The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NGO

  • NGO lifts vulnerable group

    The Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice, an Non-Governamental Organisation(NGO) whose mandate is to contribute to the sustainable development goal five, which focuses on gender equality,  will not relent in its efforts to lift the vulnerable groups out of poverty and connect them to new opportunities.

    According to its National Coordinator, Comrade Sherrif Mulade, represented by Mrs Victoria Ajayi, who spoke at the empowerment and training held for artisans in Lagos, the centre is concerned about the prevalence of poverty and unemployment in the country.

    This, he said, informed why it came up with the initiative of empowering widows, single mothers and youths.

    Sani Lawal, Mujibat Odejobi and Emily  Nbezuo each got N20,000. Odejobi and Nbezuo are petty traders and widows. They all showed their appreciation to the centre, assuring that they would use the fund for the the advancement of their businesses.

    Ganiu  Mejindade, who represented the Chairman Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Council, said: “I’m glad at such a move by this NGO because even we government officials sometimes are not transparent in our dealings as we select our own candidates when such opportunity comes up. The NGO never did this and we, therefore, appreciate them for this.”

  • NGO inspires hope in pupils through movie

    A non-governmental organisation, the Young Bookworms, has inspired hope in the pupils of National Primary School, Abule-Ijesha in Yaba, Lagos, by screening a movie, entitled “Akeelah and the Bee”.

    The movie, which was screened at the school premises and witnessed by no less than 120 pupils in attendance, was greeted with a lot of excitement.

    The movie draws the attention of kids to the need to believe in themselves no matter the circumstances around them. It also tells the story of how an 11-year-old child who grew in the midst of a failed environment decided to rise up to the challenge by studying hard to become a national champion. Beyond that, it explained the need for young pupils to develop the right attitude to learning by ensuring that they heed  mentorship, advice and learning tips from their teachers and colleagues.

    Capturing the essence of the movie, the Project Manager, Young Bookworms, Ms Lola James, explained that the idea behind the concept was to encourage kids who grew up in less-advantaged background to remain unlimited in the pursuit of their dreams and aspire to greatness.

    Ms James stated that the idea of showing inspirational movies to less-advantaged pupils of primary school age is in line with our NGO’s strategic goal of encouraging the culture of learning through leisure activities. According to her, the NGO focuses more on primary school-aged children because they are relatively amenable to such educational interventions, unlike their counterparts in high school.

    “We believe in catching them young’, she said. The School Community Cinema is only one of the initiatives through which we fulfill our NGO’s objectives. We also run six other projects all year round, including ‘Boko Halal’ through which we churn out creative communication encouraging education as a way of combating all forms of extremism in the country. We also have run the ‘Knowledge-ON’ initiative where like a light switch, we encourage less-advantaged children in mushroom and public primary schools to switch on their value of the pursuit of learning by donating interesting picture-led story books and non-curricular books  to them. So far, we have donated over 900 story books to mushroom and public primary schools in Tarkwabay, Makoko, Ikorodu, Akoka, Ijero and Oke-Aro, on the borders of Lagos.

    Read Also: NGO launches scheme to assist boys during adolescence

    “What we do for school communities is that we look for stories of children or individuals that are in similar situations to theirs.  What we showed today is titled “Akeelah and the Bee”. The story of Akeelah is very similar to the present situation of most of these kids. Akeelah is an 11-year-old who grew up in a ghetto neighbourhood in the United States. Thanks to a perceptive class teacher and school head who noticed Akeelah was good at spelling. She ended up being a national champion.

    “For us, the School Community Cinema does not end with just showing the movie. These pupils at National Primary School are required to write short essays about the movie, which we will score and award prizes to the pupils with the winning essays. What we are trying to inspire in the kids is that irrespective of where you are coming from, irrespective of what your immediate environment offers you, just like an Akeelah, you can succeed.,” she said.

    Speaking on the movie and the lessons therein, the head teacher of the school, Mr.Folusho Oyeleye said NGO’s gesture has reinforced in the pupils the significance of hard work in achieving success in life. According to him, the movie has provided the needed motivation for the pupils to believe in their potentials to succeed in life regardless of the challenges around them.

  • Over 30, 000 Nigerian immigrants in Germany, says NGO 

    No fewer than 30, 000 Nigerians are illegal immigrants in Germany, and they would be deported soon, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), RARDUJA International, has said.

    Its Founder/President, Mr. Eddy Duru, made this known to newsmen during a one-day sensitisation campaign on the dangers of illegal migration cum unplanned journey abroad held at Alvana Secondary School, Owerri, Imo State.

    Duru said discussions were on-going between the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry and that of Germany on plans to repatriate the illegal immigrants back to Nigeria.

    He stressed on the urgent need for the government and concerned bodies to put in efforts aimed at educating Nigerians especially the youths, against the belief that life ends in Europe.

