By Peter Duru, Makurdi 

Over 50 women in Benue Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps and host communities have been equipped with vocational and managerial skills for economic empowerment by Center for Redefining Alternative Civic Engagement for Africa (RACE Center). 

The scheme is implemented under the “Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment/Resilient Project (POWER) or “Tahav” in Tiv language in partnership with Gender and Environmental Risk Reduction Initiative (GERI), and supported by the French Embassy in Nigeria. 

Speaking during the Women Empowerment Dialogue Meeting for Conflict-Affected Communities held in Makurdi, the Executive Director of RACE Center, Evelyn Ugbe explained that the benefiting women had already undergone skills training in tailoring, hair dressing, bag and soap making, baking, among others and had also started generating income from the enterprise. 

She explained that the meeting, with the theme “Building Resilience and Advancing Economic Opportunities for Women in Conflict-Affected Communities,” was a pointer to the project’s focus which “is to build economic resilience of Gender Based Violence (GBV) survivors and vulnerable women in IDP camps and host communities in the state. 

“So we are having conversations about building their economic resilience through livelihood support, through vocational skills training as well as linkages to market. We have identify that as one of the huge gaps in economic empowerment projects. After all projects and services are made how do we link these women to the market? So practically you witnessed how we do it at RACE Center. 

“We have developed their skills and they are learning how to produce liquid and bar soaps, they are learning how to produce bags, they are learning household food processing, business management skills so that they do not have only professional skills but have knowledge in accounting, book keeping and marketing. 

“We are also teaching them self confidence through our Safe Spaces. Some of this women are survivors of GBV. So through out Safe Spaces and mind therapy sessions we have been able to get some of them talk about their traumatic situations. As they open up we are able to report the cases to the relevant agencies. 

“One of the agencies we are working with is the Benue Sexual Assault Referral Centre. So we are not only building their skills we are also building their confidence because a woman who is not confident cannot develop economically.” 

Ugbe also acknowledged some of the guests who joined the meeting virtually including Pierre Bonnel, Program Officer at the Embassy of France in Nigeria, and Christy Asala as well as Andrew Ochu-Baiye of the Cognito Project among others. 

The lawmaker representing Otukpo/Akpa State Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, Mr. Kennedy Angbo noted the importance of helping the IDPs build a resilient economy that could be sustained in the camps and even after their return to their ancestral homes saying the intervention of the Centre and its partners was timely and highly commendable. 

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Women Affairs and Benue State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI, Scholastica Ben-Sor while lauding RACE Centre for the intervention noted that “achieving women’s economic empowerment requires political will and collaborative efforts from governments, civil society, NGOs, and the private sector to create transformative solutions that empower women and girls, leaving no one behind.” 

She emphasized that “an empowered woman is a an empowered society, girdled with stability and development. So let’s join our hands together to not only build women but give  them economic power in every sense which is the pathway to the safety and development of the children, especially the girl child.” 

The Director General of Benue State Bureau for International Cooperation and Development, BICD, Dr. Leonard Viashima represented by the acting Director/Head, Human Resources and Administration, Beauty Adaaku assured of the commitment of the Bureau to partner all groups and organizations to support women in conflict-affected communities in the state. 

“As the coordinating body for humanitarian partners and development agencies, BICD recognizes that sustainable recovery and lasting peace cannot be achieved without the full and equal participation of women. Their leadership, economic inclusion, and social empowerment are not only essential for rebuilding communities but are also fundamental to achieving long-term development goals,” he said. 

The Director of Women affairs at the Benue State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Magdalene Andor, represented by the Seniour Welfare Officer, Blessing Ndzughul commended RACE Centre for the initiative promising that the Ministry would always partner with the organisation to ensure the success of the intervention. 

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management/State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. James Iorpuu represented by the Administrative Head of BSEMA, Dr. Donald Komgbenda said it was gratifying to have the intervention for the displaced women. “I also encourage others to join hands in bringing up similar interventions so that we will all help to restore the dignity of the displaced women.” 

The Statistician General of the State, Mr. Kumafan Dzaan pledged to “partner with all stakeholders that are on this noble cause, everything that is within our power we will do to make sure that we encourage women and empower them in every way that we can.” 

Speaking, the Executive Director GERI, Mrs Elizabeth Jeiyol, applauded the “Sheros” for showing commitment to their training and the French Embassy for facilitating them to undertake the project of empowering women in conflict affected Benue communities. 

Some of the benefitting women including Martina Atom, Prescious Terwase and Martina Atom testified of the impact the programme had made in the lives and thanked RACE Center, GERI and the French Embassy for turning their lives around throught the intervention. 

The dialogue brought together heads and representatives of local and foreign humanitarian organisations and agencies including the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, Benue Network of Governmental Organisations, BENGONET, SMEDAN, among others.