Fundraising for Vulnerable Families To End Poverty and Hunger

Save Our Needy has launched an online campaign to raise funds for vulnerable families mostly women and children affected by COVID-19 in order to help end poverty and hunger.

In Nigeria, millions of families live on less than $2 a day due to economic downturn. Most of these families have women as their breadwinners. They lack food, basic amenities, access to education and health facilities.

A vulnerable child

The emergence of COVID-19 has worsened an already bad situation. It has not only affected the health of thousands of women and children, it has also had a devastating effect on the finances of women who have lost their small businesses or jobs, putting them in a vulnerable situation.

Itegbin community

Save Our Needy hopes to reach out to 50 families in Itegbin community, Okokomaiko, a disadvantaged, riverine community affected by climate change and poverty. We hope to provide them with food and care packages as well as empower them with the tools and knowledge to fight poverty, climate change (environmental degradation) and hunger through free training.

KINDLY DONATE TO OUR CAUSE TO SAVE LIVES. THANK YOU.

Bank account details:

Save Our Needy Organisation

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

0168556004

For foreign donations:

Save Our Needy Organisation

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC.

0477886089 (Euro Account)

0425886664 (Dollar account)

Swift Code: GTBINGLA

Agency Sort code: 058 - 152599

Our Response To COVID-19 in Adamawa State, Nigeria

Adamawa State situated in the North-East region, has been facing a humanitarian crisis caused by violent attacks from Boko Haram, the dreaded Islamist militant group for more than 8 years. The emergence of COVID-19 has worsened the already bad situation. More women, children and the elderly presently live in extreme poverty, and those who had been able to escape poverty have seen their resources dwindle in recent times. 

 

Poor communities have become more vulnerable to the issues of livelihood, hunger, housing and shelter. COVID-19 has had devastating effects on the health and economic situation of vulnerable women and children. Also, the scarcity of water in this region has made it practically impossible to maintain hygiene. 

The Save Our Needy team reached to the poorest households which have women as the breadwinners in Yola-South, Adamawa State, to provide them with care and hygiene packages consisting of food items, bottled water, menstrual pads, sanitizers, bath soaps, washing detergents and toilet rolls. We also launched an awareness campaign to raise more awareness on the prevention of COVID-19 in order to reduce the rate of infections in the communities.

Marvella Odili Wins "1000 Entrepreneurs Challenge "

We are proud to announce our Founder/CEO, Marvella Odili, as one of the winners of the "1000 Entrepreneurs Challenge" for her project, "Connecting Marginalized Women To Technology and Development."

Marvella Odili 

Over the years, Marvella has economically empowered thousands of marginalized women and youths through skills-building; launched projects for the education of thousands of vulnerable children particularly girls; and advanced the rights of women and girls, through her non-profit organization,  Save Our Needy Organisation. 

As a part of the winning package, all winners were invited to the Africa-France Summit 2020 which was due to start on June 4, 2020 in Bordeaux, France. However, due to the present circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, all scheduled travels have been cancelled. 

All the winners who were selected from 53 countries in Africa, will have the opportunity to gain extensive knowledge from experts, network, gain visibility for their work and public and private funding from French and African partners of Digital Africa. 

See list of full winners here:

https://digital-africa.co/en/winners-1000/😀🥳

Disadvantaged Families Receive Love From Save Our Needy's Santa

Our annual initiative "Santa Comes To Visit" has come and gone but it left indelible marks in the hearts of families.

Disadvantaged families (widows and single-mothers and their children) got surprise visits from Save Our Needy as we played to them, providing them with food items, clothing, and toys to enable them to celebrate the yuletide season.

We were very glad to make several children's dreams come true and put smiles on the faces of families who had lost all hope of ever celebrating the yuletide season.

Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the Shoprite Community Network for their unwavering support of this impactful initiative.

Happy New Year!

Save Our Needy Celebrates First International Education Day.

Save Our Needy joined the rest of the world yesterday to celebrate the very first International Education Day. The theme of this day was “Education for Peace and Development”.

Education is a key driver of social change and economic growth, and its importance for achieving gender equality has been widely recognized. It has always been an important element for the development of an individual. It broadens the horizon of one’s mind. Education is one of the most powerful tools we can implement in our global efforts to promote world peace and security.

Education offers people a ladder out of poverty and a path to a promising future. Sadly, about 265 million children and adolescents around the world still do not have the opportunity to enter or complete school. More than a fifth of them are of primary school age.

