Logo: Our new logo embodies our vision for the future. It depicts humans and leaves. The human is depicted thrice to represent a family and an emphasis on SSDO’s cross-cutting intervention across women, youth, and children. The leaf represents healthy growth, productivity, and our unwavering dedication to improving the quality of life of our beneficiaries.
Colors and Typography: Our refreshed color palette and typography reflect our modern approach while honoring our heritage.
Why the Change:
Our rebranding isn’t just about a new look; it’s a reflection of our commitment to innovation, excellence, and staying aligned with the evolving needs of our industry. As we embark on this exciting chapter, we want our brand to inspire confidence and excitement for what lies ahead.
“Since the development of our strategic plan, there’s been a need to redesign the organization’s brand identity to suit the priorities of the strategy document.” – Dr. Stanley Ilechukwu (Executive Director).
Brand Promise:
To be distinct through exceptional service delivery, advocacy, policy reform, and adding value to the lives of beneficiaries through sensitization and capacity building. We will leverage community platforms and structures to give a voice to the marginalized, economically empower the poor, seek accountable governance, advocate for people-centered policies, and improve public services in Nigeria.To be the donor’s voice and true representative in the local communities where projects are being executed, leveraging technology for maximal impact.
What to Expect:
In the coming weeks, you’ll start to see our new brand identity roll out across all our touchpoints – from our website and social media profiles to our marketing materials and communications. We’ll keep you updated every step of the way as we integrate the new brand into our day-to-day operations.
Our Gratitude:
We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you for your continued support. Our journey wouldn’t be the same without our incredible team, donors, partners, and stakeholders. Your trust and collaboration have fueled our growth, and we’re excited to continue this journey together. Thank you for being part of this exciting moment in our history. We can’t wait to share our new brand with you and hear your thoughts.
Stay tuned for more updates, and get ready to embark on this exciting new chapter with us!
South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO) is a duly registered non-profit organization in Nigeria, with the primary focus of equipping women, youth and children with the skills needed to survive and compete favorably in Sub-Saharan Africa.Recognizing that meaningful participation in governance and development can only be achieved through economic, political, and social empowerment, SSDO provides women, youths, and other marginalized groups the platforms, services, and skill sets they require to compete more effectively and ensure an improved quality of life.
WORKSHOP REPORT: PARTNERSHIP FOR ADVANCING WOMEN IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (PAWED)
BACKGROUND
Women in South Eastern Nigeria face many hurdles in their quest for economic empowerment. They contend with gender discriminatory cultural practices and social norms, unpaid domestic labor, and low access to capital. These and other constraints keep women poor and financially dependent on their male counterparts.
The development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), has partnered with South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO), to form the Partnership for Advancing Women in Economic Development (PAWED). One of the first activities of the PAWED project was to form a coalition for Women Economic Empowerment, consisting of women-focused and women-led CSOs and WECS. This coalition was inaugurated in a 2-Day Advocacy Training and Inauguration of the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Coalition.
The workshop was held in Enugu, Nigeria from Friday 25th to Saturday 26th February 2022.
OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING
This event had the following objectives:
· To formally constitute the state WEE Coalition;
· To introduce the PAWED project’s objectives
· To build the capacity of coalition members on advocacy for Women’s Economic Empowerment
PARTICIPANTS’ PROFILE
The workshop participants included members of women-led Civil Organizations (CSOs), Women’s Economic Empowerment Cooperatives (WECs), and representatives from relevant government Ministries.
Participants cuts across duly-registered organizations and cooperatives who have successfully executed projects that are geared towards empowering women and engendering women’s development.
TRAINING METHODOLOGY
Learning was achieved through presentations by experts (the team of facilitators) as well as through group work.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
The workshop was opened at 10:30 a.m. with a welcome statement by the Executive Director of SSDO, Dr. Stanley Ilechukwu. He gave a brief overview of the vision and mission of SSDO and concise background of the PAWED project.
Dr. Stanley stated the need for social justice and women empowerment through a transformation of economic, social, and political structures at state and national levels. He acknowledged the resourcefulness of the facilitators and urged participants to utilize this opportunity and make the best out of the workshop. He finally wished all participants a good and successful training workshop.
Afterward Alaya Biliqis, the lead facilitator thanked the participants of the workshop for being in attendance and thereafter introduced herself and the team of facilitators. They are a team of four (the lead facilitator inclusive).
1. Alaya Biliqis
2. J. AGBA OGAR
3. Damilola Praise Rotimi
4. Lawal Moshood O. (Ph.D.)
DAY ONE
SESSION 1: Welcome and Introduction (by Alaya Biliqis)
The lead facilitator, Alaya Biliqis commenced the workshop with an ice breaker with the intent of encouraging familiarity with the facilitators and other participants. Participants were encouraged to network with each other and share their work area in women’s economic empowerment. The ground rules were also initiated by the participants.
