Lagos, Nigeria. 24th August 2018 – Sixteen widows and vulnerable women on Friday, 24th August 2018 received a boost from Cakasa Ebenezer Foundation (CEF) when they received material support for the setting up of their microbusinesses.
The women who had earlier been trained by the Foundation in May 2018 in different crafts ranging from soap making to facial make-up were given material grants of over N80,000 each by CEF as part of its empowerment programme for vulnerable women.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony which was held at the Foundation’s offices at Ilupeju, the Chairman, Cakasa Ebenezer Foundation, Engr. Philip Yaro said that the exercise marked “the first time we are making a sustainable livelihood intervention which involves more than just offering financial support.”
He said that in the past what the organisation did in the past was just to make financial donations to indigent persons.
Addressing beneficiaries at the handing over ceremony, Engr. Yaro said, “We have gone the safe step of ensuring that we are not just giving you financial assistance but we are making sure you get the right materials to begin your trade. We cannot just dump you. We are making sure that you succeed in life. For this reason, we want to make sure that you get properly set up and we will stay with you until you make it through your difficult times.”
He said that the intervention by CEF was in line with the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of eradicating poverty and hunger and bridging the gender equality gap.
“Over time, with more available resources, as we identify and evaluate more need areas, we will direct our energies towards such demands.” He further said.
With this empowerment exercise, the Foundation has adopted the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework which was developed by the British Department for International Development (DFID).
The sustainable livelihoods framework presents the main factors that affect people’s livelihoods, and the typical relationships between these factors. It is used for planning new development activities which would contribute to the livelihood sustainability of vulnerable persons who have been affected by the factors identified in the framework.
The broad factors identified by the framework include shocks, trends and seasonal shifts. Some of the shocks that could affect vulnerable persons include human health shocks, natural shocks, economic shocks, conflict and crop/livestock health shocks.
Some of these factors could result in the death of a breadwinner or locational displacement of vulnerable persons.
The core aim of the sustainable livelihood approach is identifying how to change vulnerability that can help people to become more resilient and better able to take advantage of either direct support or capitalising on the positive aspects of transformative structures and processes set up by stakeholders.
This can be achieved through supporting poor people to build up their assets either by increasing people’s access to appropriate financial services or ensuring that critical institutions and organisations are more responsive to the needs of the poor among other means.
Engr. Yaro noted that with the successful setting up of microbusinesses for these women, there was bound to be favourable outcomes.
Some of the outcomes he listed include access to more regular income for the women, enhanced well-being, reduced vulnerability, improved sustainability and more sustainable use of their environment.
Cakasa Ebenezer Foundation is empowering the 16 women in conjunction with another NGO, OjuologeArts Foundation, who are providing mentoring support for the beneficiaries.