GRANT FROM VIRGINIA GILDERSLEEVE INTERNATIONAL FUND (VGIF): WOMEN INSPIRATION CENTER WILL TAKE 80 NIGERIAN GIRLS OFF THE STREET

Thousands of girls troupe out of public secondary schools in Nigeria every year and took to the street. This is as a result of no hope to further their education and Nigeria is crying for job opportunities. After a year of graduation from secondary schools, many of these girls at the tender age of 15-18 years would have become single mothers with no fathers to claim their children. Many would have gone into prostitution, thereby become victims of human trafficking, HIV/AIDS and child brides.
As a result of the grant received from VGIF, 80 Nigerian Street girls with no hope of furthering their education will have a safe place to receive empowerment through participation in workshops that help them increase their self confidence and self-knowledge so that they can discover what’s important to them; translate this knowledge into a workable vision; identify and transform the limiting beliefs that inevitably arise when creating something new; and adopt an actionable growth strategy to attain their goals. They will learn to achieve greater prosperity and a greater quality of life; create work that is fulfilling and inspiring; develop a conscious and sacred relationship with their body; and build their spiritual path around a sense of higher purpose.
They will also receive skill acquisition and training in how to make Adire Tie & Dye local fabrics. They will also in that period of a year, learn how to use computer, access internet and then join the powerful network in the social media to join their voices to the world.
There would also be reproductive Health talk and awareness by doctors and nurses during the program.
The objectives of the program are:
• To reduced number of cases of violence against women in the project area
• To create confident and self-aware local women leaders with knowledge to address discrimination against women
• To Increased understanding of women on human rights and legal rights and how to take action against violence and discrimination against them
• Men in the project area are more sensitive towards women and respect and protect their well-being
• Increased number of women taking up entrepreneurial activities for carrying out their sustainable livelihood.
The local leaders warmly welcome this project having recognized that it is going to be a way out of a social problem that the community has been battling with for some years. The abject poverty of the street girls and single young mothers in the community and the consequences that led them to prostitution, human trafficking and sexual exploitation has been a serious concern in the community.
The relevant partners for this program are:
1. Imagine Initiatives, NY,USA for the Empowerment workshop manual
2. WorldPulse , Portland, USA for media training manual.
3. 10 Secondary Schools in Osun State, Nigeria where the participants of the program will be drawn.
At the end of the year, all the Adire tie & dye local fabrics made by the trainees during the first six months of training and the ones they made individually during the six month of pilot stage of their business will be displayed during an exhibition that will be organized by the center.
At the exhibition, community leaders, Men, Women, Boys and Girls in and outside the community will be invited to the exhibition through advertisement on the Local Radio that can be heard in at least 13 states in Nigeria.
During the exhibition, there will be opportunities of buying the wares made by the trainees in prices above the normal prices of the wares in the market as a way of donating to the center for the next generation of trainees.
The products will also be advertised online for the people to have access to it globally. The Adire can be used by people around the world as gowns, Tops, Trousers, beach wares, window blinds, door blinds and bed sheets.