SESSION 2: Introduction to Advocacy (by Damilola Praise Rotimi)
This session was geared towards defining Advocacy, discussing its basic elements/steps, and as well determining the differences between Advocacy and lobbying. It was established that there are different definitions of Advocacy but the facilitator went with the definition of Wikipedia and Alliance for Justice as seen below.
“Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group that aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions” – Wikipedia
And “Advocacy is defined as any action that speaks in favor of, recommends, argues for a cause, supports or defends, or pleads on behalf of others” – Alliance for Justice
Advocacy was seen as both a science and an art. Science: because it involves systematic planning, and each step requires distinct knowledge and skills. Art: because it involves articulating issues in ways that inspire people to action. It involves negotiating and consensus-building, incorporating creativity, style, and even humor.
Elements of Advocacy
Advocacy starts with a core group of people and organizations concerned with a particular issue who are willing to commit resources, including time and expertise to bring about change. Advocacy is a process but does not always take place in a defined or rigid step-by-step manner, the process to be followed varies depending on the Advocacy goal/objectives, the groups involved and the environment in which the Advocacy is taking place.
More so, the basic steps involved in Advocacy constitute the elements. In all situations, it is always advisable, to begin with, the goals and objectives, other steps to follow depend on the group and resources that exist, for example, if a group has considerable data and data expertise already they may decide to go ahead to develop a position paper, another group might decide to delay the development of a position paper until they have formed a strong coalition, depending on available resources (financial and human) some activities may take place simultaneously.
Advocacy and Lobbying
“Lobbying” is one of the tactics used in Advocacy, however, for this dRPC project, there is a special consideration. In some countries, charities and non – governmental organizations are prohibited from using government funds (including grants and revenues from contracts) to lobby. This dRPC Project falls into this category. To help the participants to further understand the issue the guidelines used by the United States, State of Oregon was helpful.
Lobbying
You are lobbying when you:
• Talk or write a legislator or his or her staff to influence legislative action. This includes:
o Testimony favoring or opposing a bill or budget
o Proposing amendments to a bill, including technical amendments
o A letter, memo, or email favoring or opposing a bill or budget
o Formal or casual conversations favoring or opposing a bill or budget
• Talk or write to a legislator or to his or her staff to promote goodwill toward an agency or program
• Talk or write to others with the intent to ask them to influence legislative action. This includes:
o Meeting where you ask people to support or oppose a bill
o Letters, memos, emails, or newsletters asking people to support or oppose
You are not lobbying when you:
• Talk to or write to a legislator or his or her staff merely to provide facts. (Facts may include fact estimates or expert opinion of facts). The facts may apply to any program, budget, bill or issue.
• Do work within your agency to do research, write or otherwise develop a bill or budget
• Research or write testimony supporting or opposing a bill
• Are waiting to present testimony or meet with legislators or staff
• Write or talk to anyone to solicit their input on an agency’s legislative proposals or bill
• Do support work for an agency’s lobbying activities, but do not communicate, yourself, with legislators and staff
SESSION 3: Defining advocacy goal and objectives (by J. Agba Ogar)
The focus of this session, participants will be able to determine and develop Advocacy goals and objectives. Participants were also trained to explain specific elements of the Advocacy objective.
Goal and objectives both describe what a person wants to achieve; a goal is a broad statement of purpose we use to chart our course and objectives are specific statements of how the goal will be achieved.
An advocacy goal is a long-term general aim to solve an outstanding issue, for example, to increase male involvement in order to improve the reproductive health of Samoan families. For each goal, several objectives need to be defined. “An advocacy objective focuses on a specific action that an institution can take. This action is a specific measurable step towards the goal.
To define your advocacy objectives, ask the following questions:
• WHAT do we want to change?
• WHO can make the change?
• BY HOW MUCH?
• BY WHEN?
SESSION 4: Issues/Barriers and Threats Facing WEE In Nigeria (by Lawal Moshood O., Ph.D.)
This session had the aim of helping participants to know how to define Women Economic Empowerment (WEE), identify and frame Key Advocacy issues affecting WEE in Nigeria, discuss key issues affecting WEE in Nigeria and also explain the differences between threats and barriers experienced by women in business and their impact.
Women empowerment is defined as the process in which women elaborate and recreates what it is that they can be, do, and accomplish in a circumstance that they previously were denied. Alternatively, it is the process for women to redefine gender roles that allows them to acquire the ability to choose between known alternatives that have otherwise been restricted from such ability Women’s empowerment is seen as involving the transformation of economic, social, psychological, political, and legal circumstances of women.
