Our Initiatives
Short Term - First Year (2020)
ENGAGEMENT/ENLIGHTENMENT AND MONITORING PROGRAMME (ENEM)
for education & development; Areas of focus include -
Societal Juvenile Concerns (Curbing Juvenile Delinquency)
Objective
The main objective of the programme is to address the prevailing moral decadence among the children/ youths in the Ibusa community through mentorship, counselling, recognition, incentives & rewards.
Target groups: School children from upper primary & secondary school levels including young adults out of school.
Indicators: An estimated 40% of the total Ibusa population which include those with incomplete education or out of school.
Modernisation of Ibusa Cultural/ Traditional Practices
This enlightenment programme is focused on the prevailing gender-based discrimination in Ibusa; specifically, on the following;
- The rights of female children to family inheritance;
- The obnoxious widow-hood rights that widows are subjected to.
Objective
To ensure that the fundamental human rights of women and the girl child are protected and upheld in accordance with the provisions of National & International laws & instruments
Target Groups
The Obuzor Council of Chiefs, Traditional/ Community Leaders, ‘Umu Adas’, National, Local & International ICDU Chapters, Various Ogbe Meetings, Market Women's Associations, Ibusa Social Clubs, Students in Educational Institutions, Youth Clubs etc.
EMPOWERMENT: SKILLS DEVELOPMENT/ACQUISITION FOR ENTREPRENEURHIP
Objective
To empower Ibusa women & youths, with the necessary skills they require, to ensure self reliance, independence & income security.
Target Groups:
Youth & women, between 18-40years of age. The youths will be engaged at the level of various ‘Otus’ (Odogwu, Uwolo & Iyase)
MID/LONG TERM PROGRAMMES 5 Years – (YR 2021 – 2025)
EMPOWERMENT: SKILL DEVELOPMENT/ ACQUISITION
Objective
We are focusing on entrepreneurship programmes for our youths & women, because many of them do not have any sustainable means of livelihood.
Activities/Focus
Fashion Design: Tailoring, headscarf tying, make up, otogwu making, with expert weavers – Machines, consultants, trainers, meals, starter packs, certificates
Other Skills Include: Plumbing, building, electrical wiring, carpentry, floor tiling, paint making, facilitators, resource persons.
EQUIP 2 GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Computer Laboratory for 2 Schools
To ensure computer literacy that will help the students in their schoolwork & also adequately prepare them for today’s competitive global village.
Science Equipment for 2 Schools
To enable the students gain qualitative practical science experience, necessary for a holistic & contemporary science education.
AGRICULTURE & AGRIBUSINESS
Objective
To expose our predominantly farming & youthful population to the better modern & more efficient farming methods that will increase their yields & the capacity to do more along the various value chains; by enabling access to training, enhanced seedlings, machinery & fertilisers as well as taking on the new will by government & all stakeholders to engage our teeming youths with the opportunities available in this sector. These would include;
- Engaging consultants, resource persons, facilitators & other logistics for a 3-week training at various sessions.
- Access to enhanced seedlings, agricultural products, fertilizers & machinery.
Other Interventions for Consideration
Engaging at the Federal level, for acquaintance with recently passed Acts that uphold & protect the rights of women & the girl child.
For popularisation & dissemination to the community. These Acts address harmful, gender-based, discriminatory & traditional/ cultural practices that infringe on the dignity of womanhood, eg, widowhood rights, inheritance rights, right to own land, exclusion in decision making processes at the community level, etc.
We can do this by –
- Creating abridged versions of the Constitution & the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, (VAPP), UN CEDAW & other instruments that specifically protect women & the girl child;
- Engaging with our traditional, community & political leaders who are the primary custodians of our culture, to carry them along & create ‘buy in,’ inclusiveness & acceptability.
- Availing aggrieved women & the girl child with access to the Legal Aid Office, where pro bono services are provided for indigent women & the girl child. machinery.
Ensuring that women in our communities are enabled, enlightened & supported to be part of the political process so that issues concerning them can be brought to the fore & addressed.
35% (Affirmative Action) is the minimum % of representation for women in the mainstream, in the National Gender Policy…a far cry from reality. This can be achieved through enlightenment programmes at the marketplaces, village meetings, engaging traditional & community leaders, etc.
Plans are on to register the Otu Ehulu Fulu Association with the State & Federal Ministries of Women’s Affairs, to avail the group of inclusion in programming opportunities in terms of networking with other women’s groups & mobilising technical, material, & financial resources from funding agencies e.g AFDB, SME Office etc, that have special funding & other support for women’s programmes.
Source of Funds
Donations by corporate organisations, individuals, philanthropists, International organisations, UN Agencies e.g UN WOMEN, UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA & some governments e.g Japan, China etc, that provide a range of assistance for women, particularly in rural communities.
Organising the beneficiaries of the skill acquisition programmes, into cooperatives & linking them to available funding & credit schemes, to support the programmes, to ensure sustainability.