Ever-Giving Hope Empowerment Foundation (EGIHEF) have empowered no fewer than 500 women including widows, with skills acquisition at the Women Entrepreneur and Empowerment Summit held in Kuje Area Council, FCT, for self reliance and socio-economic development of the country.
The Empowerment Summit with the theme titled “START FROM WHERE YOU ARE” had beneficiaries made up of young women, widows and the less-privileged, who were engaged in skills acquisition programme in Kuje.
After an intensive days of training in soap making, catering, confectinaries, makeup, fashion designing, hat making among others, all trainees were over the weekend given starter packs to enable them get engaged with their acquired skills.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of the organisation, Mrs Judith Chinonso-Ajah, at the event called on the Federal Government to invest adequately in Entrepreneurship to enable women and the less privileged become self reliant and for economic development of the country.
She said the gesture was part of the organisation’s move towards eradicating poverty among women, less privileged and the girl child, through the provision of skills acquisition, training, mentoring and women advocacy.
The CEO said if the government had done enough on entrepreneurship, the high rate of unemployment and youth restiveness, especially among women wouldn’t have been the way it was in the country.
According to her, it was high time to have a reduction rate on unemployment by investing in women entrepreneurship for the development of the country.
Chinonso-Ajah, However, pledged to do more in the subsequent years in uplifting women and the needy, and ensuring that they in turn empower others.
The wife of the Chairman of Kuje Area Council, Hajia Salamatu Sabo, who expressed concern on the rate of poverty among Nigerian women advised government at all levels to redouble their efforts on programmes that would improve the wellbeing of women and girl child in the country.
Sabo, maintained that adequate investment on entrepreneurship will impact positively on women with the less privileged and their immediate society, saying that it is the only way the society can move forward.
The Chairmans wife said the training sought to reintegrate women potentials to the society by empowering and developing their capacities through skill acquisition, vocational training, business mentorship, and coaching.
She advised the beneficiaries not to sell the equipments given to them but to make adequate use of the starter packs and get themselves useful to the society.
Besides, she, noted that it was important for an entrepreneur to be flexible in attaining success in business, saying that there was need to make total sacrifice, be disciplined, dedicated and zeal for acquiring knowledge to develop business ideas.
However, she called on the prospective women entrepreneurs in the country to develop the right attitude towards starting a business venture to become self reliant and be successful in future.
In a remark, the former LEA Secretary of Kuje Area Council, Mr Bulus Danladi, commended the organisation for the gesture which he noted would go a long way to assist the women to become productive in the country.
He, therefore, urged other corporate bodies and well-meaning Nigerians to emulate Women of Impact Network to ensure a better life for women and girl child in Nigeria.
One of the beneficiary, Miss Winifred Mike, who spoke on behalf of others and who could not hide her happiness, thanked the organisation for the Empowerment and promised to put into practice what she has learnt for self reliance and development.
Highpoint of the event was the exhibition by the trainees of items they produced after the training programme, as they all expressed gratitude for the opportunity given them to be self-sufficient, pledging to use the knowledge and items judiciously. (Contact details: No. 31, Anointed Arena Sauka Extension Kuje Abuja, 08065909023, 08164545710, 08037200194)