Key Issues Affecting WEE in Nigeria?
Gender Equity (GE) is a Second-tier Federal Government of Nigeria (GoN) Priority.
GON stakeholders agree to GE/WEE in principle – and in public. Yet, these concepts are rarely reflected as priority objectives in key GON programs and policies some laws deny women equal opportunities with men such as land ownership and opportunities to invest freely. These laws function as a handicap to women’s economic capabilities and perpetuate a culture of dependence. There is still a wide gap between men’s and women’s representation in political leadership. Despite the affirmative action of 30% for women in all political structures at the 1995 international women conference, reviews have shown that Nigeria has not reached that level.
Limited Funding
A lack of GE policy prioritization and Nigeria’s tightening fiscal space has led to reduced budgetary prioritization of GE and relatively meager funds for WEE-focused programming. An analysis of the federal budgets since 2017 has shown that women in agribusiness receive the lowest funding annually. In the budget (2017-2021), the government allocated N416 million to women in agribusiness. Women in agriculture are believed to be the major food producers in the sector.
Weak, Ad hoc, Merged Programmes
Weak, ad hoc, merged programs GE/WEE programs are generally ad hoc, separate from broader policy priorities, and often merged with efforts to support other vulnerable groups like youth, children, and the disabled. The Federal Government is spending N5.6 billion on women empowerment and the fight against Gender-Based-Violence (GBV) this year (2021). While this is welcoming, there is no good provision for accountability in terms of measuring the proportion of each program.
Welfare as Empowerment
WEE is conflated with social welfare. Transfers-based models dominate and are often deployed as political tools. As a result, the Government of Nigeria’s GE interventions rarely lead to systemic change.
Technical Capacity Bottlenecks
High-potential programs – including Nigeria for Women Project – have suffered from weak implementation capacity, especially at the state level.
Poor Database
For WEE projects and initiatives around the country, there has been a poor data management system to help track the progress and true status of the work done in various states of the country. This also contributes to the challenges faced in the sustainability of the several WEE initiatives.
Pet Projects
It has been established how each of the first ladies at one point or the other tried to empower women and each of their efforts was halted mostly due to a change in government. Hence why most of the First lady projects or programs do not exceed their tenure once they are out of office because every first lady wants to own her own legacy and as such create gaps in the development or impacts already made by a predecessor. There is therefore a need to advocate for programs to be more people-oriented to ensure continuity and sustainability even after a change in any government.
Nigeria’s Patriarchal Societal and Government Structures and Norms Reinforce Gender Inequality
It is hard – and even politically costly in some cases – for GE/WEE to emerge as policy priorities). Political advisors are less likely to support female candidates making it difficult for them to make headway in the political space. Male domination in politics and decision making over the years have made it difficult for women to hold political office
At the end of this session, participants were grouped into four (4) to do advocacy on women marginalization (economic, social, political, etc.) and develop a goal and objective(s), guided by a template shared earlier.
SESSION 5: Coalition Building (by Alaya Biliqis)
This session had the purpose of training participants to discuss coalition building and explain the benefits of coalition building. It also aims at explaining the challenges of coalition building to the participants. The participants were trained on the key steps in coalition building and how to incorporate influencers into Advocacy coalitions.
DAY TWO
SESSION 6: Identifying/mapping your advocacy audiences (by Damilola Praise Rotimi)
The participants were trained in this session on how to define their Advocacy Audiences and most importantly, determine different Advocacy Audiences, map different Advocacy Audiences and as well define political gatekeepers and Advocacy champions.
SESSION 7: Advocacy Research – Data Collection, Information and Testimonies (by J. Agba Ogar)
The focus of this session was to train the participants on the importance of research to the success of Advocacy. They were also trained to differentiate between different Advocacy Research Methods.
SESSION 8: Preparing Your Position Paper and Fact Sheets (by Lawal Moshood O., Ph.D.)
Participants were trained in this session on the content of an Advocacy position paper and on how to draft fact sheets.
SESSION 9: Handling Objections – from your opponents (by J. Agba Ogar)
The key objective of this session was to train the participants on how to recognize objections to their Advocacy message and as well determine ways to handle objections from their opponents.
SESSION 10: Improving Your Advocacy Skills (by Damilola Praise Rotimi)
The participants in this session were trained to identify key skills required for successful Advocacy and also on how to deploy these skills necessary for Advocacy success.
SESSION 11: Message Development and Delivery
The goal of this session was to train participants on how to write up effective Advocacy messages, be conversant with the characteristics of effective Advocacy messages and so develop an effective Advocacy message. They were also trained to develop the One Minute message.
