By Sani Idris
The Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative (EWEI), an NGO, has begun implementation of a project designed to support women and girls who survived various forms of violence in Kaduna State.
The project, tagged,” Together We Can (TWC)”, will be implemented from November 2023 to October 2026 in partnership with support from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (UN Trust Fund).
The TWC Project Director, EWEI, Ms Rachel Ogbonna, disclosed this in a statement in Kaduna on Monday,
According to Ogbonna, the initiative aims to provide comprehensive support to women and girl survivors of various forms of violence in protracted crisis areas of the state.
She said that the project would build upon the successes of the just concluded EWEI’s Our Safe Spaces project.
She explained that the OSS project provided support to women and girl survivors of physical, sexual, economic, emotional, and psychological violence in crisis areas of Kaduna state.
“The TWC project recognises that the women encounter intersectional discrimination and violence based on their gender and was exacerbated by their socio-economic status.
“This has led to barriers in accessing justice, support services, and healthcare among other critical services.
“The marginalised women and girls’ socio-economic backgrounds also heighten their vulnerability to Violence Against Women and girls (VAWG) due to limited access to resources, education, and other economic opportunities.
“An important aspect of the project is to also increase awareness of our toll-free GBV helpline which has been effective in providing real-time response and access to intervention and psychosocial support for survivors,” she said.
Ogbonna expressed EWEI’s joy to engage in this partnership with The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund).
She said that the UN Trust Fund was the only global grant making mechanism dedicated exclusively to addressing all forms of violence against women and girls at local and national levels.
She added that to date, the Fund has supported 609 organisations in 140 countries and territories.
“This collaboration represents a significant milestone in our collective efforts to combat violence against women and girls, especially in protracted crisis areas.
“Through the ‘Together We Can’ project, we aim to address the specific needs and challenges faced by marginalised women and girls.
“Ultimately, we will be working towards enhancing their overall well-being, economic empowerment, and community participation while promoting peaceful coexistence and actions to eliminate VAWG.
“This project will provide a beacon of hope and support for survivors, ensuring they have access to the resources and care they need to rebuild their lives.
“We believe that together, we can create a safer and more inclusive future for women and girls in Kaduna state,” she said.
Ms Anna Alaszewski, UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women’s Portfolio Manager for Africa, said that the Trust Fund was pleased to be partnering with EWEI for a second time on a project to address violence against women and girls.
Alaszewski described the project as a “much-needed” intervention which would take place in the context of the ongoing crises in Kaduna state and would provide vital services to support the needs of survivors of violence.
Edited by Philip Yatai
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