As part of efforts to ensure that women, especially those at the grassroots, are given a voice and given a boost in their line of trade, a non governmental organisation (NGO), Down To Heart Speak Out, an arm of Down To Heart Humanitarian Foundation, went round major markets in Ibadan City to talk to women hawking sachet water in markets and streets, to hear their stories and challenges and also find means of helping them get a better lives and improved financial base.
The organisation which is a woman, focused group with an obligation to share major challenges and problems facing today’s women, empowered almost one 1,000 sachet water hawkers across Bodija, Oje, Agodi Gate, Oja’ba, Agbeni and Ogunpa markets by counseling them and also paying for the products they will sell for the day of engagement.
The funds which were disbursed directly to the suppliers. The bags of sachet water to hawkers was a contribution by members of the foundation as there was no grants from any other source to get things done.
The empowerment programme was carried out under the PROJECT 1K of the organisation which is a result of focus and passion on women welfare.
The coordinators of the PROJECT 1K, Adebowale Comfort Aderemi and Chief Mrs Wuraola Adepoju, while speaking with the women at Ojaba market, emphasised the need to keep children away from the business, adding that children must be to go to school and not to be engaged in labour with their parents during school hours encouraged.
The duo condemned the act of many women hawkers setting up their kids to sell water in traffic, explaining to them that it is a criminal offence to engage in child labour within Oyo State and many other states.
Speaking during the outreach, the Convener of Down To Heart Speak Out, Comrade Joke Oyeleke, stated that though street vendors play a vital role in the urban economy through provision of self-employment to millions of people, many are in that line of work because they have no alternative, adding that many of the women engage in it to make ends meet and cater for their children.
According to her, many of them face a lot of issues and have no platform to vent their displeasure and this is the reason her organisation is giving them a platform for their voices to be heard so that they can talk about what ails them in their line of work and get help where necessary.
She said the women water hawkers are a story of resilience and adaptability whose livelihoods are shaped by a myriad of factors and navigating the challenges requires resourcefulness, adding that “this, we as a body, want to talk to them to know what they are facing and seek ways of making life easier for them.”
She said, “It has been discovered that an average Nigerian woman faces all sorts of violence; domestic, sexual, mental and psychological torture and above all, economic violence which can only be eliminated through empowerment and breaking the culture of silence.
“This is why we have been dedicated to women and the upliftment of homes, workplace, religious setting and the society at large. We have our members cutting across 36 states of the federation and in the Diaspora. We have a weekly engagement and interface on various societal issues
“Our engagement happens through the social media, experts on various fields of endeavour share professional experience capable of liberating the society and helping woman to cope with their daily challenges. We are a group of professional women, spread across different fields of human pursuits, contributing our modest quota to the growth, development and progress of Nigerian nation at large.
“This outreach is part of our objectives to provide good support system to women and the less privileged members of the society at the grassroots. We embarked on the project tagged PROJECT 1K to complement the business of those hawking sachet water with three bags of iced sachets water which amounts to N1,000 naira each.
“It is our passion to advocate women’s and the girl-child rights in society by organising, creating grassroots awareness program and encourage female students and women participation in policy making in the society. We also provide good support system to women and the less privileged members of the society at the grassroots level and source for scholarships and research grants for indigent Nigerian students,” she said.
Oyeleke said that her organisation further provides support, empowerment and training to the vulnerable women, provide a legal support system to the victims of domestic violence in the society, create more awareness on the rights of the girl-child, people living with disability, the less privileged, orphans, widows, widowers, and students especially at the grassroots level.
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