Foundation in Search for 20 Women to Empower

A non-governmental organisation, the Cecilia Esenwa Foundation (CEF), is currently on an ultimate search for 20 Nigerian women with any skills to empower.

This was made known at the launch of the foundation held in Lagos earlier this month in honour of the late Madam Cecilia Ezenwa.

For CEF, its quest is to accelerate human development with emphasis on women; improve the lives and wellbeing of Nigerians who desire to excel in their field of endeavours but are handicapped due to circumstances beyond them.

According to CEF Founder and Chairman, Mr. Chris Agbaje, the women would be selected from all parts of the country and they would benefit from training that would saddle them with soft/technical skills and business to make a difference in their communities.

He said: “Every year, we will identify 20 women from north and south. We have 40 ad-hoc staff members who will identify the women, especially from rural communities.”

Passionately pursuing this goal in honour of his late grandma, Madam Cecilia Ezenwa, Agbaje described her as one whose strength, wisdom, and lifestyle had great influence on him and many others.

For the founder, the late Madam Ezenwa was a woman who did not let her lack of education stop her from acquiring one, thus becoming a voice for many of her kind.

Agbaje noted that beside empowering women physically, CEF is also passionate about their mental health, adding that if one was not mentally empowered, then physical empowerment would not make a lasting impact.

He noted that foundation’s empowerment programmes span across business, mental, personal development trainings, and community empowerment.

CEF, through the engagement of experts, plans to support over 100 women in five years. This is expected to greatly impact communities across the six geo-political zones of the country.

Other features the foundation has lined up for women, in the words of the CEO/Director of Operations, Mrs. Halima Nuradeen, include collaboration on issues of drug abuse and mental health among youths and women.