BY SIMON NDIVE KALLA
Over 174 young girls and women are currently undergoing a two months training program organised by Blessing Association for Women, BAWAC, in partnership with Betty Fashion Home. This revelation was made known to the press on Thursday March 21, 2019 at Lumpsum quarter in Limbe by the Founder and Executive Director of BAWAC, Baiye Frida Ebai.
According to the Executive Director, Baiye Frida, the training program is to provide opportunity for proper rehabilitation of the IDP women and children through enhanced psychology, vocational and business skills.
“The training program would also go a long way in restoring their dignity and to ensure diversification of their meaning of livelihood in their host communities”, Baiye Frida said.
She added that, these interventions will help restore their lost individual and communal livelihoods and are able to make safe and sustainable living that meets their basic needs, contribute to their dignity and provide protection for full enjoyment of their human rights.
Baiye Frida said the first batch of training consists of 15 and are from Ekona, Tombel, Kumba, Muyuka and Mamfe respectively. She however explained that, the first batch of IDPs would be trained for three months in different vocational skills like, tailoring, catering, arts and craft, digital marketing and food manufacturing among others.
Quizzed on the challenges the girls will face after the training, she said with her master degree on corporate communication, she will create all the social media platform, marketing, partnership, for them to have the appropriate market for their end products.
“EmpowerHer is a project targeting 300 internally displaced women and girls in the South West for now, but we are going to go to other regions because we still have IDP women and girls in other regions of Cameroon”, Baiye Frida told reporters.
Quizzed why IDP girls and women, Baiye Frida said, right now they are the most vulnerable in the community due to the ongoing Anglophone crisis, as most of them are in Limbe which is relatively safe, reason why they intend to use this opportunity as fast as possible to teach them skills before they could move to other places, she held.
“With these skills, they are empowered to make their own money, they can take care of themselves; you know when you empower a woman you empower a whole community and the whole nation”, Baiye Frida explained.
She however added that, she will bring on board so many trainers who are experts and can teach women for free. She pointed it clear that, they do not have support from anywhere, as the project is self funded.
On her part, the Executive Director of Hope Advocate Africa, HADA Caryn Dasah encouraged the women and told them not to be discouraged, but be focused on the training. She however promised to assist the women through her organisation to advocate for their rights as women.