By Adeola Ogunlade
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arise Foundation Mrs Joke Akinseye has been honoured recently at the Outstanding Women in Africa Awards 2020, as the Outstanding woman empowering women of the year award in recognition of her contribution to excellence and helping women both in Nigeria and overseas held at the LCCI Conference Centre, Alausa-Ikeja, Lagos.
Speaking at the award ceremony, the Convener of the Outstanding Women in Africa Awards 2020, Mr. Success Abu-Idris, said that the award is aimed at celebrating women who have outstandingly done well to alleviate the suffering of women, especially vulnerable women in the outgoing year
Speaking at the award, the recipient of the award, Akinseye said that she is very grateful for the honour bestow on her and her foundation, and we promise that we will remain committed toward empowering and motivating the youths whom she described as agents of transformation in the restoration of the Nigerian economy.
“We want to raise the standards of living of youths and children especially the girls through education and the women through business and economic empowerment thereby unlocking and developing their potentials and making them to become change agents in their community and in the nation of Nigeria at large. We work to promote the girl child education by providing access to education”. She said
Akinseye posited that her passion in changing the life of youth and poor women and their families motivated her to empower over 1000 women and youths in Lagos state and over 1500 in Ibadan, Oyo state through skills acquisition training in tailoring, hairdressing, tie and dye, event planning, barbing, welding, aluminum, shoe/ Bag making, decoration, cleaning services, transport, Agricultural farming, and animal husbandry.
She said that thereafter the trainees are provided with business start-up tools such as sewing machines, make up kits, hair dryers, stove wicks manufacturing equipment, soap making, Barbing kits, catering tools, stove wicks tools, okada, tricycle, micro vehicle, farming startups vulcanizer’s equipment to start their own business.
“Young girls have now become responsible business owners and we have been able to reduce unwanted pregnancy among young girls”, she said.
Akinseye added that what motivated her work in the community was her background, having lived in the UK (for over two decades), which operate a welfare system, where those who are poor in the society are been looked after by the government or charity organisations to ensure they live a better life. With this background Pastor Joke believes in assisting the down trodden to be lifted up.
She continued: as a result of her work, in these communities in Nigeria, more women and youths feel valuable and the youths have more confidence to face the future. Not only this, she has made her work more inclusive by including men in her empowerment program with her farming and animal husbandry empowerment program, which has brought hope and joy to many families.
