A Non-Governmental organization, NGO, Media Initiative for African Development MIFAD under its ‘Smile Africa’ project has empowered women in the grassroot with soft grant to boast their various trading activities.
According to the founder and coordinator ofthe NGO , Mrs Nanko Kumbin, the empowerment was part of activities to improve the source of livelihood of women and youths as well as reduce the rate of poverty in the rural communities.
Speaking with journalist, Kumbin disclosed that no fewer than 15 women of Pil Gani community of Langtang North in Plateau state were carefully selected as beneficiaries because of the huge agricultural potential of the community.
While noting that the reality of grassroot women needs to be communicated to the world for intervention, hence the use of media through documentaries to showcase the realiies and challenges of rural communities in Africa anf how their potentials can be harnessed
she explained that every grassroot woman is either into some form of agriculture or petty trading as women are able to start small businesses faster than men.
‘‘We carried out a survey and discovered that in Africa most of our grassroots men are no longer productive while the women are the ones who are productive, carrying the burden of the family. So we decided to focus on the women because the family is better off when a women is empowered, the family will feed better, the children have the opportunity to go to school and they automatically become less of a burden to their families in the city.
‘‘Our Smile Africa empowerment initiative is formed out of the fact that we are aware that women’s economic activities help contribute almost 70% of Africas GDP even at the grassroot. So we decided that if these women are empowered or given some form of funding to encourage their economic and agricultural activities the output will be more. We therefore decided to provide soft grants to them and encourage them to use it in their farms or trading activities which in the long run improves the family and translates to the society’’ she explained.
While urging the women to invest the grant in their existing business, Kumbin stressed that the money should not be spent on financing their immediate needs but must be invested and spend only from their profits.
She however noted that considering the fact that the government cannot do everything for its citizens it should formulate policies which encourage NGOs and their activities at various levels of government.
One of the beneficiaries, Grace Tali who sells locally made drink stated that with the funds provided by Smile Africa she can expand her ‘Kunu’ business.
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