Women in their throngs came out on the 6
th
of March 2016
to receive the best Mother’s day gift any woman could get!
It was the launch of the first real action oriented Support
Group for women in Nigeria; the AMAZING AMAZON
INITIATIVE which held at Berkeley Hotel, GRA, Ikeja.
Adenike Ogunlesi, the owner of Ruff n Tumble who also
happens to be the Chairperson of the Board of Trustee,
chaired the occasion.
Also in attendance was Laila St
Matthew Daniels, a No Domestic Violence and Abuse
advocate and Emeka Oparah, the Vice President Corporate
Communications Airtel Nigeria who are also members of the
Board. The special guests who graced the occasion includes
some of Nollywood’s finest, Caroline Danjuma, and Adunni
Ade who spoke to the women about their personal
experiences and life’s lessons that left an indelible
impression on them. Mrs. Toyin Collins, Pastor Edebi Otefe
amongst others shared valued thoughts too.
The Visioneer and Founder of the initiative Mercy Makinde
spoke extensively on her life’s journey from when she was
given out in early marriage from the tender age of 18 years
to a man older than her father till when she decided to take
her destiny in her hands by walking away from the abusive
marriage that lasted 11years of her early life.
She purported that it took her that long to leave and run for
her dear life because of the lack of a support system in our
society for women in troubled marriages. Rather than
support, the society generally turns around to stigmatize
and labels the victim even when there is clear evidence that
the woman’s life is at stake!
She emphasized the need for women to come together to
form a strong bond and create a platform for them to get
support, coaching, mentoring, business and networking
opportunities. Hence, the birth of AMAZING AMAZON
initiative, which is a real ACTION oriented Women Support
Group.
Mercy added that even though in our culture women rarely
get to “hang out” or “seal deals over drinks” like the men
folk, they however still need gatherings where they come
together to celebrate, nurture, get mentored, get trainings,
encouragement, console one another, network, learn and
grow their business. She emphasized that women need,
intimacy support and consolation, particularly during difficult
times especially now that face-to-face interactions within our
communities are becoming rare.
“We sometimes get support from family and friends, but
sometimes they cannot easily understand what it’s like to be
in our situation because they haven’t really walked in our
shoes. But being in a group with people who have been in
your same situation can help fill the void as they may be
able to provide the needed succor and share proven and
practical steps they once used in dealing with the situation.
Whether a woman is dealing with illness, emotional
problems, marital issues, parenting issues, life transitions, or
a temporary situational crisis, we would come together with
people in the same situation to offer each other support and
encouragement’’...she said.
Amazing Amazon Initiative will provide a places where
women can share personal stories, express emotions and be
heard in an atmosphere of acceptance, understanding, and
encouragement. Participants will get helpful information
from Resources persons and Facilitators who are experts in
their different fields of endeavor. By helping others, people
in this support group will strengthen and empower
themselves as these support from group members will
enables personal growth and change in a way that individual
therapy cannot achieve.
Beyond the usual sermons of a seminar and coaching
sessions, the initiative will take practical steps to alleviate
whatever travails a woman is going through. The group will
be the “WHO” and “WHERE” that every woman should run to
in her times of need and this network is open to women of
all walks of life everywhere in Nigeria. After the Lagos
launch, the next stop now is Abuja to be followed by Port
Harcourt as women from these locations are already
registering to become a part of the initiative.
In demonstration of their claim to support and not just talk,
a lady in the attendance yesterday who owned up to
currently being a victim of domestic violence was
immediately given free legal services from a lawyer in the
network from the Federal Ministry of Justice. Her case was
immediately taken up and she will get whatever help and
support she requires of the group. Others had employment
issues, which the group had taken up to assist.
UBA Foundation also in solidarity and support of the
initiative donated a hundred branded school bags to the
group. These would be given out to the less privileged kids
through their mothers.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees Mrs Adenike Ogunlesi
spoke at length on how the women can still live a fulfilled
and happy life even though it is difficult if not almost
impossible to achieve a perfect balance in life. She did using
a graphic illustration of life’s circle and the women excitedly
joined in on the “wheel of life” exercise. She ended her
session by emphasizing how important it is for women to
join the network and she encouraged them all to sign up and
join the forum as a lot awaits them.
Other speakers also shared some very valuable life lessons
with the women who were yearning to hear more at the end
of the programme. The event, which was proudly supported
by Airtel Nigeria and Guardian Nigeria, left the women with a
renewed vigor and hope.
www.theamazingamazon.org
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