The Women of Might, a nongovernmental organisation dedicated to intentionally empowering women entrepreneurs, recently marked its second anniversary in grand style at the Ajao Estate area of Lagos State.
The event witnessed a large turnout of women, who were already in business and those prospecting to become entrepreneurs.
Also in attendance were women already trained by the organisation on making different stuff which could be expanded and sold to bring home income, and can even become part of the solution to the unemployment challenge in Nigeria.
Women, who were part of those who started the organisation, seized the day to recount how it all started and how it has reshaped their lives, leading to creating a better version of themselves.
One of them, Mrs Toyin Tope-Adedipe, recounted that she joined the organisation right from inception. She recalled the first time she heard the founder of the organisation, Bevlyn Ogbekene, talking about setting up such an organisation that caters to the needs and empowerment of women, she knew immediately she would be part of it.
She said, “I joined, thinking I was going to just join for a cruise, but I have gone beyond growing. I met with women who are not just there because they want to be part of a community, but women who are committed to being better, women who want to improve themselves. We have shown purpose, and Women of Might has given women their voices.
“If you have a weakness, there are women in the group, in the community, who are ready to stand up and help you. We are now a family and getting stronger.”
Another member of Women of Might, Moderator Team, Abisoye Azzan, said that she joined two years ago when it started. According to her, since then, it has been an amazing journey.
She recalled: “When I joined, there were different learning and development groups that were created. I’ve always been the talking type. I was a Sunday school teacher for years, so talking comes easily and naturally for me. Women of Might opened my eyes to the fact that I could make a career out of talking and get paid for it. We had a couple of weeks of training as moderators, and we were also given a platform. I’m ever grateful for Women of Might for these privileges.”
One of the guests at the event introduced herself as Bolanle Olaniyi. She said that the best thing that ever happened to her was the day she attended a training on soap and perfume making put together by Women of Might.
The woman, who said that she is a teacher, said that after the training, she got home and bought some items for soap making and tried making it.
She was proud of herself when it turned out well. She also tried to make perfume, which also turned out fine.
Olaniyi, who is a single mother, said that if she could get money, she would leave her teaching job to go into the soap and perfume-making business because she knew it would catapult her from counting pennies to making real money to take care of her children. She could also become an employer, she said.
Deborah Benson, another founding member of Women of Might, said that she believed so much in the mission and vision of the organisation and quickly embraced it.
Benson said, “Since joining, I noticed that our founder is impacting the world, especially women. We are not just impacting women, but also taking care of ourselves. Women of Might focuses on women’s wellness and skill acquisition. We are doing all these for people and ourselves. If you are part of us, you can’t remain where you are; you just have to grow. Since we are helping people to grow, we also must grow. Before I joined this organisation, I was an introvert; I preferred to listen to people talk rather than speak. However, when I joined, I discovered something: it’s a platform where you cannot keep quiet. You just must talk!
“You cannot be part of this organisation and you will not talk, because one thing we cherish is that we believe everyone has something to say and we want to hear it. Therefore, we say that we give women a voice in this organisation. We want women to talk, and we want to listen.
“When we had the skill acquisition programme, before now, I used to make soap. At some point, I stopped because the method I was taught was tedious. If I don’t glance through my notes, I will not remember which material is supposed to go next. But when we learned this soap-making skill in Women of Might, it was simplified by one of our members.
“You don’t even need to check notes. Right now, right here, if you give me the materials, within five minutes, I will have finished soapmaking. Before then, I could spend hours just to produce 5 litres of soap. Now, I can produce 100 litres within 15 minutes. This simplified method made me go back to soap making.”
The keynote speaker, Director, People Culture Experience and Operations, TVC Communication, Kemi Shonubi, speaking on ‘The Role Of Powerful Women In Nation Building,’ said that when women build, they just don’t build homes, they build nations.
She also said that the power of a woman could not be underestimated, stressing that most times, “we as women do not know how powerful we are. A lot of times, we forget that we have very powerful voices.”
Shonubi said empowerment for a woman should not just be about titles and financial successes, but about choices and voices, which all women should have.
She added that it was about knowing their strength, not just to use that strength to rise, but to use it to lift other women up.
She emphasised: “Be deliberate to lift other women. Mothers shape the values of future leaders. When I see boys and girls going astray, I feel we as women are failing in our duties. We are in this world to solve problems, not to give up. When we talk about nation-building, we are talking about women empowering women, and this usually has a ripple effect.
“When women earn, they invest 70 per cent into their families and communities. Educated mothers are more likely to send their children to school. When women are supported, the entire society benefits. Women of Might is not just a group, it’s a movement! Women are not positioned to compete, but to collaborate.
“Our nation needs safe spaces for women to have more access to capital, education, leadership, and protection of the rights of mothers and entrepreneurs.”
The founder of Women of Might, Bevlyn Ogbekene, also a media personality and professional voiceover artist, said Women of Might is about letting people see what women can do beyond cooking and taking care of the home.
She said, “I have been in that space where my voice is stifled because I don’t have what it takes. I feel that if women could be given the opportunity, they could build a community where their voice could be heard. Therefore, our focus is to help growth and wellness for women globally.”
She disclosed that the community was not just for Nigerian women, but for all women globally. Women of Might, said Ogbekene, has members in different countries.
She added: “Yes, we have members in Canada, Ethiopia and other countries, and they usually join us online. These women want their voices to be heard. I can still stand because I’ve gone through depression before. I understand what it means to be in that space; a space where nobody sees you and you want your voice to be heard. So, this community is just to help women thrive.”
According to her, the recent empowerment session given to some women at the grassroots level was like a launching pad after she and other members decided to go beyond online.
“Last year, we did a partnership with a health care service, where we went to a rural community and taught women how to take care of themselves when they are pregnant. We gave them drugs and checked their blood pressure level. We believe that if a woman is fine Healthwise, she’ll be able to do other things,” said Ogbekene.
She revealed that presently, the organisation was scouting and looking forward to partnership from professional, corporate and government bodies.
Speaking on challenges confronting Women of Might, Ogbekene said that funding is the major challenge, explaining that women who the organisation had trained in one skill or the other, had no money to start utilising their skills.
She said, “Most of these women are single mothers. Trust me, I have many of them all around. I see the struggle they go through, and they all just need to support themselves. Now, imagine a woman who is a father and a mother. This has been the case for a lot of women. Women are struggling because they want to ensure their children have the best.
“A man can say, go and meet your mom, but women will ensure that their children get the best. If women are given more support, they’ll thrive. We have a lot of skills and we can do many things. Take me for instance, I’m working in a company and I also have my own business. If women have skills and support, they can do more.
“I have thought of partnership, but we will not stop learning new skills and bettering ourselves until the right people believe in what we are pushing. This is why we are ensuring that our anniversary is shown on social media so the right people can see Women of Might and begin to see reasons to partner with us.”
