By Vivian Onyebukwa
The Rotary Club of Akowonjo, Lagos, has empowered women through its skills acquisition program which was at Egbeda, Lagos during its monthly programme.
According to the President of Rotary Club of Akowonjo, Dr Sunkanmi Esther Amoye, the target was for women within Alimosho and its environs, and they turned out in their numbers. They were divided in three different categories ranging from soap making, cream making, and basic makeup training.
“We had our Economic And Community Development Programme for Rotary Club of Akowonjo targeted for women within Alimosho and its environs.This is after the order of the theme of the month of October in Rotary for this year. The month of October for us stands for economic and community development. We are empowering people, ensuring that their economic standards can be improved in any way that we can so that the communities can be developed socially, economically with the ways that they can contribute to the development of any community they belong to”.
According to Dr Amoye, after a research conducted by Rotary Club of Akowonjo for a need accessment, they realised that the most impactful people they can target are the women, and the most lucrative thing that they want is something they can do whether they are out or are at home. “Something that can move for them. That’s how we arrived at makeup which is very trendy right now, hair and body cream, and soap making”.
After the training, the club did not stop at that. They went further to provide them with starter packs for each of the classes they attended to. They were also issued certificates of completion. “Rotary is very good on humanitarianism, and there is no way you can show humanitarian in us without touching humanity on the whole, Dr Amoye, added.
She advice trainees never to give up, saying, “Keep it up. Establish yourself in that thing and then get better. Make use of the social media and advertise your business. Don’t give up. Empower yourself and tomorrow you can also empower others”.
Some of the trainees expressed joy in the new trainings they received. Eunice Ogbonnaya who was trained in cream making, commended Rotary for the project describing it as an eye opener. “I have been given a kind of skill that if it is well utilized, I can be making money from it. It is a way of encouraging people. No knowledge is wasted”.
Also, Grace Yusuf who got trained in soap making, expressed excitement. “I am happy because this kind of thing is what I have been looking forward to, and opportunity to learn. The funniest thing is that they brought it to my door step, so I m so impressed”.
She commended the exercise saying, “The lecture was good. I appreciate the organisers for making it a success. I learned how to make soap. Where I went to learn how to make soap, they asked me to pay money, but here, I have learned is free of charge. I m so excited. I learned a lot”, she added.
Lilian Nkwocha, a social worker, was trained as a makeup artist. “I am grateful to God and Rotary Club. Although, I know about wonderful things they have been doing because I am privileged to work as a voluntary health worker at the health centre. They have been bringing health close to the community, and providing drugs. It is a wonderful thing. I am thanking God that today I am one of the beneficiaries to partake as a makeup artist which I have been empowered with makeup kits. I am grateful to God and pray that God will replenish their pockets, bless and grant them with their entire families favour”.