    Duru maintained that there are enormous development opportunities Nigerians can explore to succeed instead of focusing on travelling abroad.

    He said: “Our NGO is concerned about sharing information that many people don’t know about. Over 60 per cent of Nigerians especially the youths believe that life ends in Europe or that you can only be successful when you travel to Europe or US as the case maybe especially illegally, but we are saying that is not true.”

    Continuing, the RARDUJA president said: “We are bringing the information that as we speak, Germany is planning to deport as many as over 30, 000 Nigerians. The discussion is on-going with the top ministries to that effect.

    “These are illegal immigrants, but still many are trying to leave Nigeria to Europe or elsewhere unplanned.

     

     

  • NGO educates pupils on drug abuse

    StartNowAfrica, an initiative on empowering and encouraging young persons to pursue their dreams early, has embarked on a ‘Say No to Drug Abuse Secondary School Tour’.

    The tour convener, Mr Emmanuel Ohore, said he realised that reaching pupils at secondary school level was important in the fight against drug abuse.

    “During our campaigns in campuses, we found out that the students were already influenced at secondary school level hence our rationale behind this tour.

    “StartNowAfrica’s goal is to reach five million youths through our various platforms including ‘Say No to Drug Abuse Tour,”he said.

    Last week, the initiative visited Bethel Primary and Secondary school, Oke-Ira, Ogba, where it enlightened the pupils on the dangers of drug abuse.

    One of the members, Busola Sebiotimo, engaged the pupils in a discussion at the end of which the pupils concluded that drug abuse was dangerous.

    In February, the tour having been completed in Ogun State where over 1,500 pupils were reached, kicked off in Lagos, starting with Mainland Secondary School, Maryland, Ikeja.

    There, the pupils were enlightened by the StartNowAfrica team and a representative of the Human Development Initiative (HDI) about the effects of drug abuse and the need to avoid bad company.

    Also, some pupils shared their experiences about contact with drug abuse. One of them, Julius Adeleke (not real names) said: “I used to take drugs, but now I have stopped. What prompted me to stop was the day I took it, I was not in control of myself. I misplaced my phone and money, and then I knew it was not good for the body.  Also, my brother who introduced me to it has stopped and he is now a graduate of UNILAG.”

  • NGO distributes relief materials to 250 widows in Ibadan

    The Channel for Widows Relief Initiative (CFWRI), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has donated relief materials to 250 widows in Ibadan to provide solace and care for the widows.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that items donated include rice, beans, milk and garri to the 250 widows.

    A sewing machine was presented to one of the widows, Mrs Khadijat Ahmed, who learnt fashion designing and graduated from the training centre of CFWRI.

    Alhaja Fadilah Balogun, Founder of CFWRI, donated the materials on Wednesday during the 8th Ramadan Food Relief Programme of the organisation.

    Balogun said that life was always full of uncertainties and unpredictable circumstances and this happened when a woman lost her husband and became a widow.

    She said this was why CFWRI mobilised the widows and cared for them.

    “These women by the loss of their breadwinners are united by CFWRI

    through provision of skills acquisition, economic and financial empowerment, health care services and education support for their orphaned children to give them sense of belonging.

    “The population of widows is steadily increasing in Nigeria and little is known about them and the challenges they go through are making their situations worse,” Balogun said.

    Read Also: NGO lifts 2,400 IDPs, orphans in Kaduna

    She said that the organisation was spreading its coverage on national basis and about 20 widows had been registered in Ekiti State and benefiting from CFWRI programmes and same was expected in each state of Nigeria.

    Balogun said that CFWRI intended to reduce unemployment among the youth and had installed a monogram designing machine to further extend the empowerment training to youths for financial sustainability.

    The Guest Lecturer, Imam Ismail Busari, called on the family of the widows not to make life unbearable for them but take good care of them to reduce their suffering.

    Busari, who delivered a lecture on “Human Right is Widow’s Right” urged the widows to summon courage on the death of their husbands, saying death was inevitable.

    He said that Islam recognised the right of widows in order for them not to suffer after the demise of their husbands.

    In his contribution, the Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Isiaq Olajide, commended CFWRI for assisting the widows.

    Also contributing, the Chairperson, Board of Trustees of the organisation, Alhaja Muslimat Salau, said the widows were facing a lot of challenges and CFWRI was here to care for them.

    Salau said that a lot of widows had received succour through the NGO and urged the widows to make judicious use of the materials given to them.

  • NGO lifts 2,400 IDPs, orphans in Kaduna

    A Kaduna-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Arrida Relief Foundation, has distributed foodstuff to 2,400 people, including the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), orphans, People Living With Disabilities and People Living With HIV/AIDS.

    Presenting the items, the founder of the foundation, Hajia Rabi Salisu Ibrahim, said the donation is aimed at alleviating the suffering of the less privileged.

