By Taiye Baiyerohi

The International Women’s Society (IWS) has pledged to continue to empower the disadvantaged in the country, particularly women and children.

The President of IWS, Mrs Izabella Abia-Okon,
said this during the association’s April meeting and cultural exchange programme in collaboration with the Nigerian-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce, on Tuesday in Lagos.

According to Abia-Okon, IWS in 1999 established a skills acquisition centre in Lagos State, to elevate the socio-economic status of women in the state and country at large.

She said an average of 100 students graduate annually from the centre which offers vocational training in catering and events management, sewing and fashion designing; makeup; adult literacy; and computer related courses, among others.

Abia-Okon said that the exercise had helped to promote the springing up of more micro enterprises, thereby addressing the scourge of unemployment in the country, especially among the womenfolk.

She noted that the skills centre was NABTEB certified, which enables graduates to work anywhere in the world.

She, however, called on well-meaning Nigerians to support the association so as to continue its mission of empowering the underprivileged in the society.

“As an NGO project, we face significant financial challenges in sustaining our operations and providing quality hands on training, scholarships, and start-up support for our graduates.

“We rely on the support of generous donors, and together we can make a difference in lives of the less privileged in our society,” she said.

IWS was founded in 1957 in Lagos by a group of public-spirited women set out to champion women’s courses using its cut clear programmes that generally focus on providing for the less privileged; supporting widowed women financially; and providing avenues for acquisition of productive skills toward financial independence and development of their respective communities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that highlight of the meeting was networking and understanding the opportunities of a Nigerian and Hungarian collaboration