From Ajiri Daniels, Abuja
Foremost humanitarian organisation, Tabitha Empowerment Centre, has completed the first phase of its empowerment initiative focused on giving women the vocational skills and financial security they need to become better contributors in the society.
This comes as part of its efforts to provide the support and knowledge needed by indigent women and survivors of gender-based violence and help them become financially independent.
The training tagged: “Empower Her Initiative”, which is funded by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) in collaboration with the Women Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture, Mines & Industry (WCCI) is a follow-up event of the two empowerment training programmes carried out by the Centre in 2022.
The aim of the training, according to Barr. Gladys Emmanuel, the Programmes Coordinator and in-house Lawyer at Tabitha Empowerment Centre, is to encourage financial independence among widows and survivors of gender-based violence in the country.
“We are aware that widows and other vulnerable women sometimes experience exploitations because they need to survive, they need to fend for their families. And sometimes they face the most inhumane treatments. So, this is our own way of ensuring that they are financially independent and they are able to fend for their families without depending on individuals for their daily survival,” she noted.
She further noted that the empowerment will be a continuous activity that would positively impact women and their families, adding that the concern is to make the women self-reliant, productive and effectively play their role as wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters in their various homes and the community at large.
“It is a yearly affair and at the moment, we empower nine to ten women every year, but we are looking at upscaling this number provided the funding is available to cater for the numbers. The Empower Her Initiative is not just restricted to widows’ empowerment alone. There is a part for educational support for orphans which the Tabitha Empowerment Centre would be kicking off in June 2023 under the second phase of its empowerment programmes,” Barr. Emmanuel explained.
The event featured a variety of training workshops on financial management and Small Micro Enterprises (SMEs) led by different facilitators with diverse portfolios to help the women take advantage of prospects for their new businesses.
Speaking during one of the sessions, the President, Women Chambers of Commerce Agriculture and Industries. Amb. Zainab Mohammed urged the women to take advantage of the training programmes to build profitable and beneficial business models that will improve their financial capacities and impact positively on the social state of their communities.
She further harped on the need for women to achieve financial independence, adding that doing so provides them a backup lifeboat in the form of their own income, and empowers them to decide on their own life choices.
Other co-facilitators including Amazon Edith, Amazon Ijeoma, and Amazon Jane all underlined how important it is for women to develop their independence and skill sets so they can be able to provide for themselves without needing financial aid from other people.
Earlier in an opening remark, the Founder and Executive Director of Tabitha Empowerment Centre, Mrs. Christina Uzo-Okamgba (AFP, FIL) reiterated the organisation’s commitment towards empowering widows and survivors of gender-based violence in rural communities.
She recalled the 2022 edition, where 9 widows benefitted and are now self-sufficient financially. She hailed the referral made by the Association of Wives of FCT Traditional Rulers from the Bwari community in the F.C.T. as the most significant achievement by the recipients for participating in all training sessions, enjoining them to take advantage of the training programme as it is capable of transforming their lives.
Mrs. Uzo-Okamgba while giving her goodwill message, expressed gratitude to the Women Chambers of Commerce Agriculture and Industries for their immense support and all the facilitators as well as the various traditional rulers within the rural communities for their immense efforts in mobilising women from their communities to participate in the training programmes.
