By Moses Nosike

The newly elected executive of Great Women of Enugu Worldwide Association, Lagos branch has promised to uphold culture, tradition and vowed to support members with skill empowerment especially the widows among them. This it said during its inauguration in Lagos.

Speaking after the inauguration, the Visionary/Coordinator of the Association, Evangelist/Mrs. Hope Ezeanioma told the media that the association was born out of passion to address the marginalisation and backwardness seen among my people, knowing that an average Enugu woman is a kind of woman who does not like violence over things.

She said, “In this present dispensation, there is a need for our women to come together under one umbrella, and this time around the gathering is not only going to be for indigenes, that is the Umu Adas. This body gives room for both the married, the daughters and those married into Enugu. During my consultation before this association was started, we found out that in Lagos there is an existing association, Association of Enugu State Development Town Union, meaning that all the towns have their representatives in that association both men and women. But some of our women are restricted because if your town didn’t send you to represent them, you don’t have business to be there. And when they want to do it, it is done rotational. So many of our women need to come under one umbrella, so we who are the daughters and origin of Enugu have to bring together our daughters. Enugu state has culture and traditions, it baffles me that some of these things are fizzling out and we need to restore it for the good of our people”.

Continuing, Evang. Hope said, “This umbrella has a vision that gave birth to it. For instance, when we initially started, we taught some of our women how to tie wrappers, some of these things are going down these days. Unfortunately, some people said it doesn’t matter, technology is advancing. Yes, there is technology, it is important we start teaching our women our cultures and traditions, teaching them how to prepare original Enugu food and other things”.

In addition, the association’s newly President elect, Mrs Amaka Udejiofor said, “One of our plans for the association is to promote love in the association. It is love that can empower us to achieve our vision for the Enugu women in Lagos.

On how to empower their members, Mrs Amaka said, “this is a new association, we are two years old, but before our tenure is over we will empower some widows. For now we have to stablise the association”.

Again, we want to reintroduce the August meeting where we intend to bring Enugu women and other Igbo women together in this association.