Girl-child Empowerment, Panacea to Gender Discrimination, Poverty, Says Okowa

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has stressed the need for more programmes that would empower the girl-child as a means of tackling gender discrimination as well as poverty and low self-esteem especially among young and under-privileged female members of the society.

He expressed confidence that such deliberate intervention targeted at the girl-child was bound to improve the economic cum social status of girls and young women, which he said would engender a positive spiraling effect on society in diverse respect.

The governor made these remarks in Asaba at the graduation of beneficiaries of the 2021/2022 Girls’ Entrepreneurship and Skills Training Programme (Project GEST).

He noted that empowerment of the girl-child within the age bracket of 18 to 30 years, which has become a major public policy issue globally, has been a major plank in his administration’s job and wealth creation programme.

Okowa said, “Six months ago, the second cycle of trainees under the Girls’ Entrepreneurship and Skills Training Programme (GEST) commenced.

“It gives me great pleasure today to witness their inauguration into the world of business and entrepreneurship.

“It is instructive that this event is taking place 48 hours after the 2022 International Women’s Day, with the theme `Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow’.

“The focus is on how to “Break the Bias” that women face every day in the global marketplace and thereby accelerate gender parity, equality, inclusion, and diversity.

“This is in tandem with the philosophy of GEST, which is to tackle the issues of gender discrimination, poverty, early/forced marriage, identity crisis, social and parental pressure, poor life skills (communication, decision making, goal setting) and low self-esteem, among young women.

“Today, as we resource and unleash 814 young women into the business world, we can beat our chests that this administration is recording significant milestones in breaking the bias against women in business.

“I urge the GESTpreneurs’’ to break free from the mindset of mediocrity, advising that to excel in the marketplace, they must make quality products and excellent service delivery their unique selling points.

“From your carriage, presentation, and appearance, you should always exude confidence, and instill same in your prospective customer.

“The truth about business is that people believe in you first before they believe in your product; in other words, they buy into your personality first before they consider what you want them to buy.”

He commended the Project GEST team for its commitment to the programme, saying “I am pleased with their zeal, passion, and dedication to duty.

“More gratifying is their commitment to best practices. Even though 900 trainees were enlisted into this second cycle, 814 ladies are graduating today; 70 of them had their training extended while sixteen failed.

“The strict adherence to and enforcement of standards by the project managers will foster discipline, discourage nepotism, and sustain credibility of the programme.

Wife of the Governor, Dame Edith Okowa said the beneficiaries were successful because of the grace of God upon their lives and urged them to remain resilient and ensure absolute integrity in carrying out their enterprise.

Special Guest of Honour and Chief Executive Officer, House-of-Tara, Mrs. Tara Fela-Durotoye, said that the beneficiaries were true champions for enduring the rigorous training programme to the end, urging them to put to effective use their training.

Earlier In her welcome address, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Girl-Child Empowerment, Mrs. Marilyn Okowa-Daramola, said that the second cycle, known as the “Magnificent 900”, scaled through the process, maintained focus and crossed the finish line.

“Your Excellency, this is the second cycle of the Project GEST beneficiaries known as the “Magnificent 900”, she said. “Out of the 900 selected candidates, I present to you 814 passionate, powerful, dedicated, and ambitious women from across our great state, who stuck through the process, maintained their focus, and are here today crossing the finish line.

“While the duration of training for 70 of the beneficiaries is currently being extended to further assess their knowledge in their chosen skill, 16 however failed and will not be graduating.

“Yes, we can say that the girls “Came, They Saw, They Conquered.” Yes, I am proud of all of you, but most importantly, I am sure that you too are all proud of what you have accomplished.”

The ceremony also featured presentation of startup packs to the beneficiaries of the Second Cycle of GEST, who were trained in 10 areas: l

Photography, Videography, ICT (Website Development & Graphics Design), Baking/ Confectioneries, Leather works, Professional Cleaning Services, Disc Jockeying, Fashion Design, Hairdressing and Make-up.