D-ABILITY INITIATIVE PARTICIPATES IN A STEP-DOWN TRAINING ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GVB) DATA ENTRY.

The event was held at the Ministry of Women Affairs. This training focused on how to mitigate the incidences of gender-based violence (GBV) by proper data entry into the Federal database the participants practically entered data on the national gender-based violence incident forms. This document has sections that included the organization’s information method or channel of contracting the organization’s survivor/victim’s information and vulnerability level case description of the alleged perpetrator’s information and final outcome.

The online practical data entry highlighted the setting up contacts submission profiling by the GBV center and reporting. The training enabled trainers to explore various components of the national report database and its entry method and modalities. D-Ability Initiative has commenced the setting up of the GVB data entry platform for adequate report entry. One of the lead presenters was the President of D-Ability Initiative Dr. Kingdom Nwanyanwu. The Rivers State Ministry of Women Affairs is the civil service Department of Rivers State charged with advising the government on policies and programmes involving women and gender equality. 

D-ABILITY INITIATIVE ENGAGES WITH PARENTS AND PARTNERS OF DEAF WOMEN AND GIRLS ON SKILL AND PEACE-BUILDING.

D-Ability Initiative, with funds from the European Union, held a sensitization workshop to engage parents and partners of Deaf women and girls on the need for peaceful coexistence and support for the skill-building programme for Deaf women and girls. This event took place on the 8th of April 2022, at Emerald Hotels conference hall in Port Harcourt.

The Objectives of the meeting were: 

  1.   To help parents and partners of Deaf women and girls understand the plight of deaf women and girls and the burden unemployment poses on them.
  2.   To learn the importance of peaceful co-existence between them, Deaf women and girls, and other family members.
  3.   To inform them of our intention to empower their Deaf women and girls through skill building and earning capacity in the tailoring / fashion industry.
  4.   To itemize and share ideas on anticipated challenges that the training program might face, and to chart a way forward.
  5. To seek their collective buy-in into this life-changing opportunity for Deaf women and girls.

The President of D-Ability Initiative explained that there is a general challenge of unemployment and that parents and partners of Deaf women and girls needed to understand their plight and the burden unemployment poses. The President of D-Ability Initiative, Dr. Kingdom Nwanyanwu stressed the need for parents to live in peace with their Deaf women and girls in their various homes. He informed them that D-Ability Initiative is embarking on a European Union-funded project through the British Council’s Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT) Programme, aimed at improving the livelihood outcome for Deaf women and Girls in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State Nigeria.

After an insightful engagement with parents and partners of beneficiaries, he proceeded to ask them how they usually communicate with their children and partners at home since they are not conversant with sign language. Mr. Salaudeen one of the parents of a beneficiary said he usually communicated based on the little understanding he had with his daughter at home, and that anything he finds difficult to communicate, he has to ask another of his child who has a better understanding to help him.  Mr. Daniel a partner to one of the beneficiaries asked if the beneficiaries would be empowered with equipment after the training program. Dr. Nwanyanwu responded that the scope of the training for this first phase is for trainees to receive skills and knowledge and that in another phase there would be a hub where trainees would be able to practice and work while earning income and remain within that community for support. Finally, Dr. Kingdom Nwanyanwu pleaded with parents and partners of Deaf women and girls to support the project by encouraging their wards to take advantage of the life-changing opportunity.