operated using a business model, and revenues realised from user charges will be deposited in a Sanitation Revolving Fund, which is a financing mechanism for development of sanitation infrastructure in the small towns, at household and institutional levels.

  • NGO introduces mobile game on governance

    A non-governmental organisation, Youth Alive Foundation (YAF) yesterday launched a mobile game, which seeks to help youths to understand their civic rights.

    YAF produced the 3D civic mobile game app, the first of its kind in Nigeria and known as: “Your Excellency” with support from Innovation Spread the Word Fund (ISWF), an arm of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

    Your Excellency is an adventure civic mobile game app which is a learning tool for young people on governance.

    It is expected to build capacities of young people to engage in governance.

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Agboola Dabiri, lauded the innovation at the launch.

    He urged the youth to make good use of the initiative.

    “It is a wonderful concept. For the youth to come up with such a laudable project, they need to be appreciated and supported.

    “The youth are resourceful; Lagos State does not underrate any youth because we know they are the future.”

    Dabiri urged the youth to shun violence and vote wisely in 2019.

    A representative of USAID, Charles Abani, said Nigeria would improve through good governance.

    The YAF Executive Director, Mrs. Uduak Okon, said that the game launch was apt following the enactment of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill.

    “Young people do not really know the rudiments of good governance; this game equips them with the civic capacity to be able to engage in governance effectively and build leadership skills.

    “We want to encourage the youth to do something about governance and effect positive changes in the society,’’ she said.

    She urged them to make proper use of lessons from the game to contribute meaningfully to the society.

     

     

  • NGO launches project to eradicate street kids

    A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Children Palm City Foundation Inc., has launched a project, titled: “The Eradication of the street child and the influx,” to get children off the street and build a secured future for them.

    At the launch/inauguration of its board meeting yesterday in Ikeja, the Lagos State capital, the foundation’s Chairman Dr Adefunke Wellington said the project, which is backed by the United Nations (UN), seeks to remove every child from the street in Nigeria, build a city to educate, accommodate, employ and feed the children.

    She said: “The menaces caused by street children cannot be overemphasised, and the neglect on them poses a threat to the society. They end up getting involved in criminal activities, like war-mongering, sex trade, child slavery, terrorism and robbery.

    “Children are the future of every country; we must show them love and they will become better persons in the society tomorrow.”

    Dr Wellington added: “With this project, we will educate children from crèche to the university level. As they graduate, jobs will be waiting for them. We will also feed them. We will build a university, build factories to engage the street children. We will build this city across states in the country and an NGO that will probably only cater for children till secondary level can bring them to us for further education, instead of putting them back on the streets.”

    The foundation chief stressed that Nigeria is the pilot scheme for the project, adding that it will spread across Africa.

    She said: “The project is to help those children on the street, either as a result of war-ravaged countries, death of parents, epidemics, natural disasters, overpopulation or poverty.

    “There are NGOs everywhere, but what makes our own unique is that we are also centred on those children who will be the next to go to the street. These are the children who are in orphanage or in homes living with poor parents who are unable to give them befitting education or can no longer be controlled by their parents and already want to hit the street.

    “Most NGOs are focusing on the children that are already on the street and have trained some to be good leaders. But our focus is to prevent the next set of children who are ready to be on the street from going there. We will bring them into the city to train them to have a good future and to live in the way of God.

    “Our problem in the world and not only in Nigeria is that we do not train our children in the way of God. That is why they are on the street. When children are trained in the way of God, there will be peace in the land.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Two NGOs boost women empowerment

    In line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of eradicating poverty and hunger, Cakasa Ebenezer Foundation (CEF), in conjunction with OjulogeArts Leadership and Development Initiative (OLADI), has empowered 16 widows and vulnerable women.

    At the event held at the Foundation’s office, each widow received N80, 000 and other materials to support the setting up of their microbusinesses.

    The women, who had earlier been trained months ago in various crafts ranging from soap making to facial make-up, were also supported with an additional N50, 000 each by Segun Ikugbonmire, managing director, Vibroflotation Geotechnical Nigeria Limited.

    CEF Chairman Philip Yaro, said this was the first time the foundation was making a sustainable livelihood intervention which involved more than just offering financial support. He said: ‘In the past what the organisation did was just to make financial donations to indigent persons. We have gone the safe step of ensuring that we are not just giving financial assistance but we are making sure you get the right materials to begin your trade. We cannot just dump you. We are making sure that you succeed in life.

    “For this reason, we want to make sure you get properly set up and we will stay with you until you make it through your difficult times. Please always make sure that you get in touch with us as we will like to continue to work with you especially at a time when you would have grown into mentors of those who are coming after you.”

    He believed that with the successful setting up of microbusinesses for the women, there will be favourable outcome such as enhancement of well-being, reduced vulnerability, access to regular income and improved food security, adding that the foundation office and personnel will be the constant buyers of their products.

    Ojuloge Arts Leadership and Development Initiative Trainer, Mrs Tosin Adegoke, enjoined the women to be diligent and embrace integrity as they grow their businesses.

    “You are now CEOs and I expect success, integrity and diligent as you grow your businesses. The success of this business depends on your ability to be creative. I also expect that in no time you will be mentors to others coming after you and also employ workers. Think outside the box and explore using other things in the course of your cosmetic produce,” she added.