Save Our Needy Celebrates International Day of The Girl With Marginalized Girls

Save Our Needy in partnership with the International Women's Society (IWS) celebrated the International Day of the Girl with the students of Girls Senior Academy, Lafiagi, Lagos Island, today.

Education is the key to sustainable human development

Girls should be trained to become leaders

The project entitled M.E.T (Motivate, Educate and Train) Girls which was launched in November 2016 by Save Our Needy aims at encouraging and promoting leadership in girls. More than 1,000 girls have benefited from this program till date.

Guest speaker, Mrs. Pauline Tomlin speaking to the girls about entrepreneurship

The girls affirm their beliefs in becoming leaders and strong girls.

Mrs. Dolapo Coker (IWS Executive Committee member) speak to the girls about sexual and reproductive health.

Mrs. Nneoma Effanga talks about leadership to the girls

The program was very successful as all the guest speakers drove home their points in fun, exciting ways. The girls were all delighted to be a part of the program. They were given gift packs at the end of the program.

The girls are encouraged to enrol in STEM classes to bridge the gender technology gap.

L-R: Mrs. Nkoli Ogbolu, Mrs. Priscilla Benjamin Olaoye, Chief Mrs. Victoria Akpan, Mrs. Bimbola Ademola (Vice-President, IWS), Mrs. Ego Boyo (President, IWS), Mrs. Grace Kalango, Mrs. Dolapo Coker, Mrs. Kabiawu (Principal, Girls Senior Academy), Mrs. Uwa Saleh and Mrs. Pauline Tomlin

The IWS was ably represented by its executive members and members including the President, Mrs. Ego Boyo (CEO, Temple Productions, Nollywood A-list actress and Producer). Save Our Needy was represented by the Founder and CEO, Marvella Odili.

L-R: Chief Mrs. Victoria Akpan (Executive Committee member, IWS), Mrs. Pauline Tomlin, Mrs. Kabiawu and Marvella Odili (Founder and CEO, Save Our Needy).

Marvella Odili with students of Girls Senior Academy

Marvella Odili showing love to the students of Girls Senior Academy

Educate a girl, educate a nation

A cross section of excited girls at the program

#InternationalDayOfTheGirl

All girls should have an education and be empowered

The International Day of the Girl is celebrated annually on October 11 to highlight issues affecting girls particularly gender inequality. This year's theme is EmPOWER Girls: Emergency response and resilience planning.

Happy #InternationalDayOfTheGirl

#GirlPower #StrongGirls #WomenSupportingWomen #GirlsCount

Released Chibok Girls Finally Reunite With Their Families Amidst Tears Of Joy

It was an outpour of emotions as the 21 recently released #Chibok girls reunited with their families. A church service was held in their honor on October 16th, at Abuja.

The girls were released after a series of negotiations between the Boko Haram militants and the Nigerian government. A child of about 20 months born to one of the girls was also released.

A mother overwhelmed with joy straps her teenage daughter to her back

Two years ago, more than 200 young girls were abducted from their boarding school in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria by Boko Haram militants.

Vice-President Osibanjo (Right) consoles one of the released girls

The release of the 21 girls aged between 16-18 years still seems so untrue. We pray and hope for the safe return of the other girls. Every girl-child deserves to be educated and free from violence. #BringBackOurGirls

Chargé d' Affaires, US Embassy Nigeria, David Young Implores Nigerians To Empower The Girl-Child

David J. Young, Chargé d' Affaires, US Embassy, Nigeria gave a very insightful speech as he hosted dignitaries at Abuja to mark the International Day Of The Girl.

Please read below excerpts from the speech:

David J. Young

We need to help girls across this country, from all walks of life, not only in crisis.  They need the opportunity to grow up safe and healthy, free from violence and abuse.  They need the chance to be educated, to make decisions for themselves about their destinies, what they want to do in life, who they want to love, how they will live, and what they will believe.

When we think of the future of Nigeria, this is especially important.  Think for a moment.  Nigeria’s population is growing rapidly.  Currently, there are roughly 180 million people in the country.  By 2050 the number of people is expected to grow to roughly double, to some 350 million people.  Half of these are female.  What are we doing to make a better future for the girls who we want to grow up to be the women of Nigeria tomorrow?

