WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT PROJECT
The Women’s Microfinance Empowerment Workshop is a workshop dedicated to improving the lives of low-income women, HIV/AIDS, underserved, and lack of education. This workshop houses the DGMM Women’s Empowerment Project.
Vocational Training /Career Development:
Educating Girls and post secondary students, and their mentors Vocational settings about environmental issues, solutions and stewardship for the purpose of encouraging interest in environmental careers.
Our education aims at educating, training, and supporting all women, girls and disadvantaged women by empowering them through healthcare education, economics, and leadership/professional training so that they may acquire skills to enhance their lifestyles.
Enterprise: DGMM identifies the extreme poor in Haiti, Nigeria and delivers a four part program to build businesses that increase household income: entrepreneurship training, Agriculture, business mentoring and a savings group. Businesses are started in groups of 5 participants which are later organized into Business Savings groups of 10 businesses each.
Empowering women for economic opportunities through healthcare: DGMM has established Community Health Workers in Nigeria, with little access to healthcare or economic opportunities. The CHW are providing anti-malaria treatments, nutrient-fortified foods, and other medicines to local communities in Nigeria and we are making a positive impact in the lives of the global poor. However, these products are limited and need more help to reach the extreme poor and vulnerable communities that need these vital resources and goods. Without distribution chains or franchises, communities have no way to access or afford products which could immensely improve, and even save, their lives. DGMM need more volunteers, partners, and foundations to help with medications, funding, and human resources.
Birth Kits Program:
The DGMM has in place Community Health Workers (CHW) in rural villages that educates them on maternal health, reducing child mortality, HIV/AIDS infection, malaria and other diseases. The Birth Kits has increased and reinforced the DGMM women' health program in rural villages by promoting a safe, clean delivery and to encourage good aftercare. The birth kit also help to improve hygienic birth practices, clean delivery and cord care. The CHW along with workshops and conferences, distributes the birth kits in DGMM rural clinics where over half infant death occur during the first four weeks after birth. Tetanus and other infections are among the leading causes of newborn mortality. Infants with neonatal tetanus often have cord infection caused by unclean delivery. The birthing kits come in handy to improve and promote safe and hygienic conditions during child birth. DGMM is ready to help and educate the rural mothers.
DGMM Nigeria Organization:
The Organization is formed to help people especially poor Abia state (widows, widowers, motherless babies and young jobless youths). The Divine Medical trains Community Health Care Workers, and Young Women Group that educate and empower the communities through small scale farming, free medical care to people who cannot afford the hospital bills, and micro-finance project. This is done in partnership with Divine Grace Medical, an agency that provide skills to women and youth for economic empowerment. In addition, the organization train the widows on how to produce detergents, detol, izeal, and body lotions to be product and obtain feeding money for their families. This project has created self employment opportunity for the communities. For this reason, many widows and women are interested to join the group and the funding is very small. This year more than 300 women has registered to be part of the Divine Medical group. The land has been secured, some equipments, and trainers are there to train, but the money to buy the plantain, poultry, and materials to help the women to help feed their families is low.
DGMM project:
This project focuses on training 50 women with the skills for chicken farm (poultry), plantain, Banana plantation, and micro-finance. During the previous years, Divine Medical Group provided training to sixty women. One third of those trainees were absorbed in production of Divine Grace Skill Acquisition and 25% of the women have started their small poultry farmers, and 10 have been employed to teach and supervise others. The aim is to give the women training and skills development for poultry farm, plantain, and banana plantation for feeding and for employment opportunities. In addition, the project is to reduce the rate of poverty and hunger among the people of Ntigha Community in Isiala Ngwa North, L.G.A. of Abia State Nigeria. It is also to create reasonable source of income for the people living around the area.
In these villages there are women who have basic local chicken skills. However, If they learn the Agric-poultry skill, plantain, and banana organic farm, they can earn a better income and will feed their children/family. The demand is very high for people, and 100% of the villages depend on plantain, banana, and poultry for their daily feeding. Under this grant women will be introduced to basics of poultry farm, new plantain, and banana that can give them food within short period, and what the demand is in the local and restaurant markets. Specifically the women will be taught traditional, conventional and modern ways of rearing poultry, new plantain and banana from Federal Government Agriculture, various stakeholders and their linkages, pricing, sales techniques, etc.
A major portion of time will be allocated for production. At the end of the training each trainee will be provided with a course certificate and a tool kit. The organization will help them to start a production unit of their own by linking the self-help groups to the banks and channelizing funds through self help groups.