Like millions of communities with lower socio-economic backgrounds in Kwara State, women in Malete, Shao, and Egbejila often lack the skills necessary for self-empowerment. This deficiency leads to low self-esteem, depression, and emotional imbalances among many women in these areas. Mrs. Olalowo, a widow living in a broken shelter in Shao Community, Moro Local Government of Kwara State, embodies these challenges. She has four children and struggles to meet their basic daily needs, often managing barely a meal per day. Their house has cracked walls and leaking roofs, and her children were forced to drop out of school. Her fifteen-year-old son took a job as a bar attendant, exposing him to alcohol, while her younger children resorted to begging on the streets, abandoning their education.
Through the WVL-N project, supported by ActionAid and funded by Global Affairs Canada, the Asiri Abo Team conducted a mapping exercise alongside the Community Response Team in these three communities. They identified 15 vulnerable, unemployed women and girls, including Mrs. Olalowo, and trained them in snack making (doughnuts, egg buns, and buns). Each beneficiary received a start-up pack and equipment. Mrs. Olalowo began a catering business, which she expanded, using the profits to support her family and send her children back to school. She expressed, “Before this intervention, I struggled with low self-esteem, depression, and emotional imbalance. I had nothing to do and couldn’t support my home. But, with the timely intervention of the Asiri Abo team through this empowerment and skill acquisition training, I can now fend for myself, support my children’s education, improve our standard of living, and even train others as well.”
