Rockflower partner, Society for the Improvement of Rural People, based in Nigeria, has just completed a project in which they were able to provide project management training to 30 women and youth-led organizations in Enugu State.
Since 2011, SIRP has been involved in developing school governance frameworks, with support from the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN). Although SIRP originally focused it’s projects on schools, they realized that education is very much needed outside of the classroom as well. SIRP Director, Dr. Christopher Ugwu saw an opportunity to help small, local, organizations run by women and youth in Enugu State, by educating them on how to manage projects, draft proposals, manage budgets and effectively leverage social media to promote their work.
Women and youth make up more than 50% of the population in Enugu State, and are highly vulnerable to poverty, domestic violence, issues of sexual and reproductive health, and lack agency. Young business owners are seen as inexperienced and lack access to financial resources and women are often seen as inferior, and also struggle to secure resources for their organizations.
The project was highly successful overall. Through a number of training sessions, the organizational leaders learned to write impactful proposals, lead their organizations confidently, manage projects, draft budgets and leverage social media to promote their organizations. The youth in these groups now feel confident to begin fundraising on their own. An unintended benefit was the strong networking connections that were built throughout the program. Many of the business owners, who knew of very few other women-led organizations, found comfort in shared experiences and formed bonds that will benefit them both personally and in their work.
Dr. Christopher Ugwu told us, “We define youth and women empowerment as the process; by which youth and women gain the ability to make decisions not just for themselves, but also that of others. This could be formal or informal education. This is so essential and forms the basis of all our successes.”
Upon the completion of the program, participants were surveyed on their experience. Over 86% of participants said that this program was highly impactful to their lives, with the other 14% indicating that the program was somewhat impactful to their lives. Overall, the skills built in this program will allow this underrepresented group of aspirational women and youth to succeed in their endeavors, provide for themselves and their families, and ensure that they are able to maintain independence and safety into the future. Rockflower is greatly inspired by the work of SIRP and their ability to respond to the needs of their community.