Inadequate funding has been identified as one of the major challenges of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) in the implementation of its mandate, especially in the area of training and empowering women.
Director-general of the centre, Onyeka Onwenu, made this known at the graduation ceremony of over 600 students of the centre’s vocational skills acquisition training programme, recently.
She noted that since her assumption of duty, the centre has undergone visible changes despite the challenges and poor funding.
“Despite the challenges and inadequate funding, we have resolved to be more focused, not to falter, until NCWD is placed on the global agenda as a true centre of excellence for gender equity and sustainable women development,” she said.
“Keying into the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, the centre will continue to ensure that women and the girl-child have access to develop skills in different vocations of interest, to meet the challenges of unemployment and economic development in the country.
“Charged with this resolve, the centre is looking inwards and is redesigning its programmes to cater for the needs of all segments of the society.”
Onwenu also stated that the ultimate goals of the programmes were to reduce poverty and create financial independence. She noted that the programmes are carried out through broad-based, flexible approaches that promote the holistic development of competencies.
Onwenu noted that the NCWD was also working in rural communities, where most of the womenfolk reside, and, in collaboration with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), it was pressing for women development centres in all the 36 states of Nigeria as well as the 774 local government areas, and the Federal Capital Territory, to put them back to their original use, which is the empowerment and development of women in those localities.
The NCWD is moving into training in non-traditional areas for women to ensure that they are exposed to a wider range of choices that would enable them benefit from developmental efforts. Such areas include plumbing, tiling, generator and air conditioner repairs.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, commended the commitment of the NCWD in addressing issues of women’s economic empowerment and poverty reduction through its programmes.
Represented by the Director, Women Affairs Department, Mrs. Iran Ajulor, the minister noted that the “courses are designed to build up skills, acquire appropriate knowledge and improve the vocational and entrepreneurial capacities of women.
“This ultimately translates to financial and economic independence, enhanced family incomes, wealth creation and poverty reduction”.
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