Two hundred women in Sokoto State are to benefit from the French Government and Neem Foundation’s 100,000 Euro (N84m) entrepreneurship training project.
French Deputy Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr Olivier Chatelais, disclosed this at the launch of the programme on Wednesday in Abuja.
The project is tagged “Vocational training and entrepreneurship: Empowering women survivors in Sokoto State’’.
Chatelais said the project would be executed in collaboration with Neem foundation, an NGO.
According to him, it is to provide empowerment and psychological support to women in the state, who were victims of violence in the North West and Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
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He said that the 2018 National demography and Health Survey in Nigeria, showed that most women and girls experienced some forms of sexual violence before they attained age 15.
Chatelais, however, noted that today, women and girls were more directly affected by poverty, conflict and climate change than men as they faced difficulties and discrimination in every field.
“The current project which is carried out by the NEEM foundation will aim to directly support women in situations of vulnerability and to support them to access professional training opportunities, by offering them appropriate psychological support.
“One of the keys to the success of this project is professional training. We firmly believe that education and training are powerful tools for the economic empowerment of women.
“But empowerment is not only limited to the economic aspect as we all know, these projects also recognise the importance of psychological support,’’ Chatelais said.
He said that the French Government under the leadership of President Emmanuel Macron, was committed to gender equality and economic emancipation of women in Nigeria and at the world level.
“For the French Embassy in Nigeria, this focus on gender represents over two million euro in funding for civil society between 2019 and 2023 and we will continue,’’ he said.
Chatelais added that since 2019, French embassy in Nigeria, through the Fiscal Initiative Civil Society Projects and Coalition for Actors programme, supported more than 15 innovative projects.
He said that in 2023, the French Embassy would also support the international NGOs actions against hunger in Zamfara and Sokoto states, totaling 1.2 million in each projects, aimed at improving nutrition status of women and children in conflict areas,” he said.
The Executive Director, Neem Foundation, Dr Fatima Akilu, said the project was not just about empowerment, but to shape the future of women.
Akuli commended the embassy of France in Nigeria for the support granted to the foundation to support women through empowerment.
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She said that the foundation firmly believed that education and entrepreneurship were powerful tools for economic and social empowerment.
The NEEM Senior Programme Officer, Ms. Minoe Duamwan, presenting the overview of the project, said the pilot phase of the project would begin with two local government areas – Sokoto South and Sokoto North.
Duamwan said the objective was to provide vocational and entrepreneurship training as well as mental health and psychosocial support services to women affected by conflict and GBV in North West Nigeria.
According to her, the project and its activities are aimed to directly support 200 women and support them in their empowerment.
“Particular attention will be paid to groups of women who fall into the following categories – women/girls who have undergone or are at risk of undergoing early forced marriage.
“Women/girls who have undergone or are at risk of undergoing sexual and gender-based violence or harmful practices.
“Thus, the project will indirectly reach 2,000 beneficiaries from the homes of the direct beneficiaries of this programme.
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“Households will benefit from additional income from skills acquired during training sessions and income-generating activities,’’ she said.
Duamwan said that the embassy and the foundation was working with relevant stakeholders with the Sokoto State Government for a successful implementation of the project.
Hajiya Aisha Dantsoho, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Women and Children Affairs, Sokoto State, commended the French embassy and the foundation for selecting the state for the project.
Dantsoho, represented by Mrs Zinatu Abdulkarim, said that the state government was always ready to partner with any stakeholder on projects that would uplift the economic status of women in the state.
Mr Buhari Suleiman, Director of Administration, Sokoto State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SOSMEDA), said that the project would have positive impacts on the people of the state and Nigeria by extension.