    She said the foundation which started in 2002 as her family’s way of reaching out to the needy, is now getting relief materials from bigger organisations like the Sultanate Council and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for onward distribution to the less privileged.

    She said: “What we just witnessed today is the opening of our Ramadan lecture and reach out to the needy in our society. This is the 9th edition of the programme and after today, we will be going from one community to the other. We will go to Rigasa, Ungwar Dosa and others.

    “I started this foundation with my husband, with just five bags of rice. But, today we distribute up to a trailer of rice. This is because we now get support from organisations like the NCS, the Sultanate Council and Kaduna State Government.

    “Today, we have given foodstuff like, rice, vegetable oil, clothes and mosquito coil to 2,400 people. Initially, we packaged for 2,000 people, but we got about 400 extra people.”

  • NGO, Rotary partner on maize provision

    A non-governmental Organisation  (NGO), Development Dynamics, is partnering Rotary Club to boost  dissemination of provitamin A maize planting seedto farmers to improve food security.

    Its Executive Director, Dr. Jude Ohanele, said his organisation was  seeking ways to improve the quality of life in rural areas.

    He said his organisation was using the small-scale agriculture model to alleviate hunger and fight poverty.

    Ohanele said the organisation embarked on the training of women farmers at Owalla Uratta, Owerri North Local Government Area of  Imo State.

    At the training, Ohanele said,  the organisation distributed free hybrid vitamin A maize seeds, sponsored by Rotary Club of Aladinma, Owerri to the farmers.

    He said the organisation trained  women farmers at Umuoma Nekede, Owerri West Local Government of Imo State. Similary,  the farmers also benefited from the distribution of free hybrid vitamin A maize seeds.

    Other trainings included one on good agronomic practices and distribution of free  hybrid vitamin A maize seeds at Umuowa, Orlu Local Government Area.

    He said, however, that the free seeds were sponsored by Chief Duru, a philanthropist.

    He said  using provitamin A maize   to tackle vitamin A deficiency is an excellent option because of  its availability and accessibility in most rural communities.

    According to him,biofortification of maize aims to amplify these efforts, taking vitamin A to people who may not be able to afford the cost of fortified foods.

    He said his organisation is working with HarvestPlus to  distribute  more nutritious crops that will enhance food security

    According to him, the rural households deserve better nutrition and the consumption of more nutritious crops to reduce malnutrition globally.

    He called on farmers to cultivate the varieties and consume them for better health and nutrition.

    He encouraged farmers to give seeds to their neighbours  during harvests to ensure rapid dissemination of planting materials.

    The farmers were trained on sustainable practices, accountability, sharing, passing on training, and self-reliance.

     

  • NGO to content board: limit spending on indigenous firms to 80%

    Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board(NCDMB) has been advised to limit its expenditure on indigenous firms, infrastructure development, capacity building and research and development to 80 per cent.

    A non-profit organisation, The Borderless, which gave the advice, said the balance  could be spent on investments and in other areas unrelated to local content development.

    According to a report by The Borderless, a not-for-profit organisation that monitors local content compliance and implementation in the country, the NCDMB is urged to also improve on its regulatory duty of effectivemonitoring and enforcing compliance by operators, both foreign andindigenous companies.

    According to the report, “NCDMB should be more above to its regulatoryduty of effectively monitoring and enforcing compliance by operators.The NOGIC Act should be amended to set a limit on amount of theNigerian Content Fund (NCF) spent by the Board on its operations.

    “There must be express stipulation that at least 80 per cent of theNCF is to be expended on Nigerian indigenous companies, infrastructuredevelopment, capacity building and research and development.

    “There must be express provision setting out the definition of aNigerian Indigenous Company and there must be a review of timeline onministerial waivers to reflect realities.”

    The Borderless also called for greater capacity building of the organised civil society on local content issues for greater public awareness and a more robust oversight regime by National Assembly to ensure better monitoring by NCDMB.

    “Greater synergy between National Assembly and the organised civil society for more robust oversight regime, amendment of the NOGIC Actand increased public awareness,” it stated.

  • NGO empowers women, seeks end to sexual abuse

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Exhale Nigeria Imitative, in conjunction with Community Advancement Youth Empowerment Network (CAYEN), has organised a women and girl’s empowerment programme and sexual abuse awareness in the community at Iwaya community in Yaba, Lagos State.

    The event, held at the Redeemers Nursery and Primary School Hall, featured training on baking, shoe making, makeup and gele tying, making of drinks, soap and air freshener making.

    The participants were also trained on financial literacy and business seminars, including how to get business grants, start business with a small capital, as well as save and invest.

    On Saturday, the sexual abuse and awareness campaign held. Participants clad in black top on blue denim met at Iwaya Primary Health Centre Hall. It featured film show- a documentary on rape, seminars, talk on sexual abuse, pledge signing and rally.

