By Racheal Igben
The Great Women of Enugu Worldwide Association (GWEWA) recently elected its new executive, promising to empower more women as it turns two years .
After a successful election which was first of its kind in the two year old association, the coordinator and visionary of the association, Mrs. Hope Ezeanioma, was thankful to God for the success of the election despite misgivings.
Noting that the association was born of passion for some Enugu women who were marginalized and backward, Ezeanioma said the association was her vision, as she saw the need for women to come together to accomplish purpose and maintain the culture and value of Enugu state.
“In this present dispensation, we all know that there is need for our women to come together under one umbrella. This time around, it’s no longer for indigenes only but every woman who has a relationship with the state.
In this body, we have room for both the married, the daughters of Enugu and those that are married into Enugu.”
She noted that before the association was berthed, there was an existing one called Association of Enugu State Development Unions (ESDU), which did not allow women partake fully, so she saw the need to to bring on board GWEWA to get Enugu women together and empowered in various forms.
“When I was making consultations for this association to start, we found out that in Lagos, there was an existing association called ESDU.
All the towns have their representatives in that association, both men and women, but some of our women are restricted from joining.
“If your town did not send you as a representative, you have no business being there which was a limitation.
But this GWEWA is all encompassing because “we that are the daughters, from the origin of Enugu, we need to bring our wives together.
Enugu has a rich culture and tradition that we need to teach our daughters and wives to preserve it.
We teach our women how to tie wrapper, scarf, make some products, cook our native delicacies, learn our Igbo culture among other.
The coordinator noted that the group has been empowering women and hope to do more.
We empower widows and less privileged women and hope to do more.
“For these past two years, we have been doing individual support, helping, building, upscaling.
“But this time around, we want to take it to a greater height.
Every year, we have a vision of empowering two women who are not doing anything.
“Next year, 2025, by the grace of God, we want to start with widows.
“We will mpower them so that their children can be trained ” She disclosed that the association hopes to do more and let the public know what it has been able to achieve and what “we are doing before soliciting support from others and well meaning Nigerian, home and abroad.
“You need to tell people what you have in mind, what you want to do.
When they see the picture, they can be able to see where you are going.
Then you can solicit for support and they will answer you.”
On the new executive of the association, she was optimistic that they would drive the agenda successfully.
“So our vision is to have great women of Enugu, you know, our CAC reads worldwide, meaning that the association should be worldwide. It get to abroad soon.
So other states will soon emerge, hopefully, and with one vision and one goal.
“We want to build a formidable, strong force of women.”
On her part, the new elected President,Mrs Amaka Udejiofor noted that her plan is to reconcile offending parties and bring back the lost love to the association and then move towards empowering the women.
“For us to move forward, we can’t keep on repeating the same thing.
If we decide to throw away our past, I think we’ll go a very long way.
My plan towards this association, first of all is to bring back that love, which we lost. We are just two years old.
This is a new association.
By the time we finish our tenure, we are going to empower a lot of them because we have some widows in our midst.
In other associations , we have been bringing all Enugu women and other Igbo women together every August. We do it in the Association of Enugu State Development Union because I am the vice president there.
So we intend to introduce it to this new association.”