A non-governmental organisation (NGO), The Empowerment Network (TEN), last Saturday, in Lagos, gave financial support to 50 beneficiaries from various parts of the country to support their businesses.
The occasion was also used to launch another NGO under LIFTED, called The Empowerment Network (TEN), with a specific mandate to lift 40m Nigerians out of poverty and get 16m children back to school in 10 years.
Founder of TEN, Dr. Isaiah Wealth, in his welcome address, said, “Most importantly, we also ensure that this system targets people who have children out of school. This way, The Empowerment Network also caters for out-of-school children because you cannot talk about solving the problem of poverty in the long run without investment in education; illiteracy perpetuates poverty.
“Right after this idea was conceived, we began straight away by putting some money together and selecting beneficiaries to kick off the initiative. Today, some of those beneficiaries are here after scaling through the first stage of the scheme, and we are proud to showcase their stories of transformation as we see what they have been able to do with the grants they received. However, this is just the beginning.
“For many years, the common discourse in various circles has been the problem of poverty in Nigeria, especially after the nation was declared the poverty capital of the world.
“Public analysts and well-meaning Nigerians have weighed in through various media platforms, with some blaming government inaction, and some others erroneously blaming the church for milking the less privileged. Yet, very few have acted in a way to resolve the problem. There has been much talk and blame game, with little or no action.
“Over the years, several poverty alleviation initiatives have been floated in order to tackle the menace of poverty in Nigeria. Funds were disbursed to beneficiaries, but nothing seemed to have changed. This prompted me to reflect on how best we can all act together to address the problem of poverty in the nation.”
The founder stated that, “I do not feel that the problem of poverty is what I can take on by myself. After all, I am neither the richest nor most-privileged citizen of the nation. I am not in government, and I do not even command the largest following or congregation in ministry. Yet I began to hear a voice in my heart urging me to do something about the poverty situation in the country.
“From when I was young, in school, I have always derived joy in solving difficult questions that others shy away from. I would spend my nights tackling and resolving scientific questions so that I could teach and help my class mates at school. So, when I was called to ministry, it was the same for me; solving the problems of knowledge in the lives of people came naturally to me.
“This was what led to the creation of The Isaiah Wealth Initiative (TIWI) in 2012, to render top-notch and cutting-edge humanitarian services through interventions in the areas of health, education, human empowerment, and catering for victims of natural disasters and the less privileged.”
In his address, chairman, JCA board, Bishop Wesley Arije, said JCA seeks to partner with LIFTED as a fundraiser, to bring 40m Nigerians above the poverty line by empowering at least 8m breadwinners with an average of five dependents each, with at least two children out of school, which returns 16 million back to school. Already, JCA has begun to seek collaboration to implement this empowerment strategy in a big and impactful way.