Gede Beneficiaries Visit Lafarge

The beneficiaries of Gede’s Educational Project in Cross River State, participated in a 2-day extracurricular activity by visiting Lafarge Africa Plc Plant. The activity is aimed at laying positive foundations for learning and career development for the orphans and young people.

During the event,the Plant Management offered to train as many orphans that would want to understudy and develop their careers along the lines of the Company. This will help to promote opportunities for skills and knowledge development , as they look forward to a productive future.

Gede Raised Awareness on Mental Health and Substance Misuse in Cross River State

Recently, there has been growing concern about mental health and substance abuse among secondary school students and young adults, particularly regarding alcohol consumption and abuse. Various factors contribute to this behavior, including peer pressure, social norms, family influences, and individual factors.
At Pinn Margaret Secondary School in Calabar, peer pressure appears to be a significant factor that influence teenagers who consume or abuse alcohol. During the awareness session, participants expressed that most time they are pressured to drink in order to fit in or gain acceptance from their peers, especially those who are popular in the school or their neighbourhood. Some participants mentioned that they consume alcohol socially, while others do so because it is affordable or because certain brands are marketed as herbal medicinal remedies for stomach upsets or constipation.

Whether alcohol is consumed socially or for medicinal purposes, it is important to discourage alcohol use and consumption among teenagers and adolescents due to the negative outcomes associated with it. These include health risks such as the potential development of alcohol addiction later in life, alcohol poisoning, and impaired judgment, as well as negative effects on academic performance. Alcohol use may also contribute to risky behaviors such as unprotected sex and violence, and it could worsen anxiety issues.
It is expected that 13000 students and teachers from 26 secondary schools will be reached with the right information about mental health and substance misuse.

VSLA Training - Alheri Community

Gede Foundation trained young people on village savings and loans association(VSLA) approach recently in a Community in the FCT. This was in response to livelihood concerns and how this was affecting their mental health.

Alheri is a community predominantly occupied by people living and affected by leprosy.The VSLA approach was to transfer skills on running successful saving and loan associations at the community level. The sole aim is to empower households through diversity of income streams. On April 16th 2024, the Foundation went back to present all relevant materials and conduct hands-on mentoring to kickoff the savings groups.

The community members were excited to explore this evidence based opportunities for households economic strengthening. Gede Foundation will be proceeding to Sokoto and Kebbi states starting in few days. Please follow our socials for more information!

This activity is funded by Comic Relief , through the Open Minds Project, implemented by The Leprosy Mission Nigeria,The Leprosy Mission England and Wales and Gede Foundation.

Social Contact and VSLA Training

From 26th to 28th March 2024, Gede a Social Contact event and trained over 90 Community members on Village Savings and Loan approach in Yangoji Leprosy Community in Kwali Area Council. This training is to add more value to the ongoing OPEN MINDS Project funded by Comic Relief UK.

The long-term goal is to establish functional saving groups in the community in order to provide a sustainable avenue for income generation among the beneficiaries of the Project.The training is scheduled for 3 days in each location a across FCT, Kebbi and Sokoto states.

Training on Health, Safety and Environment

On Monday 25 March 2024,the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund(NSITF), trained Gede Staff on Health, Safety and Environment. The training aimed at empowering employees with knowledge and skills on safety at home and workplace. The sessions helped participants to understand hazard preventive measures and ways to respond to fire and other related safety incidences.

An audit of safety items and routes was conducted, recommendations for future safety guards were highlighted.

GEDE PARTNERED WITH LAFARGE ON ADOPT-A-SCHOOL PROJECT IN 2024

The Lafarge Africa Plc. - Gede Foundation educational support programme works at sustaining community development in its communities through education and educational-related programmes.

In addition to the secondary school and tertiary students’ support, the partnership in 2023/2024 academic round has expanded its support by adopting 8 primary schools in the hinterlands in its Adopt-a-School project. This project includes automatic enrolment of all community children of primary school age within the community, payment of fees and levies, and provision of school materials.

The project is also designed to cover the pre-care program of the early childhood care, development education (ECCDE); encouraging day-care, play-class and creche in this rural schools’ settings.

This intervention has reached over 2000 primary school pupils in its first phase of support in 2024. The schools are located in Abiati, Mfamosing, Akansoko, Mbobui and Akwa Ikot Effanga communities of Cross River State. Highlight of this activity was the payment of fees/levies and provision of school materials including books, bags and sandals.

It is hoped that within this initiative, no child of school age will be left unenrolled in community primary schools.

Please continue to visit our blog and our social media sites for more updates!

