Rachael Umahi and her foundation

Gender equality and the right of women to participate at all levels of governance and the political process have been the subject of global debate for decades, culminating in the ratification of International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which was further affirmed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In fact, the role of women in social emancipation crusade dates back to creation, when God perceived the loneliness of the first man on earth, Adam, and gave him a companion. Since then, women especially in advanced democracies, have participated effectively in policy formulation and implementation for the overall good of the society.
Undoubtedly, this noble role of women’s participation in the art of nation building became pronounced in Nigeria following the emergence of the wife of the former military Head of State, Maryam Babangida, through her pet project, Better Life for Rural Women.
In Ebonyi State, the wife of the first civilian Governor, Chief (Mrs.) Eunice Ukamaka Egwu, expanded the scope of women participation in politics of the state by making it a mandatory policy for certain positions to be exclusively reserved for women. Her pet project, Widow-Care Foundation, worked assiduously to reposition Ebonyi women, by inspiring them to be conscious of their potential and thus develop self-confidence to face the challenges of self-affirmation. For the first time, women in the state were no longer regarded as second class citizens whose place should be in the kitchen and as child-making factories.
The outstanding performance of the wife of the incumbent Governor of Ebonyi State, Deaconess Rachael Ogonna Umahi, a virtuous woman of our time and a distinguished humanitarian of this generation, aimed at elevating Ebonyi women and lifting humanity at large is unparalleled. She is indeed a legendary leader and a woman of substance who has magnified her office to serve the greater interest of the masses.
It is worthy to note that Chief (Mrs.) Rachael Ogbonna Umahi is a graduate of the University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt, and has since after her first degree had several post-graduation experience in human resource management in the private sector before her husband became the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, between 2011 and 2015.
She is an elegant, tall beauty queen whose intimidating size makes it difficult for anybody to look straight into her face. Her distinctive character and finesse are accentuated by her charming beauty. Her compassion and keen understanding of human nature inspired her to take on numerous humanitarian and welfare service to the needy by bringing succour to various families across the state.
On assumption of office as the Ebonyi State First Lady and wife of the governor following the successful election and swearing in of her husband, Chief (Mrs.) Rachael Ogonna Umahi floated her pet project, Family Succour and Upliftment Foundation, as an instrument aimed at positively touching the lives of the people, especially the down-trodden. The foundation has four thematic areas: health, education, economic empowerment for women and Youths as well as women liberation.
To further drive home her determination to improve upon the socio-economic status of Ebonyi women and children shortly after her husband was sworn in as Governor, she embarked on advocacy visits to several agencies and organisations such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), UN Women, World Health Organisation (WHO), Society for Family Health and other agencies and organisations to garner support and partnership for the successful actualisation of her programmes on effective development of Ebonyi women and children.
A critical appraisal of the excellent scorecard recorded by the Family Succour and Upliftment Foundation in its accomplishment of its cardinal objects, especially in its four thematic areas of operation can be traced to the ingenuity, vision and unwavering commitment of the founder, Deaconess Umahi, and her symbiotic relationship with her husband based on mutual love, understanding and passion to make positive impact on the society for the benefit of others.
The Economic Empowerment Programme of the Foundation is basically designed to achieve a sustainable economic empowerment and job creation for women and youths through entrepreneurship and agriculture in other to put food on the tables of their families by tackling holistically the problems of poverty. It is a well known fact that the major challenges facing families especially women and children all over the World revolve around poverty. Statistics have shown that most of the social malaise prevalent in our society today can only be traced to poor or inadequate healthcare, school drop-out syndrome, delinquency among youths, waywardness among our girl children such as prostitution and other antisocial behaviours- all of which stem from poverty. Therefore, economic empowerment is the only solution to the problems of poverty which the wife of the Governor understood profoundly.
Consequently, Chief (Mrs) Rachael Umahi has worked assiduously to put adequate measures in place aimed at improving in place aimed at improving the family income of Ebonyians through entrepreneurship and job creation for women and youths. She has collaborated with the entrepreneurship centre located at Abakaliki, which is an arm of the Women and Youths across the State in the areas of shoe making, hair dressing, fabric weaving, fish farm, soap making, ICT software development and system maintenance etc and some of the beneficiaries of the Vocational Training Workshop were provided with micro credit facilities to enable them establish small scale enterprises. It is gratifying to note that she has also attracted the Federal Government  sponsored SDGs Training of 1,476 Ebonyi Youths in ICT software development/system maintenance and other vocational skills, which the Umahi Administration has hopefully announced the intention of the State Government to assist the beneficiaries establish small scale businesses after the training.
In her dogged determination to ameliorate the sufferings of widows in the State, Chief (Mrs) Rachel Ogonna Umahi flagged off the construction of 50 units of 3 bedroom bungalows out of 250 houses earmarked for widows in the first phase of her widow-care housing programme.
It is also on record that about 5000 widows recently were placed on monthly allowance of N10,000.00 each while 200 persons drawn from each of the 13 LGAs in the State have been selected for a loan facility of N200,000.00 each so that they can engage themselves in Agricultural ventures in the area of fish and poultry farming apart from occasional goodwill extended to widows and the less privileged such as gift of wrappers, foodstuff, cash etc.
The office of the wife of the Governor, Deconess Rachael Umahi in collaboration with the Focal Person, Ebonyi State sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Obi Chukwu in 2015 inaugurated SDG Scale up of projects, which initially was flagged off in 6 LGAs and later was extended to cover all the LGAs across  the State, involving the execution of people oriented projects and social service programmes such as health centres, rural electrification, streetlight project, sinking of water boreholes etc. across the State. These projects that spread across the State, too numerous to mention, have impacted upon the lives of the rural dwellers.
On education, the Family Succour and Upliftment Foundation has the mandate to achieve 100 per cent girl-child education in the  state with a driving slogan, “Women education guarantees healthy family.” To this end, street hawking has been prohibited, especially by teenage girls of school age. The foundation, in partnership with the state government, has been subsidising the Federal Government’s Home Grown School Feeding in the State Pilot Boarding School System.