In celebration of International Women's Day 2024, the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation SEOF, in collaboration with Whispering Hope Africa Initiative WHAIAfrica have commenced a six-month mentorship program for widows in Ekwusigo, Ihiala and Ogbaru LGAs.
This mentorship program is under the Global Mentoring Walk Initiative of Vital Voices Global Partnerships, a Non-profit organisation situated in Washington DC, USA which aims to provide mentorship for women all over the world to enable them to achieve their career, business or personal goals. The mentorship program kicked off on March 8th, 2024 at the Oraifite Civic Center, Ekwusigo LGA, with officials from WHAIAfrica, the National Partners of Vital Voices for the Global Mentoring Walk Initiative which facilitated the meeting between mentees and mentors.
The Executive Director of WHAIAfrica, Nkechi Udegboka, said the initiative is in line with the theme of this year's International Women's Day celebration which is to inspire inclusion as the focal point of the six-month mentoring program for the the young widows who have now been included in the organization's Global Mentoring Walk Initiative.
Udegboka said this mentorship program which was fully funded by the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation will help the widows achieve their set goals as they will have direct access to mentors from every field of endeavour who will guide them for the next six months
The widows who were happy to meet with their mentors for practical interaction were taught goal-setting and were equally guided through short-term and long-term goals. The widows’ performance Nkechi also said would be evaluated from time to time.
The widows also embarked on a walk led by their mentors to the nearby market, Nkwo-edo market, to sensitize the market women about the Global Mentoring Walk.
WHAIAfrica also used this opportunity to inform the women about an app called the SafeCity app, which can be used to anonymously report cases of Gender-based Violence, GBV. This is an app created in 2012 by a Nonprofit organization in India, the Red Dot Foundation, which aims to stem the menace of GBV.
Officials of WHAIAfrica helped the women download the app on their phones and taught them to use it n reporting cases of GBV, such as rape and sexual molestation, in their respective communities.
At the end of the event, the coordinator of SEOF, Sir Tony Obi expressed gratitude to WHAIAfrica for including the widows in the mentoring initiative. He also admonished the widows to make good use of the opportunity and to put to good use whatever they have learned from their mentors. He encouraged them to also spread the word to other widows in their communities as the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation will not relent in widows' empowerment no matter the cost.
The widows thanked Sthe ir Emeka Offor Foundation for always standing for them, t and the officials of WHAIAfrica and promised to maximize to the fullest, the mentoring opportunity given to them.
