As part of effort to economically empower the needy women and girls in Lagos, Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation in partnership with the Coca-Cola Foundation launched the second edition of its women empowerment programme.
The event, which came under the theme ‘Catalyst for Change 2.0’ focused on empowering women and girls, especially those living in rural communities with no access to opportunities.
Speaking at a press briefing heralding the launch, Founder, Karis & Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation, Bukola Bamiduro emphasised the importance of the ‘Catalyst For Change 2.0’ project, stating its role in ensuring the empowerment of underserved women and youth in Nigeria.
She said: “We are proud to continue this impactful programme and make a meaningful contribution to the lives of more women and girls in the country. We extend our gratitude to The Coca-Cola Foundation who has remained steadfast in its commitment to this project”.
As part of plans for a successful edition, Catalyst for Change 2.0 will extend to women and youth in communities across Surulere, Alausa/Agidingbi, Ijora, Agege and Onigbongbo in Lagos state for a 10 month period starting October 4, 2021. The programme, aimed at reducing the harsh economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, seeks to reduce the migration of rural women to urban areas by empowering them with business and life skills that will elevate them from extreme poverty and encourage their migration back to their local communities.
Read also: Coca-Cola to provide $300,000 grant for women empowerment initiative in Lagos
Bamiduro further explained that the programme plan would adopt two training models which include hands-on training classes, such as baking, bag making, shoemaking, hairstyling, makeup artistry, tie and dye design and production of household cleaning items.
The second, she said would be the business classes which would provide training around the foundations of running a successful business; personal and product branding; accounting; bookkeeping and finance management; recruiting customers; leveraging social media; accessing loans and grants; gender-based violence and recycling.
Speaking also, president of the Coca-Cola Foundation Saadia Madsbjerg, affirmed that their ultimate goal was to lift women out of poverty and into lives of self-sufficiency by focusing on those community programmes offering education, skills training, financial literacy and mentoring, such as the Catalyst for Change 2.0 programme.
During the inaugural programme in 2020 themed “Catalyst for Change”, Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation, funded by Coca-Cola Foundation, successfully equipped 5,000 women and girls across five communities in Lagos which include; Sangotedo, Oworonshoki, Ogijo, Iwaya and Magboro communities with transformative vocational skills while 1,000 beneficiaries were presented with business start-up kits to kick start their businesses and earn a living.
The success stories and testimonials recorded during the recently completed monitoring and evaluation exercise indicated a highly successful campaign, which contributed to the funding of the second edition of the programme by Coca-Cola Foundation through a grant of $300,000 to empower yet another set of 5,000 women across five communities in Lagos.
