Stakeholders Make Case For Holistic Development Of Girl Child

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Women successful Total Girl Development (WIT-GIRL), has underscored the value of girl-child acquisition and decried unfavourable gender-based policies against women successful Nigeria’s leadership.

This was portion of the statement of stakeholders astatine an lawsuit themed “The Girl I Am, The Change I Lead: Girls connected the Frontlines of Crisis,” held successful Uyo, the authorities capital.

It drew authorities officials, sex advocates, educators, and younker leaders to observe WIT-GIRL’s bequest and renewed committedness to advancing the rights and enactment of girls successful the society.

In her opening address, the chairperson of the readying committee, Itoro Umoren, described the solemnisation arsenic a “moment of reflection and renewed vision.”

She recalled that “for 21 years, WIT-GIRL has worked tirelessly to support the dignity of the miss kid and make opportunities for her to thrive.

Our enactment has gone beyond empowering girls; it present touches parents, teachers and assemblage leaders, inspiring a civilization of shared work for sex equity.”

Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Valerie Asanwana, urged parents and stakeholders to prioritise the holistic improvement of the miss child.

“Support your daughters emotionally, academically, and career-wise. Investing successful their acquisition is simply a unafraid aboriginal for your household and the nation. Girls don’t request charity; they request inclusivity, which is their right. Let them beryllium seen arsenic headlines, not footnotes,” she admonished.

She further encouraged girls not to beryllium defined by crisis, but to emergence supra challenges arsenic translation leaders.

In her address, the chairperson of the group’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Prof. Comfort Ekpo, traced the organisation’s past to 1996, erstwhile 5 women agreed with a shared imagination to rescue teenage girls from hopelessness and physique a level for empowerment.

According to her, the radical was formally registered successful 2004, expanding its scope done mentorship, acquisition and advocacy.

“Our ngo has remained steadfast successful nurturing the maturation of girls done counselling, mentorship, and empowerment; however, existent sex equity cannot beryllium achieved by empowering girls alone. Boys indispensable besides larn empathy, respect and partnership,” Ekpo said

She revealed that since 2016, WIT-GIRL has deliberately integrated boys into its programes to beforehand inclusivity and communal respect. The radical besides established the Life-Long Development Academy (LDA). This vocational grooming instauration equips antheral and pistillate beneficiaries with skills successful manner design, ICT, catering, hairdressing, mechanics and more.

Highlighting WIT-GIRL’s achievements,  Ekpo disclosed that betwixt January and September 2025, the organisation implemented 10 large programmes crossed the 3 senatorial districts of Akwa Ibom State, straight impacting implicit 900 beneficiaries. These included schoolhouse enactment and rights campaigns, menstrual hygiene education, integer literacy sessions and vocation pathway seminars.

She besides acknowledged partnerships with organisations specified arsenic the Ministry of Justice, Girls Power Initiative (GPI), Family Empowerment and Youth Re-Orientation Path Initiative (FEYReP), STRETCH Empowerment Initiative, Godwin Etim Foundation,\ and Akwa Ibom Women successful Atlanta, among others.

Despite the achievements, Prof. Ekpo identified recurring challenges, including constricted mobility for agrarian outreach, inadequate funding, taste barriers and insufficient organization support.

“The miss kid is not a burden, but she is simply a builder. The lad kid is not a rival but a partner. We indispensable make adjacent opportunities for both,” she emphasised. “Investing successful WIT-GIRL’s imaginativeness is investing successful the aboriginal of the nation.”

Delivering a goodwill message, Mrs Patience Eka, president of the Akwa Ibom Women Initiative (AIWA) successful Atlanta, Georgia, commended WIT-GIRL for its resilience and impact.

“For implicit 2 decades, you person been a beardown dependable and a pillar of enactment to susceptible women and girls successful Akwa Ibom, restoring dignity and opening doors of opportunity,” she said.

Similarly, Dr.  Enobong Imeh Akpan, representing the Beloved Girl-Child Team from New York, described the 21st day arsenic “a question towards the maturation and improvement of girls successful a competitory world.” She encouraged girls to clasp their individuality and divine worth, reminding them that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Also, Dr Margaret Mboho, a founding subordinate of WIT-GIRL, reflected connected the organisation’s transformation.

“Many girls who were erstwhile voiceless are present lasting connected the frontlines of change; strong, courageous and equipped to lead. That is the vision...