By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Royal Ambassadors Family Enlightenment Foundation (RAFEF), an NGO, has commenced massive empowerment to check poverty and hunger among women and youths within the 774 council areas in the country.

The Director General of RAFEF, Amb. Jonathan Okwudiri, made this known on Sunday during the inauguration of South-East Region Executive Working Committee of the Foundation in Enugu.

Okwudiri noted that to galvanise resources for the nationwide empowerment for women and youths, the foundation would be advocating to and partnering the governments of 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 774 council areas, where the foundation members operate.

He said that the foundation want to be the voice to millions of voiceless women and youths in the country who needed to be heard and given a sound hope of a better tomorrow and a prosperous life.

“It is very interesting to note that women and youth are the backbone of any nation though it is quite unfortunate and very alarming that the women and youth are mostly neglected in the workspace of Nigeria today.

“From our static, it is proven that women and youth of our nation are been used and dumped, and mostly not carried along for the positive impact on our society and governmental maximization.

“This has made most of the women and youth lost their focus, talents, skills, potentials and ending up on the streets and become touts and hooligans and in the process lose their lives without fulfillment of their primary assignment on earth.

“RAFEF Foundation has come to serve humanity as a sign of hope, new beginning, transforming wealth, power, importance, fairness, impartiality and transmitting wisdom and authority to women and youth of our society,” he said.

He said that the foundation had kicked-off its correctional service advocacy nationwide by first visiting Afikpo Custodial Centre in Ebonyi to ensuring that inmates with minor offences, those requiring legal representation and little fines to pay are released.

“We have written to the controllers of corrections in Enugu and Anambra States that we are visiting to see how we can assist inmates regain their freedom and package them with gainful skills to support societal growth,” he said.

Okwudiri noted that the foundation was going all out to train youths on modern digital skills, create entrepreneur opportunity and ensuring sound and holistic empowerment through skill or educational attainment.

“Our empowerment package will be holistic and total, in that if we set out for skill training, we must give the trainee a good starter package at the end, while for education will take the personnel to higher institution level,” he said.

On the newly-inaugurated South-East Region Executive Working Committee of the Foundation, Okwudiri urged them to brace-up for advocacy nationwide, adding that there was a need to get the support and buy-in of both the leaders and led on RAFEF project.

“There is much ground to cover, many people to meet both internationally and locally on the massive educational and digital skill empowerment of RAFEF so that we can pool resources to lift our people out of poverty, lack and hunger,” he said.

In a goodwill message, Controller of Corrections in Enugu State, Mr Nicholas Obiako, said that the correctional service would partner with RAFEF foundation since the mandate of both organizations are similar and can complement each other.

Obiako, represented by CSC Hilary Chukwu, called on the foundation to partner with the correctional service in providing training materials/equipment in skill workshops in custodial centres and help with starter-packs for inmates trained, rehabilitated and released.

In a welcome address, Hon. Ngozi Chukwudimma, Zonal Director of RAFEF South-East, said that repositioning youths and women through skills and other forms of empowerment would go a very long way to reducing crime and criminality as well.

Highpoint of the event was honourary awards given to distinguished groups and individuals that have supported humanitarian and empowerment projects within the South-East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.

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