‘Why I empower unemployed women’

When did you start this foundation?  It has been in me right from youth but the foundation was formally launched in 2008.What are you doing in this foundation?What we do is empowering the less privileged especially unemployed women. I was brought up in a poor home and God turned me to be what I am […]

When did you start this foundation?  It has been in me right from youth but the foundation was formally launched in 2008.
What are you doing in this foundation?
What we do is empowering the less privileged especially unemployed women. I was brought up in a poor home and God turned me to be what I am today and by the virtue of God’s blessings, I remember the past, how we were living with our mother because our father died when we were  very young. Our mother suffered because feeding us was a problem. To even go to school at that early age was another problem.
There are people who are facing such problems today and I decided to start this foundation to help them. The less privileged should be helped so that they can have a sense of belonging through owning businesses.
Was it your inability to feed well that pushed you to create this foundation?
Yes, when we were kids, we suffered after the death of our father. My mum had to struggle to give us one meal in a day. To even go to school was a problem. Now, I go out from street to street asking women what they do to sustain their families. They tell me a lot of pathetic stories. 2012 and this year have been heavy in terms of the support.
This year alone, I empowered about 66 people, spending more than N5 million through distribution of cash, sewing machines, motorcycles and salon equipment to women who are into small businesses to enhance their growth and development. The man you saw talking to me outside is one of the beneficiaries of the motorcycles.

Who are your target group?
They are people that have the ability to trade but have no money. Some people have good business plans and ideas but they have no money to go into those businesses. Some women want to open hair dressing salon, fry akara, cook moi- moi and sell in large quantity but they don’t have the money to start and that is what we have succeeded in doing in our little way. We want to teach them how to fish not give them fish because it may finish tomorrow. Before we empower them, we give them entrepreneurship training with certificates free of charge. After the programme, we give them N200, 000, N100, 000, N50, 000 depending on the business they are into.
How do you monitor the progress of your beneficiaries?
We ensure that they attend some of the subsequent workshops that teach them how to manage their resources. We also visit them  regularly to see how their businesses are doing. They also form associations where they meet and discuss their progress every three months. Sometimes, some of them call me, Madam, please come and see what we are doing. Some people sell foodstuffs, some do kosai, moi-moi, some are into sewing, trading, okada riding, fashion designing, computer operating, hair dressing and so many other fields.
When we were doing our empowerment programme, we wanted to invite the Kaduna State governor so that he can see what we are doing but it was not easy. Ours here is to empower the less privileged without receiving returns.
Do you have records of your beneficiaries?
Yes, we have all their contacts and passports here. We document them and what they applied for before we give them.
How do you generate funds for your organisation?
That’s a good question. I generate the money through my business and my husband is supportive.
Do you have a target as to the number of people you want to help?
As many as God can help us to help, because it will give me joy to see that I keep helping many less privileged people in our society. I have not worked with the government so, I cannot set a target. I will continue till I die and I’ve made it a continuous exercise. There are a lot of less privileged everywhere and I will not cease till I touch the lives of as many as I can.
Do you partner some organisations, government or private?
For now, I am doing everything alone. No one has come in seeking for partnership but I think in future, people will come in. The last one we did, about five companies came to help us during the ceremony. It was purely for refreshment; Maggi, Nestlé, Cadbury and companies that brought juice amongst other things.