    According to the founder, Exhale Nigeria Initiative, Eniola Akinyemi, the empowerment was necessary having realised that a lot of women are idle because they lack the skills and finance to cater for themselves.

    “At the free empowerment, women have been trained to start business with little or no capital. The skills they have learnt is what they can start business in with the resources they use daily and the business can begin in their homes. They will also be able to provide for their homes and they will no longer have time for gossips. The young girls that participated too will be able to assist their parents financially. They will no longer have the time to unnecessarily hang out with boys and the rate of promiscuity will reduce because they have added value to offer and get money rather than offering their body. With this, I hope to achieve a better society,”

    Akinyemi said the campaign was to commemorate the sexual abuse awareness month, let people know it, how to curb the menace, what to do when abused and how to support survivals.

    “Someone abused is already going through psychological trauma, the community must be ready to support anyone that is sexually abused and we want everybody to take a stand against sexual abuse because the act affects not just one person but everybody. We must all support the abuser to get justice and be with them till they are fine.”

    She called for more sensitisation on the act, adding that survivals should be helped. “We all should understand our rights and help others to achieve theirs. Perpetrators should also be well punished and go through psychological counsel to walk them through the process of healing,” she said.

    CAYEN Community Engagement Lead, AderonkeAkinola-Akinwole, said the event was necessary following the rise in unemployment and sexual abuse, especially among women.

    She added: “Women cannot make decisions on their own because they are financially incapacitated. For a woman to be able to take care of herself she has to be financially capable and this can be achieved if she has a skill that can be used to make her money, hence the need for the empowerment. “

    She urged the participants to take the training as an opportunity to learn and invest in themselves. “They are now knowledgeable and equipped and we expect them to start doing something that will yield money for them,” she said.

    She noted that the participants had also being taught how to start small and meet funders.

    The Balogun of Iwaya, Ibrahim Balogun, said the community appreciated the empowerment, describing it as the NGO’s way of giving back to the community that has made them.

    He said the event was good, adding that the participants have a lot to learn. Babafiro of Iwaya, High Chief Gabriel Akinsola, said the participants had a lot to benefit from the programme, noting that the community would now have more entrepreneurs.

     

    “I expect them to use what they have learnt to better their own lives like starting up business and being able to fend for themselves and their family,” he said.

    One of the participants, AwoniyiOpeyemi, said she came for the training to enable her to become self-employed.

    “I learnt how to bake, I intend to be able to bake on my own, sell and make money for myself. This is not the first time the ngo will empower women and girls. About four years ago, I learnt how to make beads and I still make it and make money from it.”

    She thanked the ngo for the free training which has enabled her meet her financial needs at age 14,” she said.

    From fifth right (standing on black top): CAYEN Community Engagement Lead, Aderonke Akinola-Akinwole;  Founder, Exhale Nigeria Initiative, Eniola Akinyemi;  The Balogun of Iwaya, Ibrahim Balogun and Babafiro of Iwaya, High Chief Gabriel Akinsola, at the event.

  • NGO trains teachers on special and inclusive education

    A non -governmental organisation advocating for educators and families of persons with disabilities, Inclusive Education and Individualized Education Plan Centre (IEIEPC), has called for regular training of teachers, parents, counsellors and other stakeholders on inclusive education.

    Its Director, Mr Oyeyinka Oladipupo Oluwawumi, who spoke at a workshop organised in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Education for stakeholders in all six education districts of the state, underscored the importance of training teachers on inclusive education for special kids.

    “Disability is not the lack of ability to succeed; it only becomes an inability if necessary tools/aids are not maximised. To this end, there is a need for training and retraining of teachers. We collaborate with other professionals in the field of special and inclusive education for the divine goal of improving the lives of these children,” he said.

    The workshop, which held at the International Press Centre (IPC), Ogba, was devoted to advocacy on inclusion. It provided continuous training for teachers, parents, social workers and others, about unique ways to improve the quality of life, and help children with special needs maximise their learning potential.

    Oyeyinka lamented that schools had no standard plan for learners with special needs. “It is quite unfortunate that there is no standard plan by the school, and even most schools in Nigeria; although some consent to be using a timetable. If teachers do not have guide or see good reasons to have a modified curriculum for specially attending to impaired students, how then do we give these children opportunities to also fulfil their dreams and become successful’’

    Speaking on the topic “Best practices in special and inclusive education”, a senior lecturer at University of Ibadan’s department of special education, Dr John Oyundoyin said inclusive education should be approached with total adherence to the fundamental tenets of special education, parent involvement, community effort, use of assistive technology, provision of accommodation and the like.

    A nutritionist, Mrs. Ijeoma Ugwu, spoke on how to nourish special kids and avoid ingredients that may trigger anti-social behaviour.