Archives for March 2015

In the week of Monday 16th to Friday 20th March, KIND participated in the Nigerians Unite Against Terror rally, which was held at the Cricket Pitch of the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos. KIND was also represented at the  Microsoft NGO Connection Day, organized by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria with sponsorship from Microsoft.

The Nigerians Unite Against Terror rally was organized by Women Arise for Change Initiative, which is headed by Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin a renowned social right activist, was aimed at uniting the people of Nigeria to rise against terror within the country. The rally had in attendance several distinguished personality such as Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Presidential candidate of KOWA, Prof. Remi Sonaiya; Presidential candidate of NCP, Mr. Martin Onovo; Public Relations Officer of Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, Mr. Joseph Jikeme; amongst others. Several artistes were on ground to entertain the teeming crowd, amongst which include Naeto C, Daddy Showkey, Waje, Terry G, and Oritsefemi. This rally was enthusiastically endorsed by Prof. Wole Soyinka, renowned Noble Laureate of Literature and Prof. Tunde Braithwaite.

KINDs Public Relations Officer, Joseph Jikeme, also attended the Microsoft NO Connection Day, an event organized by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria with sponsorship from Microsoft. Over 50 NGOs were represented at the event which is aimed at increasing the capacity and efficiency of NGO personnel in the usage of social media tools and other online products, especially those of Microsoft. It is key to note that the social media plays an important role in the growth of organizations when used to full capacity, in showcasing the activities of organizations to their potential sponsors and beneficiary.

In the week of Monday 9th to Friday 13th March, KIND was present at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism for a stakeholders briefing on the progress of the “Report Women!” project which is designed to increase the reportage of girls’ and women’s issues in the media. The supervision of the school building project was also undertaken by KIND at the Ogijo township of Ogun State.

Report Women! Project focuses on major issues of access and abuse; ranging from education to health care,  violence, early marriage, among others using the tool of Investigative reporting. This project which is been supported by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Nigeria would also be examining the role of religion in the girl child and women’s rights trajectory. Some of the seasoned journalists who presented the findings from their investigations include Ms. Abiose Adams-Adelaja, whose reportage was on Female Genital Mutilation; Mr. Isioma  Madike, whose reportage was on Widowhood Rights; Ms. Olutosin Oladosu-Adebowale, whose reportage was on Female Genital Mutilation; Mr. Bamgbose Temiloluwa, whose reportage was on the Plight of Street Beggars in three States of the Country; and Mr. Simon Ateba,  whose reportage was on Human Trafficking from Nigeria within the West African sub-region. These presentations by the various reporters generated keen discussions on means of curbing these varied social ills and the identification of stakeholders who are to continue the push for change in laws and customs bordering these issues.

For further reading on these issues as investigated, please see the following links – Female Genital Mutilation,  Plight of Beggars, Human Trafficking

KIND also carried out a routine inspection of the building project of a block of classroom and toilet at the Imore Community Nursery and Primary School at Ogijo in Ogun State. The project which is currently at the lintel level has brought smiles to the faces of the parents and staff of the school, who are glad the the additional block of classrooms will mitigate the terrible condition in which their students currently learn. The project which was officially awarded on the 4th of November,  2014 would be a contribution to the MDGs on Education within Ogun State under the Japanese Grassroots Project.

In the week of Monday 2nd to Friday 6th March, KIND hosted a Focus Group Discussion for Alumni of the Young Voices for Change “Safe Spaces” Programme at the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu Campus, Ikorodu, Lagos on Wednesday 4th of March.

Young Voices for Change programme which is a DFID sponsored project has trained 240 participants, 180 of which were from Lagos State Polytechnic and 60 were from the University of Lagos. The programme is aimed at improving the Leadership, Decision making and Life-Skill competencies of adolescents between the ages of 16 – 25 in post secondary institutions across Nigeria.

We’re glad to inform everyone that based on the interactions with the alumni, impressive impact has been made on the participants, who are in turn implementing activities to impact the lives of people around them.

KIND also conducted a step-down training on election monitoring for 30 women on Friday 6th of March, under the auspices of the Nigerian Women’s Platform for Peaceful Elections, which a UN Women sponsored platform. The platform is set to have women observe the election with a gender lens, and report live to a Women’s Situation Room, which would monitor, report and get stakeholders to intervene in situations of violence.