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EKO HOT BLOG reports that 250 people have benefited from an empowerment program that was specifically targeted at out of school parents, vulnerable women, and men in Maryland and the surrounding area thanks to a partnership between the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) and the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB).
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Cecilia Dada, addressed the beneficiaries during the closing ceremony of the four-week, short-term training and empowerment program held in Maryland, Lagos. She expressed hope that the trainees would going forward be able to contribute their fair share to the advancement of the State and the financial uplift of their families.
She emphasized that the empowerment initiative will also improve the financial sustainability and economic advancement of the beneficiaries while outlining how the training program was intended to alleviate the socio-economic condition of the participants.
Over 10,000 students have graduated from the short-term program since it began in 2019, the Commissioner said, adding that the training programs are tuition-free.
Agege, Orile-Agege, Iba, Oto-Awori, Mushin, Odi-Olowo, Iru, Ajido-Badagry, Ibeju-Lekki, Ikosi-Ejiirin, Epe, Ebute-Metta, Ikeja, and Irewe in Ojo Local Government were among the communities she listed whose residents had previously benefited from the training programs. She also listed the Top
Mrs. Dada said: “The present administration under the leadership of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has taken Women Empowerment as one of its focal policies to mitigate the effect of poverty prevalent amongst women. We also realise that when women are economically empowered, there is less tension on the homefront and obvious reduction in domestic violence”.
While reiterating the need to enhance their proficiencies, the Commissioner charged women to aim at self-development initiatives with a view to being resourceful mothers to their children.
In his address, the Chairman of LASUBEB, Mr. Wahab Alawiye-King, commended the State Government for harnessing different avenues to address issues of out-of-school children, stressing that the training of the parents of the affected children is one of the several efforts of the State Government to drastically reduce the menace.
According to him, the collaboration with WAPA was a result of findings conducted by LASUBEB, which identified socioeconomic factors as one of the causes of children being out of school, and could be addressed through empowerment initiatives.
He said despite the reality that formal education may not be accessible to all members of the society, the government is striving to ensure that children of school age are not denied the opportunity of formal education up to the secondary school level.
Alawiye-King appealed to the beneficiaries of the training and empowerment initiative to use the economic benefits of the training acquired to support their children with access to basic education instead of engaging them in domestic or business activities during school hours.
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He restated the commitment of the State Government to ensuring that no child is left behind in acquiring basic education towards achieving the State Government’s vision of eradicating illiteracy in Lagos.
The beneficiaries of the short-term, four weeks training programmes were trained in Events Decoration, Tie & Dye, Catering and Confectioneries, Gele Tying and Make-Up Application, Ankara Craft and Leather Works, Hair Dressing and Wig Making, Fabrics Stoning, Throw Pillow and Interior Decorations, Production of Soap and Pomade/healthy insecticide production among others.
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