The Girls Power Initiative (GPI), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has held a closure meeting for its six-month empowerment programme for 180 out-of-school adolescent girls and young women across six communities in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Edo South Senatorial District.

The benefiting communities are Useh and Ugbiyokho in Egor local government area, Oluku and Ekiadolor in Ovia North-East local government area, and Iyanomo and Ugbogun in Uhunmwode local government area.

Funded by BBC Media Action, the programme was themed “Using Communication to Reduce the Vulnerability of Young Women and Girls to Sex Trafficking in Edo State, Nigeria.” 

It aimed to empower participants with entrepreneurial skills and raise awareness within their communities to combat sex trafficking and exploitation.

The Project Manager, May Ekido explained that the objectives of the training were to equip participants to start small businesses, raise awareness among 3,000 community members, including parents, on the dangers of human trafficking and the importance of education and skill acquisition, as well as to train six community volunteers to continue awareness campaigns in their localities.

To achieve these goals, GPI employed various strategies, including community and stakeholder engagement, market outreaches, interpersonal communication, and town hall meetings.

Ekido noted that out of the 180 trained adolescent girls and young women, 42 received mentorship and starter packs to help them rebuild their lives through sustainable small-scale businesses. 

She added that the programme met, and in some cases exceeded, its set targets within the six-month period.

Programme Manager of BBC Media Action, Lolu Yusuf, commended GPI for its effective and transparent implementation of the project. 

She said the organisation was selected due to its long-standing commitment to anti-human trafficking efforts. 

Yusuf also urged the beneficiaries to use their starter packs judiciously for their intended purposes.

The event’s high point was the formal presentation of starter packs to the beneficiaries.