COVID -19: Rivers LGA Set To Empower Women In Communities

Khana LGA in Rivers State has stated its preparedness to carry out  skills acquisition and empowerment programme for vulnerable females heading households across communities in the LGA.
This followed the one carried out by the Rivers State Government, in collaboration with UNICEF in Bane, Okwali, and Kaa Communities of the LGA for a total of 300 women in the three communities.
Making this known during her remarks at the training and empowerment of 100 vulnerable females heading households from Okwali, at the Suanu Finimale Nwika Conference Centre, LGA Headquarters, the Vice Chairperson of the Council, Dr Leton Ekoro, said the leadership of the LGA is already strategizing on how to extend the training to other parts of the LGA.
“We are planning to ensure that the skills acquisition programme is extended to other communities by the Council”, she said.
Dr Ekoro, who represented the Chairman of the Council at the occasion, lauded the State Government and UNICEF for the initiative, and also called on the selected women to take the skills they are taught seriously, noting that through it they can fend for their families better.
Earlier in his opening remark, at the occasion, the Technical Lead of RCCE, Mr Napoleon Adah, thanked the Rivers State Government for collaborating with UNICEF and deeming it fit to alleviate the economic/financial burden of underprivileged women by training them in the production of soap, izal, and bleach, and also empowering them to begin their own business, even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also speaking, the UNICEF Resource Person, Mrs Ineba Tongkam, stated that beyond the training, UNICEF has also provided the raw materials in the form of starter packs for the trainees to commence their businesses of producing their own soap, bleach and izal.
According to her, the starter pack will enable them produce 1000 litres of soap, 1000 litres of bleach, and 500 litres of izal for sale, from which they could recircle profit for onward production and sale of the items.
Expressing happiness over the skills acquired, the leader of the trainees, Mrs Ndua Cecilia, noted that such training and empowerment is the first of its kind for women in the area.

Sogbeba Dokubo