Lagos women affairs ministry trains over 48,000 residents in two years

Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) said over 48,000 residents of the state have, in the last two years, benefited from its various empowerment initiatives and poverty alleviation programmes.

The commissioner, Hon Cecilia Bolaji Dada, made this known, on Tuesday, while addressing a press briefing commemorating the 2nd year in office of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, held at Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja on Tuesday.

According to her, the empowerment strategies had directly or indirectly benefited every family in the state, including men, women, adult, youths, widows and indigent residents across all the five divisions of Lagos.

This was just as the commissioner informed that the ministry would by next month start exposing its trainees to the use of technology and also enlighten women on newer practices in vocational training, considering the effects of COVID-19 and the need to adapt to the new normal within the digital space.

“In view of this, there will be the training of 500 women on entrepreneurial and digital marketing techniques come June 2021, as part of plans to mark this year’s International Widows’ Day.

“In addition, WAPA is equally expanding the scope of activities with a view to creating more avenues for our women to leverage on a professional platform. That is why 5,780 participants were incorporated into our Mega Empowerment initiative so that through their productivity, they can also contribute to the increase in GDP of Lagos State,” she said.

Speaking further, Dada said there had been positive feedback on all the programmes offered at the ministry’s Skills Acquisition Centres, whether Short-Term, Medium-term or Long – term empowerment initiatives on different skills, stressing that the graduate trainees from the government’s skills acquisition centres across the state were now contributing to the economic growth of the state as employers of labour.

“Our mandate is to ensure that there is zero-tolerance for mediocrity being caused by poverty, or induced by vulnerabilities from societal influences. This, we have achieved through the various training offered at the government-owned 19 skills acquisition centres in the state.

“The ministry created platforms for International Women’s Day, with highlights on the dynamism of women and a plan of action for ‘Women Assembly,’ with over 11,400 women in attendance from the 57 Local Government/Local Council Development Areas where issues that could deter women emancipation, as well as debar efforts exerted at curbing poverty, in our state were extensively discussed,” the commissioner said.

Dada further disclosed that a total of 3,337 adults also benefited from the intervention health programmes, initiated by WAPA, while 6, 780 women from five geographical areas of the state, also had the privilege of learning different vocations with participants receiving adequate start-up kits to enable them to grow their businesses.

The commissioner, while enumerating on the ministry’s participatory economic feat, Commissioner said that 700 women attended the ‘ WAPA CONNECT’ programme, pointing out that another 300 participants engaged in ‘Entrepreneurial and Professional Conference’ targeted at economic independence for the beneficiaries.

Recalling the involvement of WAPA in the production of Personal Protective Equipment like Face-Masks during the early period of the COVID-19 outbreak, she said the ministry harnessed resources to support the public with the production of 500,000 Personal Protective Equipment produced at the Skills Acquisition Centres of the state by trainees on the Skills Acquisition Programmes.

Besides, the commissioner said that several other thousands of beneficiaries emerged from its various other programmes like training of women farmers in cassava and maize, snail rearing and grasscutter breeding, grants targeted at widows, engagement of women on good parenting about societal vices and domestic issues and many more, emphasising that WAPA was truly committed to empowerment, and protection of women, through programmes targeted at economic growth.

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FULL TEXT: A viral post on WhatsApp is asking N-Power candidates to verify the status of their application and see if they have been shortlisted for the batch C cash grant…Lagos women affairs ministry trains over 48,000 residents in two years