Nigeria has a high rate of illiteracy. At least 40% of the population, that is about 75 million people cannot read or write a simple sentence. Of this population, the majority of them are women. Forty per cent of Nigerian children aged 6-11 do not attend any primary school with the Northern region recording the lowest school attendance rate in the country, particularly for girls. Despite a significant increase in net enrollment rates in recent years, it is estimated that about 4.7 million children of primary school age are still not in school.

Empowering girls to become self-reliant

 

The education sector in Nigeria today, particularly in Northern Nigeria, faces a lot of challenges including a lack of skilled teachers, poor infrastructure, lack of learning equipment and unconducive environment for learning.

Another challenge in Nigeria is the issue of girls’ education. Among the critical challenges that impede girls’ education are poverty, conflict and violence, early marriages, harmful traditional practices, long distances to school, religious beliefs and inadequate menstrual hygiene.

Save Our Needy works to advance equal access to quality education for all.

"Education is more than a right, education is a remedy. In a world gripped by crises, education can be a pathway to growth and a stepping stone toward peace."- Rania Al Abdullah

Happy #EducationDay

20 Lucky Winners Emerge In the GTBank #SimpleChangeBigImpact Challenge.

Twenty lucky people have been selected to make their ideas reality and positively impact their communities in the GTBank's #SimpleChangeBigImpact Challenge.

Winners were declared after members of the public voted on social media for social innovations with the best potential to transform communities. Each winner will receive N1 million to implement their project which should not take more than 5 days. 

This Challenge is the first of its kind organized by GTBank Nigeria to uplift communities and encourage innovation.

More than 400 entries were received and only 40 were selected by a panel of judges made up of CSR experts and social innovators.

The final stage of the competition was decided by members of the public who "liked" their favorite community development projects on the GTBank Instagram page.

Congratulations to the lucky winners!

Below is a list of the top 20 entries.

Nigeria Makes Great Strides In Healthcare

The house of representatives has passed a bill authorising free healthcare for pregnant women in the country.

The bill seeks to mandate free antenatal and postnatal health services to pregnant women in government hospitals.

Sponsored by Tony Nwoye from Anambra state, the bill was presented at plenary on Thursday.

If passed into law, women would be able to receive up to three months of free medical services after child delivery.

During previous debates on the bill, Nwoye had explained it would also address discrimination against pregnant women in their place of work.

He said the bill would ensure that every pregnant woman in the country is registered in a government hospital within three months of conception.

“Funding for the programmes for the bill is expected to come from funds earmarked for the basic healthcare provision fund and statutory provisions from the federal budget,” he said.


Culled from Cable

Ooni of Ife Formally Launches Hopes Alive Initiative

The Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, formally launched the Hopes Alive Initiative TV Advocacy yesterday at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos. The TV advocacy, first of its kind in Africa, is solely dedicated to promoting the works and activities of non-profit and non-governmental organizations in Africa in order to help eliminate poverty. The beautiful event was held together with the Give Back Concert which is an annual event to raise funds for charity by the House of Oduduwa Foundation founded by the Ooni of Ife.

His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife making a speech

In his speech, His Imperial Majesty reiterated his commitment to support NGOs and non-profit organizations particularly in Nigeria. He stressed the need to support their work both financially and materially to encourage them.

Princess Temitope Adesegun, the Deputy Convener and organizer of the event, gave a pat on the back to NGOs and non-profit organizations in Nigeria, and urged them to continue their good work.

Marvella Odili at the event

L-R: Alex Asogwa, Marvella Odili and Tobi Bakre

Comedian and MC, Gbenga Adeyinka the Ist compered the grand event. Other comedians including Kenny Blaq, Seyi Law and Woli Arole performed to the delight of guests. Veteran artiste, Sir Shina Peters was also on hand to thrill guests. There was a talent discovery session where some of the less privileged children who had benefitted from the Ooni's generosity also performed to a standing ovation.

Jerry Odili, Founder/CEO Tech ME at the event

Monarchs, high chiefs, government officials, captains of industry, celebrities and representatives of selected non-profit organizations were all present at the event. Also present at the event were social media influencers, the versatile and talented Tobi Bakre and Alex Asogwa of BBN Season 3.

Save Our Needy was represented by Marvella Odili, Founder and CEO, as well as the Program Manager and Finance Manager. It was indeed a memorable event.

