July Update - By Peter Abue

Published August 19, 2007 @ 08:17AM PT

Dear Friends of CORAfrica,
Greetings from Nigeria!

We just concluded an intensive training on micro-finance initiatives and sustainable development in the Ipong-Obudu community, which lasted for four days. The workshop was intended to intensify in villagers a sense of solid economic security and business ownership. It was a joint venture of CORAfrica and the Sophia Foundation for health, education and development – a local NGO in Cross River State. Five facilitators were drawn from the two organizations and included myself and four others: Vincent Osang, Nurudeen Dan Galadima, Victor Offum and Samuel Osang. This team offered joint inputs using a toolkit we prepared to suit the local setting. 

Based on my discussion with Derek and Emily when last I visited in June, this workshop has become a crucial way forward if we must negotiate for assistance for our micro-credit programs. First and foremost we need to intensify the organizational role of faith-based institutions for poverty alleviation in our catchment area. Due to the lack of alternative institutions to counter the social processes entrenched in local settings, poverty is easily becoming intensive in rural villages. We therefore need to offer a communitarian approach to poverty eradication.

By choosing Ipong community in Obudu and selecting key individual women and men to lead others in the new scheme, we are aiming towards capacity building for individuals as well as strengthening existing groups within that particular parish setting. For example, in St Theresa’s Parish, Ipong where the program will take off, there exists ten Basic Christian Communities (BCCs) corresponding to village units. Participants were drawn from the ten villages of Kakum, Begiagim, Bebuagba, Kagbong, Bebuagbong, Bebuatsuan, Bebuabie, Begiaba, Kutiang and Igwo. There were 50 participants in all.

We started on Monday, July 9th with a kick off for the workshop. An introductory session was held on the objective of the workshop, key principles of adult learning and the role of Parishes and Basic Christian communities in the scheme. The second day was centered on basic accounting principles in the microfinance scheme, review of training methods and marketing strategies at the community level. During the third day, attention was drawn to project area and member selection criteria, community entrepreneurship and assets management and group formation procedures. The final day was focused on exploring the concept of savings and how to identify profitable community projects. There were 13 sessions in all, each of which was followed by group discussions for 20 minutes. Members often regrouped after each group discussion for a plenary session where the larger group was fed back and further discussions and resolutions were made on each topic.

We closed the ceremony on Thursday, July 13th. It was so encouraging to see both participants and facilitators showing such enormous zeal during the workshop. It would seem to me that the intensity of poverty in rural areas calls for new strategies that involve churches at the very center of the initiatives. CORAfrica is determined to collaborate with willing churches who bring in their values to bear, in order to counteract the dominant strategies that have left much to be desired in poverty alleviation programs in Nigeria. If the scheme has succeeded in countries like India and Bangladesh, why not in Nigeria?  This can only be if churches throw in their weight on the program. CORAfrica considers this initiative pivotal to its outreach programs because with such viable economic loci, poor families rearing children in rural areas can garner up resources to boast their agricultural and other business enterprises. This in turn will enable farming families to adequately afford basic education and healthcare for their rural children.

The end of the ceremonies witnessed the giving of certificates to trainees who were empowered to go and train others in their local communities. There were scores of entertainment to grace the occasion such as traditional dances, drama and group photographs.

In his closing remarks, a traditional ruler in Kakum village, Chief Joseph Ugbe, lauded the organizers of the program and observed that in the past, villagers have not been considered important to take on such initiatives. He envisaged its success in the near future and further pleaded with funding agencies to consider the support of sincere villagers who possessed latent business skills to improve their lots.

- Peter Obele Abue