Residents of Wesere community in Badagry area of Lagos State have appreciated efforts of ActionAid Nigeria and Humanity Family Foundation for Peace and Development (HUFFPED), over the several interventions in the rural community.
The community also called on the Lagos State government and other well-meaning Nigerians to come to its rescue by emulating the gesture of ActionAid Nigeria.
With history that predates the pre-World War II era, the community has been neglected for long before HUFFPED discovered it and gave recommendation to ActionAid.
ActionAid Nigeria began a community project in the community in October 2017 through its partnership with HUFFPED, with fund generated through the community sponsorship initiative which is generated locally within Nigeria.
A community leader and Chairman of the Community Local Rights Program in the settlement, Mr. Bayo Ogunwole, said at a meeting facilitated by HUFFPED and ActionAid, that Wesere community is so blessed to have HUFFPED and ActionAid bringing projects to the rural community.
“Wesere community is the luckiest village in Nigeria. We are blessed with natural resources but we need to acquire knowledge,” he said.
Ogunwale however appreciated the efforts of both HUFFPED and ActionAid Nigeria.
“We appreciate the intervention of the ActionAid, the road construction in progress wouldn’t have been done if they did not come here to intervene,” he said.
The community leader added that, “The nearest school is 3km-5km and when it rains, children won’t be able to attend school but with this intervention things have changed.”
With about 100 pupils in primary school, according to the villagers, before the intervention, rains often deprive them from school attendance; cutting them off from school sometimes for days until the water recedes.
Chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA), Mr. Simon Daniel also corroborated the report that school children often miss school once it rains due to lack of access road.
According to the villagers, there are two primary schools and one secondary school along the Owode-Apa-Kankon road to which children walk between 60 and 90 minutes to attend.
Going down memory lane, Daniel said many years ago there was no road linking the community to the outside world and getting to the nearest school in Badagry was herculean task.
“In the days of our fathers, there was no road. When I was in the Modern School in 1971, we used to suffer walking to Badagry to attend school.
“Women used to die during child birth because there was no medical facility close to us. Survival was a miracle and through the little our fathers knew in herbs then. We suffered because we wanted education by all means to better our lives.
“In 1980, the then Governor Kayode Jakande created the first school, in 1985, Navy Captain Mike Akhighe provided a borehole but before then we used to travel by canoe to another community where there was a borehole. The first borehole was made in 1951 but these boreholes have now failed,” he said.
“He also said the water available in the community now are polluted and unsafe.
He also relayed that in the past the community used a fresh water spring which was guarded against impurity.
“In those days, our fathers used to mount guard at the stream. Women were forbidden from coming close to the stream during their menstruation and anyone with sores would also be disallowed to move close to the stream but today there is nothing like those measures so the stream is no more,” he lamented.
The community however appealed to ActionAid to help with boreholes in order to get clean water without having to travel by canoe to other communities in search of clean water.
Apart from the infrastructure ActionAid Nigeria brought to the community, the organisation also empowered 15 women with a sum of N30,000 each to trade.
One of the beneficiaries of the fund, Grace Hunsa said the empowerment has brought peaceful coexistence to many families in the community.
Sample of water in Wesere
“I appreciate ActionAid and HUFFPED who introduced us to them. The N30,000 support they gave us to establish small businesses has brought a great relief.
“Now we don’t have to fight our husbands for the little amounts that used to create tension like before,” she said.
Also, Deborah Awambe told journalists that the support has gone a long way in solving marital crisis in the community.
“They provided us N30,000 to do petty businesses. Some are into mat making, banana production, fish business and some have expanded their trade. I am so happy I don’t have to wait for my husband to bring money and our children can easily buy few things for school from our purses. We thank them.”
In her vote of thanks at the end of the meeting, Mrs. Oluwakemi Adeyeye from HUFFPED appreciated ActionAid Nigeria for the help it has brought to the community. She also enjoined the beneficiaries to reciprocate the gesture by continuing to be good citizens of the community.
