Delta Project GEST: Boosting Financial Independence For Girls, Raising Entrepreneurs

By Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe Esq.

#eacgovdelta

It is truism that we are in a male dominated business world, and this applies to Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, MSMSE, in Nigeria and the world over.

This accounted for over dependence on male spouses by the female folks, wherein husbands bears the toga of “The Bread Winners.” This responsibility is deeply rooted in the biblical injunction which says;

“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” 1 Timothy 5:8.

The need for man to provide for his family tend to drive his ingenuity (hustle), make money to take care of his immediate family, while in Genesis 2:18, God referred to a wife or spouse as a helpmeet and/or helpmate.

And in modern societies, more and more women have become active bread winners, business managers, leaders and captains of industry; working very hard to catch up with their male counterparts in terms of raising money by legitimate means to take care of their immediate families, either as single mothers, widows or as helpmate to their spouse.

To reduce overdependence on would be spouse by the Girl Child, the Delta State Government designed a special Programme to give hope and financial independence to indigent girls resident in the state, between 18 and 30 years of age; either married or single, christened PROJECT GEST, meaning Girls Entrepreneurship and Skills Training.

It must be stated that PROJECT GEST is an addition to other vocational and skills training programmes in the state; YAGEP, STEP, RYSA for youth and WEP for women. These socioeconomic programmes provides the opportunity for job and wealth creation to discard emphasis on white collar jobs that are not readily available for young University graduates.

And with the establishment of the Girl-Child Empowerment Office, the state governor appointed Mrs Marilyn Okowa-Daramola Esq, to take charge of PROJECT GEST, with focus on; Photography, Videography, Baking and Confectioneries, ICT, Disc Jockeying, Leather Works, Cleaning Services, Fashion Design and Hairdressing, in line with this administration’s “Prosperity for all Deltans and Stronger Delta” agendas.

The pilot programme in 2020, recruited 450 beneficiaries from the twenty five local government areas of the state. The unique aspect of Project GEST pre-take off strategy was that the Trainers were interviewed by a team of Professionals, keenly supervised by the SSA on Girl Child Empowerment, Mrs Marilyn Okowa-Daramola, to ensure that only qualified and capable trainers with the right modern equipment were contracted to train the girls.

A painstaking investigation revealed that Mrs Daramola, who is also a lawyer and daughter of the incumbent governor of Delta State, does her job as a political appointee and not necessarily as the governor’s daughter. She sometimes work late between 9:00pm and 10pm, to ensure that no Stone was left unturned in ensuring that her assigned responsibilities are accomplished on schedule and without blemish.

The pioneer pilot programme in 2020, accredited 450 participants for the 12 weeks training programme, but only 437 of them graduated and were subsequently empowered with starter packs and other assistance to set up their own small scale businesses.

Today, testimonies abound as the beneficiaries took to their social media handles to showcase their businesses and achievements, while the Girl Child Empowerment Office continue to monitor their progress and provide needed support for growth and expansion.

They commended the visionary leadership of the state governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, and the state government for the huge financial sacrifice to transform their lives from nothing to something substantial.

Recently, the 2021 batch of the Project GEST began the orientation and training programme which is expected to last for 12 weeks. In view of the success recorded in the pilot programme in 2020, the state government scaled up the number of beneficiaries to 900 participants, selected from the Senatorial Districts of Delta North, Delta Central and Delta South, covering the 25 local government areas of the state.

It is expected that the entire 900 participants comes out clean from the intensive training to join the already progressing first set of beneficiaries, making a total of 1,347 beneficiaries to further impact lives and enhance financial independence of less privilege Girl-Child in the state.

Governor Okowa, while speaking at various PROJECT GEST events said, the programme was a deliberate effort of government to engender the uplifting of families economies, raise the social status of traditionally underprivileged girls in a male dominated social construct (Patriarchy).

The programme, among other things, is to raise thousands of Girl Child Entrepreneurs, business leaders and managers; to enhance Girl-Child hope of financial independence and quality of life, as well as promote peace in the state.

The big news is that the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, graciously selected Delta, Bauchi and Gombe states for its pilot programme on Girl-Child and Women Empowerment Programme in Nigeria, sponsored by the Japanese Government with technical support from UNESCO.

This partnership will further boost the financial independence of girls and women, as well as raise more entrepreneurs, business leaders and managers in the beneficiary States, especially in Delta State, that is already making substantial progress in Girl-Child Empowerment in the country.

UNESCO is also focusing on access to the internet by the Girl-Child, as global data revealed that over 2.5 billion people below the age of 25 years still do not have access to the internet, and therefore emphasised on it in the 2021Girl Child Day Theme.

The 2021 Girl-Child Day was well celebrated in Delta State, and the First Lady, Dame Edith Okowa, used the occasion to appeal to young girls to take advantage of digital technology, be bold and courageous in their efforts and determinations to realise set out goals.

In the same vein, SSA to Governor Okowa on Girl-Child Empowerment, Mrs Marilyn Okowa-Daramola, disclosed at the Girl-Child Day celebration on October 11, that her office decided to increase the ICT skills training slot from 27 girls recorded in the 2020 pilot programme to 42 girls in the ongoing 2021 training.

She said digital technology is an integral part of business development strategy and cannot be overemphasized in growth and development of businesses, as well as in advancing the skills of entrepreneurs and managers.

In all of these efforts, it is crystal clear that the Okowa administration have made substantial progress in Skills Acquisition and human capacity development of Deltans across board; the youth, women and Girl-Child through YAGEP, STEP, WEP, RYSA and PROJECT GEST.

Therefore, it is only fair for all Deltans and indeed Nigerians, to continue to support this administration and appreciate the rapid progress made so far, obviously facilitated by the visionary leadership and good governance initiatives of governor Okowa, and his team.

The huge achievements of this administration attests to the prudent management of state resources; to engender socioeconomic, infrastructure and human capacity development within six years of this administration and still counting.
***
The writer, Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe Esq, is the Executive Assistant to Delta State Governor on Communications and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Information and Strategy Management, fciism.