National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
Dayo Emmanuel
Women in Wesere community in Badagry area of Lagos State have benefitted from a grant from ActionAid Nigeria to embark on petty trading.
A total of 15 women were empowered with N30,000 each which has brought stability to the various homes.
The road leading to the community is also being fixed by the Non-Governmental Organisation to ease movements and to enable the community children attend school in the neighbouring community especially when it rains.
Meanwhile, leaders of the community while appreciating ActionAid and the Humanity Family Foundation for Peace and Development (HUFFPED) for coming to the aid of the community which has been neglected for long, calling on other well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the gesture.
The community’s history dates back to the pre-World War II era and men of the area were drafted into the Dahomey army according to one of the community leaders.
ActionAid Nigeria began a community project in Wesere community in October 2017 through its partnership with HUFFPED, with fund generated through the community sponsorship initiative which is generated locally within Nigeria.
A community leader and Chairman of the Community Local Rights Program in the settlement, Mr. Bayo Ogunwole, said at a town hall meeting facilitated by HUFFPED and ActionAid, that Wesere community is so blessed to have the two NGOs working with them.
“Wesere community is the luckiest village in Nigeria. We are blessed with natural resources but we need to acquire knowledge,” he said.
Ogunwole however appreciated the efforts of both organisations. “We appreciate the interventions, the road construction in progress wouldn’t have been done if they did not come here to intervene,” he said.
The community leader added that, “The nearest school is 3km-5km and when it rains, children won’t be able to attend school but with this intervention things have changed.”
With about 100 pupils in primary school, according to the villagers, before the intervention, rains often deprived them from school attendance; cutting them off from school.
Chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA), Mr. Simon Daniel said it was though when it rains but things are better with the road being fixed.
There are two primary schools and one secondary school along the Owode-Apa-Kankon road to which children walk between 60 and 90 minutes to attend.
Going down memory lane, Daniel said many years ago there was no road linking the community to the outside world and getting to the nearest school in Badagry was herculean task.
“In the days of our fathers, there was no road. When I was in the Modern School in 1971, we used to suffer walking to Badagry to attend school.
“Women used to die during child birth because there was no medical facility close to us. Survival was a miracle and through the little our fathers knew in herbs then. We suffered because we wanted education by all means to better our lives.
“In 1980, the then Governor Kayode Jakande created the first school, in 1985, Navy Captain Mike Akhigbe provided a borehole but before then we used to travel by canoe to another community where there was a borehole. The first borehole was made in 1951 but these boreholes have now failed,” he said.
He also said the water available in the community now are polluted and unsafe.
According to him, in the past, the community used a fresh water spring which was guarded against pollution.
“In those days, our fathers used to mount guard at the stream. Women were forbidden from coming close to the stream during their menstruation and anyone with sores was not allowed to move close to the stream. But today there is nothing like those measures, so the stream is no more,” he lamented.
The community however appealed to ActionAid to help with boreholes in order to get clean water without having to travel by canoe to other communities in search of clean water.
One of the beneficiaries of the fund, Grace Hunsa said the empowerment has brought peaceful coexistence to many families in the community.
“I appreciate ActionAid and HUFFPED who introduced us to them. The N30,000 support they gave us to establish small businesses has brought a great relief.
“Now we don’t have to fight our husbands for the little amounts that used to create tension like before,” she said.
Deborah Awambe is another beneficiary who said the support has gone a long way in solving marital crisis in the community.
“They provided us N30,000 to do petty businesses. Some are into mat making, banana production, fish business and some have expanded their trade. I am so happy I don’t have to wait for my husband to bring money and our children can easily buy few things for school from our purses. We thank them,” she said.