Michelle Obama, at the 2014 Mandela Washington Fellowship’s Presidential summit said, “if you send out half your team, you will not do as well.”  Women make up roughly half of the population of Nigeria, and in a time of economic turmoil, Nigeria cannot afford to have half the team sitting on the bench.  With that in mind the Embassy sponsors more than one hundred women and girls annually to travel to the United States to hone their skills in business, advocacy, education, and many other fields through our various educational and cultural exchange programs.

Here at the U.S. Embassy, we support the campaign to end violence against women and girls. We work with Nigerians to assure the rights of every Nigerian woman and girl to live free - Free from physical and emotional abuse at school, at home, and in the workplace. We work to see she is respected and protected.

USAID has educational programs in the northern part of  Nigeria focused on ensuring girls not only enter and stay in school but receive a quality education.  In addition, USAID has developed safe spaces for women and girls affected by the ongoing conflict in the Northeast. USAID health programs encourage girls to delay pregnancy until an appropriate age and focus on family planning and disease prevention to improve health outcomes for girls and young women throughout Nigeria.

Schools In North-East Nigeria Finally Reopen Despite Fear Of Boko Haram Attacks

Hundreds of schools in northeast Nigeria have reopened for the first time in a year and a half - but many teachers and pupils are reluctant to return because of persistent violence in the region.
Almost 450 schools have reopened in Borno state since October 2015, more than 18 months after education was halted in the wake of an attack by Boko Haram militants on a boarding school in neighbouring Yobe state in which they killed 59 students.

Some schools in Adamawa and Borno states are doubling the number of classes to provide education for people uprooted by the conflict as well as for local children, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Displaced teachers across the region have volunteered to teach and many children who fled violence in remote rural areas have gone to school for the first time, the UN children's fund UNICEF said.
"Prioritising education is absolutely essential if we are to avoid losing the next generation to more poverty, hopelessness and the risk of radicalisation," said Toby Lanzer, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel.

Nigerian children at UNICEF-supported learning center in Dalori camp in Maiduguri

Borno is the birthplace of the six-year insurgency waged by Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which kidnapped 276 girls from a secondary school in the village of Chibok in April 2014.
A regional offensive by Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon earlier this year drove Boko Haram from much of the territory it held in northern Nigeria. But the militants have since struck back with a renewed wave of deadly raids and suicide bombings.

More than 1200 schools have been attacked in northeast Nigeria and hundreds of teachers and pupils have been killed by bomb blasts, raising fears among communities about the safety of resuming education, according to UNICEF.
"Many parents are reluctant to send their children - especially girls - to school... even some teachers are afraid of going to work due to the targeted attacks, threats of attacks or general insecurity," said Eva Ahlen from UNICEF in Nigeria.

The United Nations is working with the Nigerian government to make schools safer, train teachers and offer basic education to those staying in camps and with host families, where nine in 10 of Nigeria's 2.2 million internally displaced people are living.
Even before the conflict in the northeast, Nigeria had the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, more than 10 million, according to OCHA.

Article by Kieran Guilbert (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

One of the main aims of Save Our Needy is to alleviate poverty through the promotion of education. We believe that through education, millions of people can be saved from poverty and despair. Help empower a girl today and contribute to bringing a whole community out of poverty. Support our girl-child initiatives. Visit our website to know more about our activities: www.saveourneedy.org
Your donations are highly welcome.

We Stand With Girls Everywhere

 

Yesterday, October 11, was the International Day of The Girl. The UN's theme for this year is “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030. The theme highlights the importance of girls to achieving the global goals for sustainable development. Simply put: In order to attain the Global Goals by 2030, we have to reach girls.

The International Day of The Girl gives us the opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary power of girls to change the world if educated and empowered.

We cannot claim to be living in an advanced world if 62 million girls are still out of school and 15 million girls a year are married before 18. This must change!

Here are a few reasons why we should all stand with girls everywhere and rise up for girls' rights:

• Every girl no matter where she comes from or lives, has the right to go to school, stay safe from violence, access health services, and fully participate in her community.
• Empowered girls mean healthier families. When girls are educated, healthy, and empowered, families are healthier.
• Empowered girls are key to breaking the cycle of poverty for families around the world.
• Empowered girls strengthen economies. According to a new Brookings report, “Increasing the number of women completing secondary education by just 1 percent could increase a country’s economic growth by 0.3 percent.”
• An empowered girl is 10 times more likely to know her right and protect herself from HIV/AIDS.
• Every girl has the right to be in charge of her future and her fate. 

