By Ebunloluwa Sessou

It was the glorious end 

to three exhilarating days of learning, fun and empowerment for the women of the Badore Fisherman Community in the Eti Osa area of Lagos last weekend when a three-day pastry making training initiative in the neighbourhood was concluded.

A somewhat serene, almost rural setting, the  waterside community lies between the Badore Canal and the shores of the Lagos  Lagoon.  Tucked behind the Badore market which displays the freshest produce from eggs to garden eggs, fish to farmed vegetables, the community is nevertheless obviously lacking the hurried agitation of urban Lagos.

Inhabitants are indeed sheltered, and had been hesitant to join the program,  but handlers of the UCCareforall empowerment program are experienced. 

Ofon Umoh,  the Project Director popularly known as MentorC at the venue is well versed in non profit work. While on a guided tour of the Badore Fishermen community, he told Vanguard that UCCareforall Foundation planned to adopt the community with its myriads of issues.

 ” The focus is to bring about 50 women together to build themselves and their community. If they are empowered the community is empowered and there will be less burden on their husbands. We saw how terrible the situation of lack of skills, unemployment and so forth was in their environment, so the goal was simple.  Be a better you, change your environment, change yourself”.

In the end, it turned into a community liaison venture, with female residents and dozens of their children convening in a common area for three days to “make magic”, according to Iruoghene Sasha Omar, the teacher turned baker and training facilitator.  Sasha added that it was the first time she would conduct training for so many people with such little supervision and with such professional results.

Expressing his pleasure, national coordinator, Raphael Odu commended the comportment and passion of the women of the community, saying the empowerment outing was one of the best experienced by the initiative. “They have learned a lot; they are happy, and they are about to turn a new phase of their lives with new opportunities.  We are going to visit the community to see how they are practicalising the training”.

Iruoghene Sasha Omar, the facilitator, agrees. ” Usually, when I do community outreaches, so many of my things disappear but this time, when I checked my things they’ re packed in the car, the women even mistakenly packed some of their things with mine “

It was not easy getting the confidence of the community, or even access to them as there were various unusual levies that had to be paid to the local government, traditional rulers and so forth.