By JET STANLEY MADU
Founder, TESCAM, a women empowerment initiative, Chief Theresa Ohumegbulam, has called on all to join in healing the wounds of socially and economically deprived women. She made the call during the graduation ceremony held for over 20 women, who trained in various vocation skills.
The trainees, who graduated from the Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Church, Clegg’s Skills Acquisition Centre at Ojuelegba, Surulere, Lagos, were trained in making fragrance, soap and detergent, bags, toilet and dish washers, cooking wears (aprons), cake and bread baking and other confectioneries. The ceremony held at the Officers Mess of the Nigerian Army Ordinance at Maye Street, Sabo Yaba.
Mrs. Clementina Abeke Daregoes, who is the Director, Doregoes Academy was among dignitaries at the occasion. She revealed that a new campaign was currently sweeping across the globe. The campaign, according to her, was that “children, especially, women must use their hands to do something.”
At the event, the educationist spoke on the need to empower women. She said part of the essence of educating and training women was that they would be useful to their children, grand children and the nation at large.
The school proprietress, who chaired the occasion and led the pack of special donors at the fundraising to financially empower the trained women disclosed that she was committed to initiatives designed to enhance womanhood. According to her, the role played in her life by her grandmother when she lost her mother at a very tender age spurred her to helping women.
“Yes, I need to support women. Like I tell people, I am a motherless child. I don’t know my mom. But my grandmother took care of me.”
Doregoes charged the women to take the vocations they had acquired very seriously and to involve and teach their children the trade in order to keep them out of vices. “Whatever you learn, you must hand over to you children and I want you to pray.
She advised widows to “forget about ‘my husband died.’ God who brought that man into the world knew He would take that man away. And when he is taken away, we’re not dead; we’re alive in Christ. So, don’t behave as if you’re lost in the world.”
Chief Superintendent of Customs and spouse to the founder TESCAM, Mr. Camillus Ohuegbulam, spoke of his wife’s passion for the care for widows. He urged the beneficiaries not to be disappointed with the little beginning asserting that it was God who blossoms man’s handiwork. “So, I pray that with God on our side, you will grow.”
The training programme was financed by TESCAM, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation.
The progenitor of the idea, Ohuegbulam, contended that the foundation was borne out of the fact that some cultural and religious defaults had continued to subject women to suffer economically. She said the organisation was rising to the challenge of helping women to overcome their plight.
Aside the recent training programme, she disclosed that the group which was founded in 2012, had previously, trained 55 widows in baking and soap making at the Saint Paul Catholic Church Training Centre Ebute-Meta, Yaba, Lagos. That each of the trainees was given N20,000.00 as takeoff grant to enable them begin their own businesses.
She said in August and September 2016, the outfit trained 30 and 50 women in various vacations at the Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Clegg, Ojuelegba, Surulere in sewing and grinding machines handling; make-up kits were distributed to beneficiaries, including cooking utensils for those venturing into food vending.
Ohuegbulam said she was moved to do what she was doing as a result of her ugly experience as an orphan. She said she was ever prepared to give her follow women hope and help ring with joy.
“We have designed developmental skills acquisition projects aimed at giving financial freedom to women particularly, widows whom she termed Jesus Wives. We have also effected the rehabilitation and re-integration into the society, of a number of commercial-sex workers in Lagos and facilitated the release from Kirikiri Prisons, some women facing wrong litigation.”
Continuing, she declared that her outfit was heeding to Michael Jackson call to heal the world. “It was that pop star who sang: Heal the world; make it a better place for you and me and the entire universe. TESCAM in responding to this call; it is working to heal the wounds of many socially and economically deprived women but, we are constrained by funds to execute its planned projects.”