Marvella Odili admiring a portrait 

Marvella Odili, Founder/CEO, Save Our Needy at the formal launch of Hopes Alive Initiative

The United Nations (UN) Grants Save Our Needy Special Consultative Status

Great news! Christmas came early for us here at Save Our Needy. The UN has granted Save Our Needy special consultative status with the Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC).

According to the Founder and CEO of the organization, Marvella Odili, "This privilege gives us the opportunity to continue working to improve the living conditions of marginalized women, youth and children in Africa through education, empowerment and awareness-raising campaigns."

Other non-governmental and non-profit organizations granted special consultative status include:

African Trade Centre LTD/GTE (Nigeria);

Asian Marine Conservation Association(India);

Asociación Cubana de Limitados Físico-Motores (Cuba);

Association Debout femmes autochtones du Congo (Congo);

Association Mauritanienne pour la Promotion de la Famille (Mauritania);

Association des relais communautaires d’Oshwé (Democratic Republic of the Congo);

Association for Protection of Maternity, Infancy and Family João e Maria (Brazil);

Association mauritanienne pour la transparence et le développement(Mauritania);

Associação Brasileira dos Organizadores de Festivais de Folclore e Artes Populares (Brazil);

Associação de Jovens Engajamundo(Brazil);

Center for Development Support Initiatives (Nigeria);

Centre for Disaster Risk and Crisis Reduction (Nigeria);

Centre for Human Rights and Climate Change Research (Nigeria);

Centre for Policy Dialogue (Bangladesh);

Centre for Youth and Literacy Development (Ghana);

Centre for the Sustainable use of Natural and Social Resources (India);

Centre international de recherche - Action pour un développement durable (Togo);

Chia-Funkuin Foundation (Cameroon);

China Academy of Culture Limited (China);

China-Africa Business Council (China);

Farmers Development Organization(Pakistan);

Fundación América Solidaria Internacional(Chile);

Fundação Abrinq pelos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente (Brazil);

Geo-Environmental Resource Association(Cameroon);  

Health In Action Limited (China);

Hope for Women (Maldives);

Horizon d'échange et de lutte contre la pauvreté (Senegal);

Irene Menakaya School Onitsha (Nigeria);

Leadership for Environment and Development – Pakistan (Pakistan);

Les oeuvres sociales pour les actions de développement (Democratic Republic of the Congo);

Lokmanya Sewa Sangh Parle (India);

Nagorik Uddyog (Bangladesh);

Namaa Association of Social Development(Jordan);

NoBox Transitions Foundation, Inc(Philippines);

Pakistan Council for Social Welfare and Human Rights (Pakistan);

PathFinders Limited (China);

Peace Foundation Pakistan (Pakistan);

Public Organization “Public Advocacy”(Ukraine);

Samaj Kalyanka Lagi Yuwa Nepal (Nepal);

Sense International, India (India);

Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurship Fundamentals Foundation (Nigeria);

Sociedad Cubana para la Promoción de las Fuentes Renovables de Energía y el Respeto Ambiental (Cubasolar) (Cuba).

Read more here:
https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/ecosoc6835.doc.htm

Marvella Odili Joins The International Women's Society (IWS).

Dateline: 10/10/17

Founder and CEO of Save Our Needy, Marvella Odili was officially inducted into the International Women's Society on Tuesday, October 10th 2017.

 

Marvella Odili (R) at the IWS induction ceremony

Mrs. Ego Boyo (M) poses with new members during the induction ceremony

 

The International Women's Society (IWS) is an independent, non-political, non-governmental and non-profit organization founded in 1957 by public-spirited Nigerian and expatriate women to support and work for the advancement of disadvantaged and marginalized women and children.

 

 

 

The organization spans 20 countries and has a fantastic multi-generational support group. Networking, fostering of life-long friendships and the development of individuals as well as communities are some of the opportunities the organization provides.

 

 

 

Many notable, successful and accomplished Nigerian women including Mrs. Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele (former Deputy of Lagos State), Mrs. Nkiru Anumudu, Mrs. Abiola Otufale and Mrs. Evelyn Akeredolu are an integral part of the organization. Wives of diplomats are honorary members.

 

Marvella Odili, Founder and CEO, Save Our Needy

Marvella Odili with Susan Peters, Nollywood star and model

 

Mrs. Ego Boyo (CEO, Temple Productions, Nollywood A-list actress, and Producer) is currently the President. 

 

Marvella Odili with Mrs. Ego Boyo, President IWS