By Danjuma Attah, Gombe
The Foundation for Community Empowerment Initiative (FOCEI) in collaboration with Women Aid Collective (WACOL) has so far trained 150 youth and women leaders in identifying and addressing various forms of gender based violence (GBV) in their communities.
FOCEI targets the training and strengthening of the capacity of 200 youth and women leaders with the aim of impacting positive ideas in their communities towards tackling the menace of GBV under a two year project that is supported by WACOL.
During the two day training that witnessed a set of 50 participants, the third in the series held quarterly, the Team Lead of FOCEI, Dr Benjamin Maina, and other resource persons identified GBV as one of the greatest forms of human rights violations.
He therefore emphasized the need for all hands to be on deck to fight the dreaded monster that is silently consuming many communities not only in Gombe State, but Nigeria.
He told the participants that the essence of the training was to strengthen their capacity to be able to identify GBV whenever it occurs around them and how to follow available pathways and give succour to survivors.
It is also expected of the participants to influence survivors to be able to voice out their predicaments, thereby braking the culture of silence.
In her presentation, Dr Leah Iliya Jalo, a lecturer with the Gombe State University (GSU) and a lead facilitator of the project, explained the contexts and types of GBV in contemporary and Church communities.
While also identifying GBV as one of the greatest forms of human rights violations, Dr Leah encouraged the participants to speak out and encourage survivors to brake the culture of silence.
According to her, they have now become agents for the creation of positive change within their communities and Churches.
In his own presentation, Reverend Apollos Hassan of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Goodnews Church, GRA, Gombe, gave a Biblical stand on GBV issues highlighting misinterpretations while proffering solutions to GBV in religious spaces. He stressed that the Church has zero tolerance to GBV declaring that Clergies are encouraged to join hands with civil authorities and professionals in handling cases within their congregations, he pointed out.
Explaining the legal and policy framework as well as justice pathways and referrals for survivors, Barrister Mwalin Naomi Abdu, described GBV as a menace that has eaten deep in communities in Gombe State but commended authorities in the State for the establishment of a referral pathway, that is, the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in the State Specialist Hospital.
She explained that the Centre has gone a long way in addressing some of the challenges faced by survivors and therefore called for a collective approach in dealing with the societal ill.
Other speakers at the training, Mrs Amina Jafun and Miss Martha Audu Kudi, both gave inspiring messages to the participants while encouraging them to take up the challenge of becoming advocates against GBV in their various communities.
Most of the participants who bore their minds to our Correspondent, expressed great delight at being part of the training describing the experience as an exposure to them as well as having a better view of what GBV is all about.
Some emotional participants who recounted their bad experiences, thanked FOCEI for the knowledge gained assuring that their response or reactions would have been different if they had prior knowledge about their rights.
FOCEI, with the support of WACOL is executing a two year project in Liji and Zambuk communities of Yamaltu-Deba LGA of Gombe State aimed at empowering Christian women and Women leaders of culture for prevention and response to GBV through strengthening of grassroots organisations.
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