Gede’s Substance Misuse Prevention in Communities and Schools

 The incidence of substance and drug misuse among young people continue to present huge concerns to the society, family and individual.  The number of young people in Nigeria with substance use disorders (SUDs) continue to rise and they are at increased risk for abuse or neglect, physical problems, poor behavioral or impulse control, poor emotional regulation, conduct or oppositional disorders, poorer academic performance, psychiatric problems such as depression or anxiety.

 Gede’s mental health programme seeks to prevent some of these issues among young people in communities and schools, through awareness campaigns to students, teachers and young people in Benue and Cross River states.

These activities started in November 2023 in the states, and aimed at reaching thousands of young people in schools and communities with high risk of substance misuse.

The expected outcome would be a significant behaviour change among young people on substance misuse through the knowledge and skills that will be provided by the campaigns in 2024.

The activities started in Ayiin community of Benue state and government secondary school, state housing estate, calabar, Cross River state and will reach over 30 schools and communities in coming months.

Gede Strengthened Mental Health Support for Children and Young People

In October and November 2023, Gede engaged in a series of events across 3 locations— Kebbi, Sokoto states and the FCT, within the ‘Open Minds’ Project. These events included: Community Mobilization,  Reflection Meetings  and Social Contacts. Community members and young people affected by mental illness and leprosy were actively involved in these activities, which resulted into building resilience to address stigma and discrimination.

In order to evaluate activities previously carried out— i) screening for anxiety and depression, ii) capacity building in mental health, and, iii) dedication to self help groups, reflection meetings with community members and caregivers were carried out. 

 The  social contact generally take up a more active role which  involves sharing stories of lived experiences of mental health problems as well as a fun-related  activity for children and young people (CYP). Some of the activities chosen by CYPs in Sokoto included a decoration by handprints on their community building to express ownership and unity. Similarly, in Kebbi, CYP choosed to draw items that made them happy on cardboard. 

 These activities helped to reduce stigma  and discrimination  associated with mental illness as well as promote  behaviour change . 

The ‘Open Minds’ Project is funded by Comic Relief, UK and  implemented by a consortium of organisations— Gede  Foundation, The Leprosy Mission Nigeria and  The Leprosy Mission England & Wales.

Gede Marked World Toilet Day 2023

Globally, there are 3.5 billion people still living without safe toilets. Over 419 million people still practise ‘open defecation’. In these situations, diseases spread, killing 1,000 children under-five every single day. This global crisis poses a threat to nature and everyone’s health, particularly women, girls, and other vulnerable groups.  

In Nigeria, 1 in 4 have access to a basic toilet. Over 122,000 Nigerians, including 87,000 children, die due to diarrhea yearly. 

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says Nigeria will need to build no fewer than 3.9 million toilets annually to meet the ending open defecation practice by 2025 target.

It is due to this burden that Gede’s ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme’ marked this year’s World Toilet Day, with a theme ‘Accelerating Change’. The event which is marked every November 19 focused on awareness raising on the need for households to promote hygiene practices—proper handwashing and construction of household toilets.

Over 450 students and teachers from Government Secondary School, Naka, Gwer West L.G.A Benue State, were reached with information, knowledge and skills on improving hygiene behaviour, construction and proper use of household toilets.

Participants expressed commitments in ensuring that the knowledge and skills received will be put to good use in order to eliminate open defecation across the communities.

GEDE COMMEMORATES WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY 2023

World Mental Health Day 2023 is an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind the theme ‘Mental Health is a Universal Human Right’ to improve knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health as a universal human right.

Every year, the event provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.

Gede Foundation joined the global mental health community to lend its voice in 2 different activities within the period. 

Firstly, on the 10th October, 2023, the Foundation participated in a Ministerial Press Conference with the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja. At the meeting, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate stressed the importance of collaborative efforts involving the government, healthcare professionals, NGOs and communities to effectively address mental health issues in Nigeria. Stakeholders including WHO, NCDC Africa, CBM, TLMN, Clinton Foundation, NPHCDA, Mental Health Advocates, NGOs and people with psychological disabilities participated in the conference.

Goodwill messages and commitments from government and implementing partners centred on the basic human rights for people with mental health conditions including the right to be protected from mental health risks, the right to available, accessible, acceptable, and good quality care, and the right to liberty, independence and inclusion in the community.

Secondly, Gede Foundation organised an awareness campaign on mental health in Government Secondary School, Agasha in Benue State. The event reached over 350 people including students and teachers, with information on stress, drug and substance abuse, depression, adolescent mental health, prevention and access to mental health services. Participants gained knowledge on mental health, mental illnesses, signs and symptoms and referral pathways for treatment and care for those in need.

With an increasing number of persons with mental health conditions globally and in Nigeria, it is expected that these events will help to promote and sustain respect to human rights, inclusiveness and access to quality mental health care.

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