For the past couple of decades in Nigeria, the indices of poverty have continued to maintain an all-time high. From the lack of wealth to the lack of ability to create wealth, Nigerians, especially those stuck on the lower rungs of the social ladder, have found themselves in cyclical poverty where generations lack ability or opportunity to break out of the trap of penury. The direct aftermath of this is multidimensional poverty, where an individual or household’s poverty indices rank very low across several ratings. In November 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Bureau of Statistics released results from the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey. It showed that 63% of persons living within Nigeria (133 million people) are multidimensionally poor.
In response to this, in recent years, the government has launched several intervention initiatives to alleviate the extreme poverty in the land, including the provision of financial safety nets and cash distributions to the poor.
However, as the old saying goes: “it is better to teach a man how to fish than to give him fish.” It’s all about financial independence through empowerment. And this is part of the Isabella Ayuk Foundation’s core beliefs, that empowerment is key to financial freedom. And in line with this doctrine, IAF has trained and equipped 50 women in the craft of bead making, providing startup kits for those in Abuja.
Over the years, IAF has extended financial empowerment through support of business ideas to individuals in Cross River and Nasarawa states.
In the course of this line of support, IAF has provided bags of rice, garri, beans, bags of salt, gallons of vegetable oil, cartons of tinned tomato paste, dozens of plates, cups, spoons, chairs and tables to food vendor startups and existing businesses, including those operated by widows in Cross River and Nasarawa states.
The foundation has also supported a widow's fabric business with 50 wrappers, including some plastic chairs for the shot and a table in Nasarawa state.
Also, IAF has assisted a fairly-used clothes seller with 2000 pieces of fairly used baby clothes, including some plastic chairs and a table for the shop.
In furtherance of the commitment to empower as many as possible, IAF has donated materials and funding to pastry making startups, including cake and chin-chin businesses in Cross River state.
IAF also carries out empowerment and skills acquisition programmes for women and youths in Cross River State and Abuja, an initiative that started in 2012. After a preliminary needs assessment program by IAF, several women and youths were empowered accordingly.
