Mrs Olufunso Amosun - Ogun State First Lady
Mrs Olufunso Amosun - Ogun State First Lady
In continuation of efforts to reduce poverty and empower people through skill acquisition, wife of Ogun State Governor - Mrs. Olufunso Amosun has organised a three-day soap and cream making workshop for widows in the State under the auspices her Uplift Development Foundation.
Addressing participants at the programme held at her South-West Resource Centre, Oke-Mosan office in Abeokuta, Mrs. Amosun described capacity building and empowerment programmes as germane to efforts to eradicate poverty and engender nation building. She underscored the need for the well-to-do members of the society to always spare a thought for the less privileged, particularly widows, who might not have a reliable source of livelihood, having lost their breadwinners .
According to her, the training programme was her modest contribution to the Mission to Rebuild the State and help put smiles on the faces of the participants, restore their hopes and give them a new lease of life as it would enable them “fish and become good fishermen”.
“My mission and goal is to support efforts of the State Government in its mission to rebuild Ogun State and uplift the lives of needy widows who do not have anybody to help them. It is expected that at the end of this training programme, we would have helped in increasing small and medium scale entrepreneurship both at the urban and grassroots areas of the State,” she said.
While enjoining them to take advantage of the training to be self-sufficient and reliant, she disclosed that at the end of the three day programme, participants would be given stipends to assist them start up their own businesses on making liquid and bar soaps, body cream and disinfectants.
In her welcome address, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Elizabeth Sonubi commended Mrs. Amosun for the initiative, saying it was a development that would go a long way in contributing to the growth of the State’s economy. She urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunity in order to start up a trade immediately after the training, pointing out with this, they would be able make a decent living and become better mothers to their dependent children.
Responding on behalf of other beneficiaries drawn from the 20 Local Government Areas of the State, Mrs Olaide Adebanjo thanked the Amosun for giving them a new lease of life through the empowerment programme, promising that they would make judicious use of the training.