SESSION 12: Innovative and Culturally Responsive Approaches and Messaging to Conduct Advocacy in Nigeria
Participants were given a proper understanding on innovative and culturally responsive approaches to Advocacy in Nigeria and at the end trained to deploy those innovative approaches for effective Advocacy.
SESSION 13: Action Planning
Participants were trained to write up an Action Plan for Advocacy Initiative and Coalition • they were also taught the key elements of an Action Plan.
SESSION 14: Monitoring and Evaluation
In this session, participants were trained to identify key factors to take into consideration for Advocacy monitoring and evaluation. The remaining period in this session was spent on training participants on Advocacy monitoring and evaluation. One of the examples used was the budget tracking process.
South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO) is a duly registered non-profit organization in Nigeria, with a primary focus on equipping women youth and children with the social, health, economic, educational and political skills needed to survive and compete favourably in a vastly changing and urbanizing sub-Saharan Africa.
South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO) has been at the forefront of the response to reduce Gender-Based Violence (GBV) at the community level through its flagship program – The Sister Guardian Initiative (SGI). The SGI puts women at the forefront of GBV interventions by building the capacity of women drawn from existing religious and socio-cultural associations within the community to provide GBV services and advocate against its practice within their community.
SGI is being implemented in 17 communities spread across Enugu and Anambra States and currently plans to expand to an additional 5 communities in Enugu state. This consultancy is designed to facilitate the expansion strategy of the project by mapping GBV prevalence in Enugu State.
2.Objective of the assignment
The main objective of this assignment is to map the GBV prevalence in Enugu State through the following:
Document the law enforcement reporting and policing processes for GBV with an aim to identifying the gaps and challenges
Document reported GBV cases across all 40 divisions of the Enugu State Police Command.
Produce a report and PowerPoint with infographics that document the findings
Present the findings in research results and lessons learned dissemination activities
3.Timing, duration and location
This is a research consultancy with a timeframe of 6 weeks. The precise timing is to be discussed and agreed upon with the consultants respectively.
Research: September – October 2021
The research will be conducted across the 40 divisions of the Enugu State police command
4.Methodology
Consultants should as part of their application provide a summary of their research methodology
5.Deliverables
The consultants are required to deliver the following:
Research methodologies and tools
Qualitative and quantitative data collected
Final report
All deliverables are to be presented to SSDO for approval before implementation. All rules and regulations should be strictly applied to all outputs.
6.Key documents and sources of information to be consulted
Standard Operating Procedures
Case reports
Summary reports
Other relevant documents
Additional documents to be identified during the research
7.Required skills and experience
The Consultant should have
Advanced degree in social sciences, preferably PhD in sociology, demography, political science, or comparable work experience
Advanced knowledge of qualitative research methods, data collection, and data analysis techniques;
Experience researching on GBV
Demonstrable experience and network within Enugu State Police command;
Experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods;
Excellent analytical skills;
8.Contact details
For more details, or to submit your expression of interest, please send an ‘Expression of Interest’ letter indicating your current rate, along with an up-to-date CV to the email – hr@southsaharan.org
9. Deadline for Applications
All applications should be submitted on or before the 15th of August 2020.
The world as we know it changed forever from December 2019 when the novel COVID-19 virus was first discovered in China. The modus operandi of the world immediately came to a halt and a new approach to life had to be invented in other for mankind to do what it knows best, survive. And the best way identified by world governing bodies to halt the rapid spread was a temporary lockdown that lasted over three months.
One reality that whether liked or not must be confronted is the economic disruption that the lockdown has caused. A good number of organizations could not cope with incurring expenses and not having incomes, and then the sinking began.
Nigeria, specifically, which is our geographic location and as such our main focus, saw an oil price drop to a record low as it was sold for under $20 per barrel, the worst in the past 15 years. Making it thus difficult for the federal government to raise funds, and to add salt to the injury importation and exportation was put on hold, even making it more difficult for the product to be sold. With oil being our main source of income, there was indeed going to be a problem.
Beyond the impact on the federal government, the private sector also couldn’t keep paying while they couldn’t be productive, and the retrenchment commenced, and for others, they didn’t pay their staff anymore. People now had to live on their savings, and for those who didn’t have, oh well… But the real unasked question remained, which will kill people more? The virus? Or hunger? The government responded to this question by introducing palliative measures which helped to some extent solve the hunger part.
