The President, Takem Empowerment Initiatives (TEIs), a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), Dr (Mrs) Rachael Adewumi (Right), presenting a sewing machine to a woman who was empowered with sewing machine by Ondo state chapter of the NGO at the completion of her training recently.
By Our Reporter
President cum Founder, Taken Empowerment Initiatives (TEIs), a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Dr Rachael Adewumi enjoins Nigerian women not to be relegating themselves to the background and be participating actively in politics. She also advised them to be diligent and prudent in management of their resources.
These are her 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD) and World NGO Day (WND) messages to the women, marked on 8th March and 27th February respectively.
While the theme for the IWD is Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID – 19 World, that of WND constituted the list out of yearly achievements and contribution’s of NGOs which they have done for the sake of the society.
On the IWD, she said: “Let women live exemplary life worthy of emulation by the girl child, who will one day grow up to be a woman. As a parent, you should give your children moral upbringing, so as to not be a budden to you and the society at large. You know that a child that is not brought up well will not only be a problem to her family, but also a bad egg in the society. So let them be taught the way of God too.
“Our women too should not only be good wives to their husbands, but also strive harder to stop relegating themselves to the background and participate actively in politics, because this country belongs to all of us. If the women are demanding for positions from the government and the women are not forth – coming, there is nothing anyone can do. So our women should start to: come out and join politics; move out an be vibrant; stop taking the backseat; rise to all the changes and be part of the country, for us to serve the country together, because it is not only meant for men.
“I give kudos to the women that have done so. A good example is the current Director General (DG), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo – Iweala. She has proven it beyond reasonable doubt to the parents and the doubting thomases, that a girl child can also do it. Many people believe that a girl child amounts to nothing. So she helped in proving it wrong to those who treat the girl child with neglect and disregard.
“This woman has shown that there is no limit a woman cannot reach, if she is focused and really serious in what you are doing. So don’t relent in your endeavor. You can see all the pressures she passed through to be the DG, WTO. It is not easy and she didn’t relent and didn’t allow anything to push her back. She had her own challenges as a woman and didn’t allow such challenges to weigh her down from forging ahead.”
With the belief that a woman can do better than the man in some areas, Rachael Adewumi therefore reiterated the need for the women to: strive harder; not relent and join politics; take positions and; move higher in wherever they are. Advising them to not assume that politics is for the men alone, Adewumi advised them to shun the idea of criticizing them and be supportive to their fellow women.
“Let our women always support their fellow women, instead of criticizing themselves. You will be surprised to find out that whenever a woman comes up, it is our fellow women that would push her down. We should stop such attitude, love ourselves and support our fellow women, for us to attain that level we intend to attain,” she advised.
When asked, she said that the present government has been trying in the areas of encouraging the women, but was quick to add that it is not isenough. She urged them to give the women normal quarter, for the women to be a part of whatever they are doing, as well as carry them along. Adewumi however urged that women be given soft spot. This she said could be done in the area of giving the women waver, such as less amount for the purchase of forms for aspiring for election. She believed that if such is done, the women would be motivated to stand for election and even win and use their management accumen to deliver.
Speaking on the need to mark NGOs yearly, as well as its importance to national development, she informed that she started hers about three years ago, to reduce unemployment and poverty to the barest minimum within her rich.
“Our NGO was established about three years now, with the aims and objectives to train the less privileged, the poor, the widows and the unemployed graduates, among others in the society. We have trained some youths in about five states and some women in in the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and giben them stater pack. We train them on how to make soap, perfume, hand sanitizers, among others and gave them stater park too, for them to earn a living,” she informed, adding that they have about 2,000 members, majority of whom are widows whose house rents they had paid.
Adewumi also said her NGO celebrates the widows at the yearly International Widows Day. Through the celebration, she went on, they usually fish out those who couldn’t: pay their children’s school fees and renew their house rents, among others, pay and renew them respectively. She however added that they also empowered some with sewing and grinding machines, adding that the less privileged among the non widows also benefit from the NGO.
“My interest is to help the less privileged, the girl child, women and widows, for them not to be sleeping with empty stomachs. We do this to wipe tears out of their eyes, especially the women and the girl child, because when you train the girl child, or the woman, you have trained a whole nation,” she disclosed, saying that on the unemployed graduates, they pick males and females, so as to fend for themselves, instead of remaining a budden to their parents after education.
Informing that she does all she has been doing through her own capacity, the president of the NGO beckoned the government at all levels, well to do individuals in the society, private and public organisations to assist the genuine NGOs so as to meet up with their aims and objectives of giving back to the society, which according to her would go a long way to help the economy.
Vowing that she will not to relent on her efforts so far, Adewumi therefore informed that they have written to ministries and other government agencies for assurance, to enable them continue, but all to no avail. Informing that those they trained are doing well, the philanthropist sad that they usually attach a mentor to those they empower, to be mentoring them. This she said would ensure that the empowerment funds are not diverted to ventures other than their original ones.
