Poised to empower rural women to participate in community development, a non-governmental organisation, Educational Cooperation Society (ECS), recently partnered with women in Idale, Itamapako community of Ogun State to renovate blocks of school toilets.
A community women-driven initiative, the project was delivered at the Local Government Primary School, Idale Itamapako, by the ECS, Asociation Zabalketa. It was funded by the province of Bilbao and local councils of Agencia Vasca De Cooperacion Para El Desarrollo, Ayuntamientos De Getxoy Leioa in Spain.
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According to the Operational Manager, ECS, Wilfred Dike, the project promotes the participation of women in civil society.
He said: “That’s the main idea that we are trying to push to the community, that women can take charge of things that happen around them not just in their homes but also in the community. If they can also bring in that love and gentleness into community development, it goes a long way.
“When the women started pushing for developmental projects, we had a baseline study, getting to know what they have, their needs and getting them to start doing something. For example, in this community, they already have a functional water system, so we tapped into that to develop them further.
“Hence, the community ownership that we are trying to drive is by getting them to really be active, play their part and then we can come to assist. If you do not go through this, what happens is that you do the project and nobody takes over.”
Speaking on behalf of the women, the Iyalode of Idale, Mrs. Elizabeth Ajayi, said: “We women in this community have joined hands to make sure the project is well maintained so our children will continue to enjoy it. Our women were trained on how to be bold in public, have confidence in themselves and relate properly with their husbands and children at home. They were also equipped with skills like soap making, bead making and more. This training started earlier in the year and it was a build up to this project.”
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Executive Education Secretary, Ijebu Ode Local Council, Ayankoya Felix Adeyemi, harped on the importance of education, saying it develops a child morally, physically, socially and emotionally to take on life’s journey.
He said that the blocks of toilets were renovated in a modern format, which would enable the children to understand the difference between going to the bush to defecate and using a toilet.
“These children will know what is called a modern toilet. They will be able to differentiate this from going to the bush or pit toilets. They will learn how to use this and it will go a long way to improving their environmental health. I want to thank this organisation because they have been doing a lot,” he said.
Head teacher of the school, Mrs. Olukoya Oluyemi Abosede, said they had longed for a toilet of that standard in the school.
“I was a class teacher in this school for 19 years before I was transferred only to return a few months ago. The toilet that we used before was nothing to write home about. We are very grateful,” she said.
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