INTELS Nigeria Limited, an oil and gas logistics giant, has graduated fresh batch of 80 women from the first set of beneficiaries admitted into the scheme in January 2019, under its Women Empowerment Programme Scheme Synergy (WEPSS).
Speaking at the graduation ceremony held at the Federal Lighter Terminal, Onne, Rivers State on Friday, Mike Epelle, general manager, legal and corporate services of INTELS, who represented the company’s managing director, expressed delight with the impact of the programme on beneficiaries since inception.
“This is a programme that the management of INTELS holds very dear to its heart. It was the dream of the wife of the founder of INTELS that there should be something for women to achieve gender balancing, and that was how this programme started,” he said
He advised the beneficiaries to make necessary sacrifice required to put the skills they acquired to good use.
“Many people are making a huge living out of fashion. So, invest your earnings in the business. There will be enjoyment as the years go by. From the little you will start with, you can multiply and employ people. Do not let the training you have acquired here go down the drain. If you apply yourself well to what you have learnt and develop yourself even more, you will certainly be a success story,” he said.
In her remarks, Nancy Freeborn, WEPSS project head, said apart from the tailoring skills acquired, the programme also inculcated “soft skills” including personal hygiene and how to run successful businesses after graduation to trainees.
“The skill you have been given is a gift from INTELS through WEPSS. That skill is what has allowed you to explore new ideas to create and design. Make INTELS proud by putting into use the skills that you have acquired. It gives us a lot of joy when we go on our follow-up exercise and see people who are really putting into use the skill they have acquired,” she advised them.
Esther Osarodanwi, the best performing beneficiary, was provided with a start-up kit which included an industrial sewing machine, steam iron, chair, scissors, seam ripper, box of tailors’ chalk and a measuring tape.
Osarodanwi, who broke down in tears, while receiving her certificate and the start-up kits, thanked INTELS for impacting positively on women through the acclaimed empowerment scheme.
She said the skill she acquired during the training had helped develop her passion for tailoring and fashion design.
WEPSS, which is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme of INTELS, was established in 2013 with the vision of empowering 5,000 women drawn from various parts of Nigeria over a 20- year period through training in fashion designing and tailoring. So far, more than 1000 women drawn from various communities have been empowered through the project.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
