Over 19,000 women in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Taraba state have benefited about NI.2 billion individual grant from the Nigeria For Women Project (NFWP) improved livelihood programme.
The NFWP, an initiative of the federal government with the support of the World Bank, is designed to empower rural women, through building social capital, livelihood programmes, innovation and partnership, project monitoring, evaluation and learning.
The project also entails guiding women to organise themselves into Women Affinity Groups (WAGs) in wards in the implementing LGAs, Head of Operations, NFWF, Taraba State Coordinating Unit, Kunaku Auta, told journalists after a tour of some of the project sites, recently.
Auta, who explained that the project commenced in 2018 but the full implementation started in 2021, explained that 3,600 Women Affinity Groups (WAGs), were targeted across the three implementing LGAs: Takum, Bali and Zing.
“So far we have reached our target with an additional four wags. While in terms of membership the target was 54,000 but we have also exceeded 58,506 members in the WAGS.
“In terms of grants, we have already commenced payment of grants and so far we have developed about 30,000 business plans for our women in the three LGAs and 19,551 have been paid grants and the average payment is N59,000 though some got up to N60,000.”
According to him, “Different trainings were also carried out for the women including financial education to train the women on how to manage their finances.
“Then we also trained them on business skills to equip them on how to develop a business plan and also run their businesses.
“We also trained them on gender and life skills so they can take care of themselves because some of them cannot take very good care of themselves.”
Speaking on the impact of the project, one of the beneficiaries, Hanatu Benjamin, said the women in the six WAGs in Sarkin Dawa, had benefitted immensely hence the decision to use their savings for the renovation of the community dispensary which has been out of use since 2003.
“It cost us N180,000 and took us three weeks to renovate the dispensary. We panted the two-room facility, bought materials for five beds, and other things needed,” she explained.
Head of the Dispensary, Sule Jalo, a community health extension worker, confirmed that nothing was happening in the facility, which was donated to the community by the local government, until the women intervened.
“Now, this place is functioning as a primary healthcare facility and dispensary with routine immunisation,” he said.
On his part, the Chairman, Zing LGA, Hon Andrew Luka Zanya, said the NFWP came at the right time, adding: “Before then our women were experiencing poverty, I can refer to it as abject poverty.
“Most of them when they wake up in the morning they don’t know where to go, what they will eat for the day. Some of them kept on borrowing from individuals and after a time this becomes a big burden because they don’t have any means of paying back.”
He maintained that, “NFWP has alleviated the suffering of our women, it has enabled most of them to learn how to save through the WAGs loans scheme, they can now operate a business of they can now borrow loan internally within the repay.
“So, it has helped in improving the overall standard of living of our women, including their husbands because that effect is moving on to the whole family.
“What the government could not do, the project has done. It has gone a long way in paving the way for true national development, because there can never be true national development without developing the man.
“Subsequently, these women are going to transfer the knowledge and skills they have acquired to the rest of the society. They can now engage in many projects, save money to this project and invest.”
Similarly, the Commissioner For Women Affairs Taraba state, Hon. Bridget K. Twar, said the state was excited about the NFWP because of the impact it has made in the lives of the people.
“It has not only affected women but the whole family. Once a woman is involved the whole family will benefit because the woman’s money is for the whole family.
“It has impacted so much on the family and the government is excited that is why the governor has requested that it should be extended, scaled up to other 13 LGAs.”
