BY Oscarline Onwuemenyi

It may still be some weeks before Christmas, but for the women of Obinomba community in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State, the Yuletide season could not have come any sooner. Their joy and relief was quite palpable, even as they queued in the blazing heat to receive their cheques, singing and dancing with gratitude.

The cheques amounting to over N2.170 million were being presented to the women courtesy of the Joan Agha Foundation, JAF, as part of the Foundation’s Women Empowerment Outreach to empower Obinomba women with seed capital for sustainable income generation.

Through this gesture, the women, depending on their needs, got between N20,000 and N100, 000 as soft loans at zero interest rate, to enable them begin small business ventures or vocations of their choice to support their families.

The Foundation said it plans to empower more than 200 indigent persons in the community through vocational skill acquisition and seed capital to start small business over the next few months, in line with the Delta State government’s micro-credit scheme on empowerment programmes.

Indeed, the wife of the Delta State governor, Mrs. Sheila Roli Uduaghan, who was represented at the cheque presentation event by the area’s DESOPADEC commissioner, stressed the state administration’s commitment to lifting economically disadvantaged women through schemes aimed at supporting women to pursue viable trades or vocations, adding that

Better life for Obinomba women

when a woman is raised up from poverty, she raises her whole family and, by extension, the entire nation.

According to Mrs. Uduaghan, “We are proud of what the Joan Agha Foundation is doing for the indigent women of Obinomba and, by extension, the families of these women. We recognize their effort and urge them not to relent in doing good.

“The government can only do so much, and requires the will and effort of people-oriented individuals and organizations such as JAF to reach thousands of the unreached in our communities and cities. The government of Delta State really appreciates what this foundation is doing here today, and we encourage them to do even more to touch more lives for the better.”

Joan Agha Foundation is a non-governmental organization founded on the philosophy of sharing and selflessless. It was formally launched on July, 2009 in Lagos state. Speaking on her motivation for setting up the foundation, the Founder and President, Mrs. Joan Agha said, “I grew up in a large family where we were taught to share all that we have with others.

“There was a mantra in my family that ‘it is only what cannot be divided that cannot be shared. Thank God, I got married to a very kind-hearted man, Mr. G.U Billy Agha, who shares the same philosophy thus enabling me to live the life of sharing I was taught in my youth.”

She went on: “The Foundation is in Obinomba to make a difference in the lives of these women through these soft loans that come without interest, which is the outcome of a needs assessment we carried out with the local organizing committee, to enable the women start new businesses or expand existing ones.

“This is our first intervention in this community, and our intention is to continue to look for ways to make life more meaningful to men, youth and women of this community and other communities in the state and beyond.”

She added, “Through the Women Empowerment scheme, we are empowering targeted indigent women with basic equipment, financial support and vocational skill acquisition. The Foundation is partnering with accredited skill acquisition centres to provide the women with vocational training in the arears of their choice and also develop their managerial and technical capacities to enable them organize and effectively manage their small businesses.”

Mrs. Agha explained that the Foundation works with individuals, communities and corporate organizations to alleviate poverty among indigent persons in our society thus ensuring that their noble aspiration, desires and goals are not aborted.

According to her, JAF has several projects aimed at touching lives of the poor in the society including Scholarship and Education Support, Youth Empowerment, Women Empowerment, Medical Aids Scheme, Welfare Support Scheme, JAF Kitchen to feed the poor, and the JAF Advocacy and Media campaigns, which is targeted at creating public awareness on the plight of the underprivileged in the society.

The Foundation has specially packaged welfare scheme for the elderly, disabled and socially disadvantaged persons. The scheme includes visitation and supply of food, drugs and essential commodities to elderly peoples’ homes, motherless babies’ homes, orphanages, prisons and children remand centres. This scheme also extends to indigent persons in the society.

Also, the JAF Medical Aids Scheme is structured to identify and give medical aids to indigent persons in the society. Through the scheme, the Foundation pays hospital bills of poor persons as well as conduct medical outreach to communities to promote health education and enlightenment programmes.

Mrs. Agha further points out that the Foundation – through its Partnership Opportunities – presents “a veritable platform for people of goodwill to participate and support the mission of ensuring that the noble aspirations, desires and goals of indigent persons are not aborted.

Interested individuals and corporate organizations can participate and partner with the Foundation by supporting its or by volunteering or making cash donations to any of the worthy causes that we have designated through our Foundation.”