AHI targets 120 indigent girls for vocational skills empowerment

Action Health Incorporated (AHI) has concluded arrangements to empower 120 girls residing in slum communities with vocational skills, through a two-week intensive livelihood skills and sexual reproductive health training in Ilaje/Bariga communities of Lagos state.

AHI organised a two-week intensive livelihood skills and sexual reproductive health programme with the support of United Nations Fund Population Activities (UNFPA) in Ilaje community. The project was aimed at improving the activities of OSG adolescent girls whilst advocating for government and stakeholders’ support for these girls who account for 60 percent of the 10.5 million children who are out of school in Nigeria.

After the training programme, the 120 girls acquired skills in various areas such as catering, makeup/Gele (headgear) tying, and bead-making. They were also handed start up kits worth over ten thousand naira to begin their businesses. They were registered with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and a bank account was opened for them in Access Bank Limited.

The Excutive Director of AHI, Adenike Esiet stated that beyond their business skills training, the girls have acquired better understanding of their sexual and reproductive health, adding that they have also become change agents within communities, reaching out to other girls.

“They have reached out to other girls with accurate information on sexual and reproductive health as well as non-prescriptive family planning commodities towards reducing the spread of unwanted pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Diseases “(STI) includes HIV among young people in Lagos state. It is important to note that lack of schooling has implication far beyond access to basic education, being out of school substantially increases, threats to these adolescents girls’ health, pressure to engage in risky sexual relations, pressure to marry early, as well as exposure to exploitative labour conditions.

“Policy makers and the larger society need to be innovative in reaching them, addressing their needs and leveraging the potential of this significant proportion of Nigeria girls because this is of fundamental importance to Nigeria’s own development.”

Speaking at the ceremony, the Deputy Country Representative of UNFPA, Koffi Kouame, noted that countries are currently setting in place actions that would ensure that the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He stated that the ability of the OOSG  to fulfil her potential is a major contributor to the attainment of the SDGs and therefore it is critical to the development goal of Nigeria, adding that the ceremony is a call to action for legislators, development partners and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to strive towards ensuring that that the OOSGs are empowered in terms of accessing formal or informal education.

Kouame further stated that in Nigeria, over 5 million girls are out of schools, noting that Lagos has been a pacesetter in the promotion of girls’ education and women empowerment, but a significant proportion of these girls are Out-of School.

“Studies have shown that girls/women who are empowered with income-generating skills as well as knowledge about their SRH have greater awareness of their rights and greater confidence and freedom to make decisions that affect their lives, improve their own and their children’s health. This in the long-term hastens the demographic transition to lower fertility and morality rates.

The Lagos state Permanent Secretary Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Folasade Adesoye, stated that the project by AHI has liberated beneficiaries to some extent, stressing that under-served youths living in communities of social marginalization are often restricted from a range formal and informal educational experiences that could broaden their horizon.

She expressed the commitment of Governor, Akinwumni Ambode to empower women/girls by expanding access to education, increasing economic opportunity and providing critical healthcare to the healthcare to the child, “the goal government is to lift millions of women, families and the entire communities.”

Adesoye added: “It is sad that the nation’s abundant mineral and human resources, our nation are rated as one of the poorest in the world. This is partially because women and girls that form significant part of the population have been neglected and ill-trained to contribute substantially to national productivity.

“The Lagos state government through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation recently organised a similar initiative. The state trained OOSG in Badia community on vocational skills such as bead stringing, make-up application/tying of head gear, basic sewing and fabric design, soap and pomade production/production.

“Over the years, the state government has established skills acquisition centres in all three senatorial districts of the state which is a policy strategy directed at women empowerment and steps towards creating an enduring legacy and institution on women dignity restoration through vocational training and skill acquisition as a panacea to unemployment in our depressed economy.”

‎One of the beneficiaries, Gbolagada Desola Odunayo, who dropped out of school because financial problem and also a teenage girl from Ilaje, a slum community in Lagos State.

She was among the 120 girls Out Of School Girls (OOSG) from Ilaje/Bariga communities who were recently empowered by Action Health Incorporated (AHI) and given start-up business kits at a ground breaking graduation ceremony in Lagos.