Understanding the Need
Now, to the virus part. How will people who haven’t met their basic physiological needs think of higher needs such as safety? This is where we at South Saharan Social Development Organization come in. Having identified a gap, especially among some identified vulnerable households in Enugu, Nigeria, we took the lead by creating the soap drive initiative. The soap drive came off a burning desire to help families and households keep in line with world accepted safety measures as recommended by W.H.O to wash hands regularly as this helps curb the possibility of the virus getting into the human system.
The soap drive is an initiative aimed at getting to various parts of Enugu state while creating awareness on COVID-19 as well as making provisions available for families that cannot afford soap. Albeit small, the lack is a reality, thus helping them free up funds that can be channeled to other areas. In the words of the organization’s Program Manager, Udochukwu Egwim. “Our goal is to help people cultivate healthy practices that would in the long run result in habits that are sustainable even beyond the pandemic.”
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ground Covered, Impact Made
With this initiative, we have successfully distributed 10,000 soap bars to over 1400 households in Enugu, with Enugu South, Nkanu West, and Nkanu East LGAs being key target areas. This we successfully achieved by tapping into our huge network of volunteers spread out all across the state. At this point, it is important to note that it has been proven scientifically and also backed up psychologically that it takes 21 days to cultivate a habit. With this in mind, each household was given 6 tablets of soap with the intention to see them consistently wash their hands for over a month and hence cultivate the habit.
The soap drive also afforded a unique opportunity to educate the beneficiaries on the importance of wash and personal hygiene, health education, as well as the recommended W.H.O hand washing procedure, which included a seven-step and 20 seconds procedure. Beyond hygiene, it was also a time to equip the beneficiaries with the right information on COVID-19, which includes understanding the pandemic and necessary safety measures.
“You could literally see their faces come alive when they were presented with the soaps, and they were more than willing to learn more on how to protect their families from the pandemic.” – Okereke Grace, one of the volunteers said.
The soap drive spanned the first two weeks in May and members of the public equally bought in the idea as they willingly contributed soaps to the endeavor. Showing that as a people we can be stronger together once we set our hearts on a course.
The first case of coronavirus in Nigeria was on the 27th of February 2020 when it was reported that an Italian citizen working in Nigeria returned from Milan Italy to Lagos Nigeria. Since the index case, Nigeria has recorded 7526 confirmed cases, 2171 recoveries and 221 deaths as at 24th May 2020. However, it should be stated that the total number of tests carried out stands at about 43,328, which puts Nigeria’s test per capita rate at 21 per 100,000, significantly lower than other peer economies of like Ghana (627 per 100,000) and South Africa (951 per 100,000).
The testing rate is alarming considering there is evidence that community spread is widespread in some parts of the country and it is doubtful that current testing capacity would be sufficient to test and trace all suspects. Tracing is also made difficult due to the backlash from the prolonged economic shutdown necessitated by the pandemic. Nigeria is country with poor economic indices – a growth rate of 2.27% in 2019, down from a high of 6.22% in 2014, a GDP per capita of 2134.076 at 2018, down from a high of 3225.711 in 2014, unemployment and underemployment rates of 23.1% and 20.1% respectively and a poverty rate of 40.1%, and as such it would be difficult to sustain a prolonged shutdown affecting the livelihood of millions without risking mass protests.
Given these realities, the best strategy that can be employed by NCDC is targeted testing approach that does not restrict the ability of most citizens of the country to carry out their functions while devolving and decentralizing COVID-19 management and contact tracing to the nearest Primary Healthcare Center (PHC). While the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) has commenced capacity-building of PHC personnel, it is pertinent that testing is ramped up, alternatively, symptomatic screening algorithm with moderate to high index of sensitivity for COVID-19 is utilized as the first line of management.
Symptomatic screening algorithm protocol would be feasible in Nigeria, however, it would require instituting a screening mechanism which most Nigerians would have access to. Options for this would include either a phone-in assessment, walk-in assessments at health facilities, an online assessment using the numerous COVID_19 applications. While the options listed are viable, they do present some challenges. The use of GSM technology would be the best given Nigeria’s GSM penetration of 97.45% however, a call centre with the capacity to receive the numerous daily calls is currently lacking. The NCDC call centre is currently overwhelmed with calls, with citizens complaining of their inability to reach the NCDC despite calling numerous times. While COVID-19 apps are a good development, the number of citizens with internet access is limited. Finally, walk-in visits for screening without a triage mechanism might also overwhelm already fragile health systems given the poor doctor-patient and nurse-patient ratios in the country.
An alternative screening method accessible to a vast majority of Nigerians, prevents both the NCDC and the state health system from being overwhelmed, and can be easily scaled across the country has to be designed and operationalized at the shortest possible time as every day lost further exacerbates COVID-19 community spread, putting more lives at risk.