We have the collective obligation to protect girls' rights and promote their well-being. Let's join hands to unlock the potential of girls particularly in Africa.

Are you still hesitating? It is time to take action! Every girl deserves to fulfill her dreams.

#GirlPower

Nigeria Media Lauds The Initiative, One Child, One Schoolbag

The ''One Child, One Schoolbag'' project successfully launched in Nigeria to commemorate Children's Day in 2015, has been lauded by a host of Nigerian dailies including Vanguard and  Punch.                                                                                                                                              

The project aimed at promoting education amongst disadvantaged children and encouraging girl-child enrolment, has come and gone, but it remains indelible in the minds of everyone particularly the beneficiaries. 500 disadvantaged children attending low-income (public) nursery and primary schools in Lagos State were given free schoolbags and writing materials.

In 2013, Save Our Needy made front page news in a National daily in Benin Republic for its contribution to development through poverty alleviation programmes. The Save Our Needy team was applauded by the Benin media for reaching out to disadvantaged children in the most remote areas of Cotonou and Calavi to donate schoolbags to them under the ''One Child, One Schoolbag'' project.

 

Since 2011 when it was launched in Benin Republic, the ''One Child, One Schoolbag'' project has benefited no less than 1,500 disadvantaged children particularly girls. More than 5,000 lives have been touched so far.

One Child, One Schoolbag Project Comes To Nigeria

Support and encourage girl-child school enrolment

One Child, One Schoolbag project launched in Nigeria! 500 disadvantaged children reached; more than 1000 lives touched already. We hope to reach out to 500 more disadvantaged children before the end of the year. The project was initially launched by Save Our Needy in Benin Republic in 2011.

The banner used for the project

Children from St Michael's Nursery and Primary Schools 1 & 2, and Alaworo Nursery and Primary School, Ojo-Okokomaiko,  were full of smiles and gratitude as they received the donated items comprising schoolbags and writing materials. Some of the beneficiaries were selected randomly via an online forum (Stella Dimoko Korkus blog).

 Before and after pics of some of the disadvantaged children

We sincerely thank the Lagos State Education Board, Stella Dimoko Korkus of SDK blog, Bellanaija and Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi (Editor-In-Chief and Founder, The Intellectual Magazine) for their support and encouragement. Our profound gratitude also goes to our partners: Verdant Zeal,  Madrew's. A big thank you to all the generous and well-meaning individuals including REGMAC International Co. Nig. Ltd who donated to make this project a huge success. May God replenish your pockets in a billion fold.

Join us to promote education amongst disadvantaged children. Support school enrollment of the girl-child.

If you wish to support the "One Child, One Schoolbag" project or any of our other life-changing projects, please do send your cash donations to:

Save Our Needy Organisation

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank)

0168556004

OR

Donate in kind. Send your enquiries to: saveourneedy@gmail.com

THANK YOU and God bless you.

To know more about our activities, visit our website: www.saveourneedy.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SaveOurNeedy

Twitter: @SaveOurNeedy

''One Child, One Schoolbag'' project as reported by SDK blog (Nigeria's best overall blog): Click here

Everyone looking happy and satisfied with the day's activities

Marvella Odili (CEO, Save Our Needy), presenting a schoolbag to a beneficiary

Volunteers and Parents of beneficiaries posing with their children

Beneficiaries showing off their new schoolbags

Beneficiaries being called out by a teacher

Potential beneficiaries looking expectantly at their teacher

Jerry Odili, Programme Manager at Save Our Needy, posing with a widower and his kids who benefited from the project

Excited pupils

Potential future leaders of Nigeria proudly displaying their new schoolbags

SON Volunteer, Marian Onu, with a beneficiary

Representative of Lagos State Education Board presenting a schoolbag to a beneficiary

A happy girl receiving her schoolbag

Pupils of St Michael's Nur/Pri School waiting expectantly for their schoolbags

Marvella Odili with pupils of Alaworo Nur/Pri School